Local dachshunds sought for playful performance – 60 dachshunds needed to take part in art installation as part of Fierce Festival 2012

Do you own a dachshund?

It’s probably been pestering you for a while, asking when it will get its big break.

It’s grown tired of all the regular dog stuff. Going to the shops, enduring the seemingly endless ‘sausage’ remarks.

You owe your dachshund a shot at the big time. Its chance has arrived.

Fierce Festival, Birmingham’s premier festival of live art, performance and public intervention returns from Thursday 29 March to Sunday 8 April 2012. The festival is currently recruiting sixty dachshunds from the West Midlands to participate in Bennett Miller’s ‘Dachshund U.N.’, a piece of live art to be performed in a central location in Birmingham during the festival.

A scaled replica of the former United Nations office in Geneva will be set up to hold a meeting of the Commission of Human Rights. Each of the 47 nations will be represented by an individual dachshund.  The piece is a playful and often chaotic comment on the aspirations of the Commission of Human Rights, and our capacity as humans to imagine and achieve a universal system of justice.  Australian artist Miller chose dachshunds as a group as there is so much variety within the breed, representative of the diversity of the human race.

Dachshunds will take part in the performances next year as part of Fierce Festival. Miller has worked with dachshunds in his past work and will start meeting dogs from Monday 5 December.  Those who are interested in participating in the project should email [email protected]

Footage of the 2010 performance in Melbourne can be seen here: http://tinyurl.com/DachshundFierce