CONTACT Contact Listings
Introduction | Contact Listings Ultra-red Organization | Allies & Collaborators | U.R. Advisory Board

The Board of Directors consists of people directly involved in the daily activities of Ultra-red and/or Public Record.

Elizabeth Blaney
Pablo Garcia
Dont Rhine
Leonardo Vilchis

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Elizabeth Blaney (artist and organizer, Union de Vecinos)
eblaney@uniondevecinos.org

Blaney first worked with Ultra-red in collaboration with Union de Vecinos in 1998. The most dramatic fruit of that collaboration was the performance "Concrete Projections" (1999), a collaboration between Union de Vecinos, Ultra-red and visual artists Valerie Tevere and Karina Combs. Audio actions from Ultra-red's work with the Union de Vecinos were compiled on the compact disc Structural Adjustments (2000). In late 2000 Blaney became a full-fledged member of Ultra-red, participating in the "Trabajo y d’as" performances through-out 2001 and 2002, later to be involved in the "Neue Wirtschaft" performances in 2003. Blaney was responsible for videos projected during both these performances and the final performance of "The Debt" in Dublin Ireland (2003). Her other video work includes the video Imperial Beach commissioned by the Futuresonic 2001 Festival in Manchester, England, and The Realty Tour: A Video Bus Tour (1998, with Leonardo Vilchis and Valerie Tevere). In 2004, Blaney and Ultra-red member Leonardo Vilchis received a commission to participate in the prestigious "Sound Oasis" project in Mexico City along with artists such as Manuel Rocha, Chris Watson, Maryanne Amacher and Merzbow. Her organizing work is with the Union de Vecinos in East Los Angeles. In addition to her video and performance work, Blaney also serves as Ultra-red's Secretary of Finance.

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Pablo Garcia (musician and organizer, Valley Family Technology Partnership)
edu@ultrared.org

In the earliest days of Ultra-red, Garcia helped establish the group's ambient music club, Public Space, in 1994. However it wasn't until 1999 that Garcia became involved in Ultra-red's artistic-political output. Joining the group for the "Tranual Labor" performance at Steirischer Herbst Festival in Graz, Austria, Garcia quickly established himself in the area of digital sound processing. With a history in the Los Angeles alternative music scene, Garcia brings to Ultra-red a broad knowledge of music from Serialism to free jazz and funk. Currently Garcia plays bass with Los Angeles progressive music favorites WACO Chamber Orchestra. Garcia also heads up Ultra-red education initiative, School of Echoes. His education work has led to his current work as community organizer and grass-roots educator with the Valley Family Technology Partnership in LA's San Fernando Valley.

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Dont Rhine (artist and AIDS activist)
info@ultrared.org

Co-founder of Ultra-red together with Marco Larsen, Rhine has a long history in the Los Angeles performance art and electronic music communities. During his time with ACT UP / Los Angeles (1989 to 1996), Rhine co-founded the Los Angeles harm reduction/needle exchange program, Clean Needles Now. That experience had a profound impact on his interests in the ways art practice can both advocate for political change and realize change. A prolific writer, Rhine has been a driving force behind Ultra-red's work in the theory of sound and its political dimensions. From 1996 to 2001, Rhine was an activist with the queer labor organization, Pride At Work / AFL-CIO. Combining his love of house music and his personal history as an AIDS activist, in 2003 Rhine launched the "Jack Tactic" AIDS activist and dance music project. Rhine serves as Ultra-red's Information Secretary.

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Leonardo Vilchis (artist and Union de Vecinos, Executive Director)
lvilchis@uniondevecinos.org

Vilchis first encountered Ultra-red in late 1997 during discussions about the links between globalization, urban gentrification and the regeneration of public housing. From those discussions can a series of collaborations between Ultra-red and Union de Vecinos, the organization of public housing residents with whom Vilchis currently works as Executive Director. The most dramatic fruits of that early collaboration was the performance ÒConcrete ProjectionsÓ (1999), a collaboration between Union de Vecinos, Ultra-red and visual artists Valerie Tevere and Karina Combs. An alumni of the Sanctuary movement for Central American refugees, and a student of popular education and liberation theology, Vilchis brings to Ultra-red vast experience with Latin American struggles and intellectual movements. Besides his work with Union de Vecinos, Vilchis has worked as an organizer with ACORN, United Farm Workers, and as a trainer in non-violence in Bogot‡, Colombia. Vilchis joined Ultra-red full-time in 2000 for the performances "Trabajo y d’as." Vilchis also worked on the video Imperial Beach, commissioned by the Futuresonic 2001 Festival in Manchester, England. His other video works include We Live Here/Nosotros Vivimos Aqui (1993, with Pamela Coen and Comite Pro Paz), and The Realty Tour: A Video Bus Tour (1998, with Elizabeth Blaney and Valerie Tevere). In 2004, Vilchis and Ultra-red member Elizabeth Blaney received a commission to participate in the prestigious "Sound Oasis" project in Mexico City along with artists such as Manuel Rocha, Chris Watson, Maryanne Amacher and Merzbow.