October 24, 2015The Lion and the Unicorn – Rachel Maclean (2012)
Both Sides Now 2: It was the Best of Times, It was the Worst of Times?
Exhibition at K11 Chi Art Space, Hong Kong, 9 Oct – 1 Nov 2015
Both Sides Now 2 attempts, through moving image works, to explore national identity and culture, and to raise questions about China & Hong Kong and the UK. Comparisons between both countries arise – revolution and referendum, richness and austerity, lions and tigers. And unicorns.
The programme at K11 includes work by: David Blandy, Linda Lai, Anita Delaney, Choi Sai Ho, Chow Chun Fai, Jo Law, MAP Office, Law Yuk Mui, Benedict Drew, Silas Fong, João Vasco Paiva, Chloe Cheuk, Marianna Simnett, Angela Su, Lucy Clout, Rachel Maclean, Ellen Pau, Wong Ping, Daniel Shanken and Ben Rivers.
Both Sides Now – It was the Best of Times, it was the Worst of Times? is the second phase of a long-term project that proposes (historical) re-readings of artists’ moving image from Hong Kong, China and the UK. By selecting video works of art, animations and documentary films, produced by Hong Kong and UK artists from 1989 to 2015, the project will reinterpret the experience of here and now by looking into the potentially excluded and forgotten moving images of Hong Kong.
In the new edition, videoclub (UK) and Videotage (HK) bring together internationally-recognised artists from the fields of video and film during a several month-long programme from June – August 2015. To build on the ideas posited from the success of Both Sides Now – Somewhere between Hong Kong and the UK, 15 arts organisations in the UK, China and Hong Kong will take part in various extensive screenings, exhibitions and artists-in-residence programmes.
Opening date and times: 9 September 2015, 6pm – 8pm
Exhibition dates: 9 October – 1 November 2015
Address: 18 Hanoi Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tsim Sha Tsui MTR Station Exit D2 / The Masterpiece
The exhibition has been curated by videoclub (UK) and Videotage (Hong Kong) in collaboration with K11. It is supported by K11, Arts Council England, and Hong Kong Arts Development Council.
Both Sides Now 2 attempts, through moving image works, to explore national identity and culture, and to raise questions about both China & Hong Kong and the UK. Comparisons between both countries arise – revolution and referendum, richness and austerity, lions and tigers. And unicorns.
The programme at CFCCA includes work by: David Blandy, Birdy Chu, Lucy Clout, Lu Yang, Rachel Maclean, Map Office, Ellen Pau, Wong Ping, Daniel Shanken, Ben Rivers.
Both Sides Now 2 – It was the Best of Times, it was the Worst of Times? is the second phase of a long-term project that proposes (historical) re-readings of artists’ moving image from Hong Kong, China and the UK. By selecting video works of art, animations and documentary films, produced by Hong Kong and UK artists from 1989 to 2015, the project will reinterpret the experience of here and now by looking into the potentially excluded and forgotten moving images of Hong Kong.
In the new edition, videoclub (UK) and Videotage (HK) bring together internationally-recognised artists from the fields of video and film during a several month-long programme from June – August 2015. To build on the ideas posited from the success of Both Sides Now – Somewhere between Hong Kong and the UK, 15 arts organisations in the UK, China and Hong Kong will take part in various extensive screenings, exhibitions and artists-in-residence programmes.
Opening date and times: 24 September 2015, 6:00pm – 8:30pm
Exhibition dates: 25 September – 6 December 2015
Address: Market Buildings, 13 Thomas St, Manchester M4 1EU
The exhibition has been curated by videoclub (UK) and Videotage (Hong Kong) in collaboration with CFCCA. It is supported by CFCCA, Arts Council England, and Hong Kong Arts Development Council.
Both Sides Now supports four artists in residence in 2015, enabling the programme to benefit practitioners, and to further support cultural exchange between China and the UK.
Two artists from each country will exchange, working at cultural institutions, where they will have access to local resources and contacts. The aim of the residency programme is to provide artists with the opportunity to explore new practices, develop new work and experience new cultures and share experiences.
The four artists in the programme are: Lucy Clout, Wong Ping, Daniel Shanken and Shi Zheng. The programme is supported by Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art (UK), Cinecity + Phoenix Brighton (UK), V Art Center (in association with Chronus Art Center), and Wuhan K11 Art Village.
Daniel Shanken at Wuhan K11 Art Village, Wuhan, China
Daniel Shanken is an artist from Los Angeles, USA, living and working in London, UK. He works in a variety of mediums drawing from the likes of hypnotherapy, neurology, advertising, and scripted spaces. Recently his work has been shown at the Whitechapel Gallery, CCA Glasgow, Nottingham Contemporary, Five Years Gallery, Kiasma Helsinki, and CGP London.
K11 is committed to promoting the development of contemporary art and the communication between young artists in the fields of visual arts, design, multimedia, music and other creative genres. K11 art village hopes that through art exhibitions and exchange activities in our art spaces, the habitats of the community can become the basis of an artistic life. Art events are organized for the whole community to participate, thereby strengthening the linkage of art, people, nature.
K11 art village provides a platform for young artists dedicated to their art and yet do not have the financial means to support themselves. We are constantly in search of young artists who are full of talent, passion and unique ideas and invite them to join our artist-in-residence programe to use our artist studios for creation. Moreover, they can gain access to a wide range of nationwide and overseas creative resources, exhibition opportunities, media exposure, academic exchange, as well as public awareness.
Lucy Clout at V Art Center, in association with Chronus Art Center, Shanghai, China
Residency dates: 1 – 16 August 2015
Lucy Clout
Lucy Clout’s previous work has investigated the experience of viewing performance, interrogating the communicative aspects of the physical and social relationships between the audience and the art-object/performer. She graduated from the Royal College of Art with an MA in Sculpture in 2009, and has exhibited in commercial and non-commercial spaces in the UK and internationally.
Established in 2010, V ART CENTER is located in the Shanghai M50 Innovation Park. As a non-profitable space affiliated with SIVA of Fudan University, the center is presided by Mr. Ding Yi, a famous modern artist and an associate dean of SIVA. Both of its exhibition halls in Building No. 3 and No.6 are being operated in an open manner. This young space shall maintain its vitality all the time, presenting a dialogue platform for modern arts in Shanghai.
Established in 2013, Chronus Art Center (CAC) is China’s first non-profit art organization dedicated to the presentation, research / creation and scholarship of media art. CAC with its exhibitions, residency-oriented fellowships, lectures and workshop programs and through its archiving and publishing initiatives, creates a multifaceted and vibrant platform for the discourse, production and dissemination of media art in a global context. CAC is positioned to advance artistic innovation and cultural awareness by critically engaging with media technologies that are transforming and reshaping contemporary experiences.
Shi Zheng at Phoenix Brighton with Cinecity at the University of Brighton, UK
Shi’s work takes on multiple forms such as audio-visual installation work, recordings, and concert pieces. He composes time-based sculpture, using field recordings and digital generated structures, and reconstructs, architecturally, audiovisual phenomenon.
In 2013, Shi Zheng co-founded new media group RMBit with nenghuo, Zhipeng Wang, and Wei Weng. The group has participated in several significant exhibitions and performance, including exhibitions and performances in art institutions and cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taipei.
In recent years, his work has been shown at international festivals including Sound Art China 2014 (HongKong), Sound Art China 2013 (Shanghai), FILE Electronic Language International Festival (Brazil), Today Art Museum (Beijing) and Ars Electronica 2012 (Linz).
Phoenix Arts Association Ltd (trading as Phoenix Brighton) is a charitable (not-for-profit) arts organisation based in central Brighton.
Its charitable objectives are:
1.The promotion of the arts
2.Advancement of public education in the appreciation, production and practice of the arts, particularly in the towns of Brighton & Hove, and in other areas of Sussex
3.To relieve poor artists by providing workspace and studio facilities and by the provision of advice in artist development seminars.
Phoenix provides 100+ studio spaces, short-term project space for hire by community groups and supports a gallery and education programme which bring together professional artists and the general public in a friendly and creative environment.
CINECITY is a partnership between the Duke of York’s Picturehouse, Screen Archive South East and the University of Brighton. We deliver a year-round programme of film and moving image events, screenings and exhibitions and present the annual CINECITY The Brighton Film Festival, the region’s major celebration of film. Our patrons include Nick Cave, Paddy Considine, Steve Coogan, John Hillcoat and Henry Normal.
CINECITY celebrates its 13th edition of the festival in November 2015 with the very best in international cinema and a global mix of premieres and previews, artists’ cinema and installations, treasures from the archive, retrospectives, free education screenings and events, talks and debates.
Wong Ping at Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art, Manchester, UK
Residency dates: 25 September – 6 December 2015
Wong Ping
Wong Ping is a Cantonese animator and director based in Hong Kong, mixing topics such as teenage lust, shame and sexual suppression with a surprisingly fresh and luscious colour palette. NOWNESS writes about him: “Wong Ping gives new meaning to NSFW… His gasp-inducing imagination feeds into our child-like curiosity to toy with social and cultural taboos”. He likes to hike, which gives him numerous, randomly meaningless but beautiful inspirations.
Wong Ping was selected as one of the Saatchi & Saatchi 2013 new directors and his work has been internationally screened and exhibited.
The Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art (formerly Chinese Arts Centre) is leading the UK in exploring a changing international dynamic. This is the Chinese Century and Chinese contemporary art and visual culture is a vibrant force, fast gaining momentum.
CFCCA has a proud 29-year history of ‘first’ UK solo exhibitions, featuring exceptional artists that go on to achieve international acclaim. We work with a wide array of partners to provide people with a lively and innovative programme of exhibitions, residencies, engagement projects, festivals, symposia and events.
CFCCA is uniquely placed to explore the Chinese Century through art and the trans-cultural debates that will shape our future.
August 9, 2015Anjin 1600: Edo Wonderpark – David Blandy
Both Sides Now: It was the Best of Times, It was the Worst of Times?
Exhibition at V Art Center, Shanghai, 15-30 August 2015
Both Sides Now 2 attempts, through moving image works, to explore national identity and culture, and to raise questions about both China & Hong Kong and the UK. Comparisons between both countries arise – revolution and referendum, richness and austerity, lions and tigers. And unicorns.
Both Sides Now 2 – It was the Best of Times, it was the Worst of Times is the second phase of a long-term project that proposes (historical) re-readings of artists’ moving image from Hong Kong, China and the UK. By selecting video works of art, animations and documentary films, produced by Hong Kong and UK artists from 1989 to 2014, the project will reinterpret the experience of here and now by looking into the potentially excluded and forgotten moving images of Hong Kong.
In the new edition, videoclub (UK) and Videotage (HK) bring together internationally-recognised artists from the fields of video and film during a several month-long programme from June – August 2015. To build on the ideas posited from the success of Both Sides Now – Somewhere between Hong Kong and the UK, 15 art organisations in the UK, China and Hong Kong will take part in various extensive screenings, exhibitions and artists-in-residence programmes.
The programme includes work by: David Blandy, Lucy Clout, Choi Sai Ho, Jo Law, Rachel Maclean, Joao Vasco Paiva, Ellen Pau, Wong Ping, Daniel Shanken, Ben Rivers.
Preview opening date and time: 15 August 2015, 6:00pm
Exhibition dates: 15-30 August 2015
Address: Space 1 (view point) : 2F, Building 3, No.50 Moganshan Rd, Shanghai 200060
Screenings take place in Shanghai of UK and Chinese and Hong Kongese work, details can be seen on the Both Sides Now website.
The exhibition has been curated by videoclub (UK) and Videotage (Hong Kong). It is supported by Chronus Art Center, V Art Center, Arts Council England, and Hong Kong Arts Development Council.
May 20, 2015Image credit: ‘An emo nose’ – Wong Ping (courtesy of the artist)
Both Sides Now – It was the best of times, it was the worst of times?
Various screening dates (full details below)
07 July 2015, Phoenix, Leicester
12 July 2015, Electric Palace Cinema, Hastings
14 July 2015, Fabrica, Brighton
15 July 2015, Aspex Gallery, Portsmouth
26 Sept 2015, ICA, London
29 Nov 2015, HOME, Manchester
Both Sides Now explores the political and social connections and differences between the UK and China & Hong Kong, by bringing together artworks that investigate nationhood, individuality and power. Both Sides Now responds to past and recent political and cultural events, including Hong Kong’s Umbrella Revolution and the handover of Hong Kong to China. It explores the implications of wealth creation, capitalism and its proposed decline, and what they mean for the individual.
Artists include: Birdy Chu, Map Office, Ellen Pau, Wong Ping and Lu Yang.
The UK screening programme has been curated by Isaac Leung, Videotage.
Both Sides Now is curated and produced by videoclub (UK) and Videotage (Hong Kong). The aim is to open up dialogue between Chinese, Hong Kong and British film artists and audiences, working with artists’ moving image to reinterpret the experience of here and now for both cultures.
A wider programme of activity will take place in the UK, China and Hong Kong, including an exhibition and residency at Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art, and a programme of activity in Shanghai, Wuhan and Hong Kong. Details to follow.
Supported by Arts Council England and Hong Kong Arts Development Council.
Videotage is a leading non-profit organisation in Hong Kong focusing on the presentation, promotion, production and preservation of video and media art, serving artists in the expanding technological art and culture network. Since 1986, Videotage has developed itself from an umbrella for media artists, to a network of media art and culture for cross-disciplinary cultural productions, and platform to facilitate international exchange.
Date and time: Sunday, 12 July 2015 at 8pm
Price: £7 / £6 concessions
Address: 39A High Street, Hastings TN34 3ER
Web / contact / tickets: www.electricpalacecinema.com / 01424 720393
Fabrica
Date and time: Tuesday, 14 July 2015 at 7pm
Price: FREE
Address: Fabrica @ Friends’ Meeting House, Ship Street, Brighton BN1 1AF
Web / contact / tickets: www.fabrica.org.uk / 01273 778646
Aspex
Date and time: Wednesday, 15 July 2015 at 6:30pm (6:15pm doors open)
Price: FREE
Address: The Vulcan Building, Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth PO1 3BF
Web / contact / tickets: www.aspex.org.uk / 023 9277 8080 / No booking required
Institute of Contemporary Arts
Date and time: Saturday, 26 September at 12pm
Price: £5 / free to members of the ICA
Address: 12 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AH
Web / contact / tickets: www.ica.org.uk / 020 7930 3647
HOME
Date and time: Sunday, 29 November at 4pm
Price: £TBC
Address: 2 Tony Wilson Place Manchester M15 4FN
Web / contact / tickets: http://homemcr.org / 0161 200 1500
“… if you’re in search of something experimental, intriguing, challenging, perhaps even perplexing… think of this as a lucky dip, perhaps containing a future Turner Prize winner.” – The Guardian
Various screening dates for Selected V
(Full details below)
28 May 2015, CCA Glasgow
10 June 2015, CIRCA, Newcastle
11 June 2015, Fabrica, Brighton
09 July 2015, FACT, Liverpool
21 July 2015, Nottingham Contemporary
23 July 2015, Whitechapel Gallery, London
Selected5 is a new curated programme of artists’ film and video touring throughout May-July 2015 to some of the UK’s leading venues for showcasing artists’ film.
Drawn from nominations put forward by the artists shortlisted for the 2014 Film London Jarman Award, Selected 5 brings together some of the most outstanding work from early career moving image artists working in the UK.
Shortlisted artists for the 2014 Film London Jarman Award – John Akomfrah, Sebastian Buerkner, Laura Buckley, Marvin Gaye Chetwynd, Steven Claydon, Redmond Entwistle, Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, Ursula Mayer, Rachel Reupke and Stephen Sutcliffe – nominated up-and-coming filmmaking talent. Key works were selected to form a touring programme that represents a cross section of early career moving image practice in the UK today.
Artists in the programme include: Lucy Beech, Nicholas Brooks, Niels Bugge, Lucy Clout, Kate Cooper, Anita Delaney, Tom Lock, Richard Sides and Min-Wei Ting. Artists will be present at screenings to introduce their work and be in conversation with audiences.
Selected has been produced in partnership with videoclub and Film London Artists’ Moving Image Network (FLAMIN).
Film London Artists’ Moving Image Network
Film London Artists’ Moving Image Network (FLAMIN) supports London-based artists working in moving image, working in partnership to deliver a comprehensive programme including production award schemes, regular screenings, talks and events, as well as the prestigious annual Film London Jarman Award.
Venue and screening details:
CCA Glasgow
Date and time: Thursday, 28 May 2015, 7pm.
Price: £6 full / £4 concessions
Address: CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G2 3JD
To book tickets (tickets also on door): www.cca-glasgow.com / 0141 352 4900
CIRCA Projects @ The Northern Charter
Date and time: Wednesday, 10 June 2015, 7pm.
Price: £5 full / £3 concessions.
Address: The Northern Charter, 5th Floor Commercial Union House, 39 Pilgrim Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 6QE
Web / contact: http://circaprojects.org / info@circaprojects.org
Fabrica
Date and time: Thursday, 11 June 2015, 6.30pm.
Price: £3
Address: Fabrica, Duke Street, Brighton BN1 1AG
Web / contact: www.fabrica.org.uk / 01273 778646 / Book ticket
FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology)
Date and time: Thursday, 09 July 2015, 7pm
Price: £4 / £3 concessions. Please book at: www.fact.co.uk or in person at box office.
Address: The Box, FACT, 88 Wood Street, Liverpool, L1 4DQ
Web / box office: www.fact.co.uk / 0871 902 5737
Nottingham Contemporary
Date and time: Tuesday, 21 July 2015, 7pm.
Price: FREE
Address: Nottingham Contemporary, Weekday Cross, Nottingham NG1 2GB
Web / contact: www.nottinghamcontemporary.org / 0115 948 9750
Whitechapel Gallery
Date and time: 23 July 2015, Time 7pm.
Price: £6 full / £4 concessions
Address: Whitechapel Gallery, 77-82 Whitechapel High Street, London E1 7QX
Web / tickets / contact: www.whitechapelgallery.org / 020 7522 78889
I don’t remember seeing much artists’ moving image at the art fairs during Art Basel Hong Kong, which struck me as a little strange, but I always feel strange at commercial art fairs. The shocking lighting, the mixture of appalling art work with some classic pieces that look like they should be in a museum. All this complemented and in contrast with the revved up, label-slicked, money-gownery striding everywhere with champagne in hand. It feels like a mockery of the art world (all that creativity and unique ideas perverted into another reason to get dressed up and go shopping for the rich), but this is a core part of that world now.
The main pillar of artists’ film at Art Basel was the Art Basel Film programme. This is the second year Art Basel Hong Kong has implemented a film programme, which gives moving image artists represented by galleries at Art Basel a platform to exhibit work that exists away from the bustling mall-like fair.
Curated by Li Zhenhua, Beijing and Zurich-based producer and multimedia artist, screenings were held over four days in Hong Kong Arts Centre’s cinema space. Seven themes were explored over the four days, drawing the films into discrete programmes of work.
As the way is with screenings, it was, for me, a mixture of excellent, fair, and not so great work. The first two films, represented by Star Gallery, were in the great category. PICNIC by Chen Tianzhou is a riotous escapade of sexually charged madness; colourful, blissed out, marvellous and delirious. Drug-induced delirium is suggested at the start, and continues throughout. It is irreverent, gripping, a good antidote to the many banal works in the art fair.
A Thousand Kisses Deep by Song Kun is a slippery, sexual film; architecture intermingles with human bodies and octopus tentacles, striving to get closer to each other, increasing in number as they desperately entangle. The film is a sensual meditation on the rapid growth of cities, and growing numbers of people living in them.
A third film I really appreciated was Lu Yang’s Manga-style animation Uterusman, an overview of a superhero whose superpowers derive from a woman’s genitalia, Uterusman himself being made up of the collective elements of the female reproductive system. Superpowers include: blood energy altitude flying, sanitary pad skateboard, blood chain defence, ovum light wave attack, DNA attack, pelvis chariot, baby weapon, plus more.
The film dynamically mixes in archival film of blood flowing, ovulation, birth and umbilical cord clipping, presenting female reproductive processes as super while everyday. The artist denied that she intended the film to be feminist, but confirmed that she wanted to present a character who combined male and female attributes as a way of expressing everyone is equal. It’s a very funny, challenging film, the insightful contents of which, I believe, the artist is still to become aware of.
Art Basel Film programme was a great opportunity to duck out of the kerfuffle of art fair crazy, and to take some peace in knowing that there is some good art for sale. I look forward to next year’s programme.
Stateland is a collection of recent work by some of the most creative and ground-breaking artists living and working in- and outside of America.
This collection of films reveals the contrasts and qualities being utilised by contemporary filmmakers from the US, varying between 16mm and digital collage; uncanny storytelling and subtle abstraction.
Stateland puts America under the microscope, revealing the multifaceted landscape that these films are informed and inspired by. In Luciano Piazza’s ‘Windows’, voyeuristic gazes into apartment windows allow us to glimpse the everyday of daily American lives. Gazelle Samizay’s ‘Ravel’ reveals the impact of growing up in America as an Afghanistani child, interpreting the complexity of cultural crossovers. In ‘The Dark, Krystle’, Michael Robinson plays with the nature of video and the representation of familiar American TV characters from Dynasty, reappropriating their stories with new emotional power.
Artists in the programme include: Gabriel Abrantes, Laida Lertxundi, Luciano Piazza, Michael Robinson, Ben Russell, Gazelle Samizay and Daniel Shanken.
Venue and screening details:
Whitechapel Gallery
Date and time: Thursday 12 February, 7pm
Price: tickets from £6.50
Address: Whitechapel Gallery, 77-82 Whitechapel High Street, London E1 7QX
To book tickets: www.whitechapelgallery.org / 020 7522 78889
Fabrica
Date and time: Thursday 26 February, Doors and bar 6pm, screening 6.30pm
Price: Free
Address: Fabrica, Duke Street, Brighton BN1 1AG
To book tickets: www.fabrica.org.uk / 01273 778646
Aspex
Date and time: Thursday, 12 November 2015 at 6:30pm (6:15pm doors open)
Price: FREE
Address: The Vulcan Building, Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth PO1 3BF
Web / contact / tickets: www.aspex.org.uk / 023 9277 8080 / No booking required
Electric Palace Cinema
Date and time: Sunday, 15 November 2015 at 8pm
Price: £7 / £6 concessions
Address: 39A High Street, Hastings TN34 3ER
Web / contact / tickets: www.electricpalacecinema.com / 01424 720393
Phoenix Cinema and Arts Centre
Date and time: Wednesday, 18 November 2015 at 6:30pm
Price: FREE
Address: 4 Midland Street, Leicester LE1 1TG
Web / contact / tickets: http://www.phoenix.org.uk / 0116 242 2800
13 July 2014 : Floating Cinema, King’s Cross, London
30 July 2014 : Star and Shadow Cinema, Newcastle
Both Sides Now presents contemporary and historical film and video work from Hong Kong and China, curated by Isaac Leung of Videotage (Hong Kong). The films explore developments within the culture and society of Hong Kong and China over the past three decades, including work which comments upon such events as Tianamen Square and the ongoing economic development of China.
The programme contains work by some of Hong Kong and China’s most exciting artists working in film and video, and varies between animation, documentary and artist’ moving image. Artists in the programme include: Ellen Pau, Linda Lai, Anson Mak, Kwan Sheung Chi, Lee Kit, Tse Ming Chong, Choi Sai Ho, and other 11 artists from Hong Kong.
Both Sides Now will tour in the UK during June and July 2014, visiting FACT, Liverpool; Whitechapel Gallery, London; Broadway, Nottingham; Duke’s at Komedia, Brighton; and will be exhibited at Floating Cinema on the Thames mid-July.
Both Sides Now is a video art exchange project curated and produced by videoclub (UK) and Videotage (Hong Kong). The aim of the project is to open up dialogue between China and Hong Kong and British film artists, academics, curators and audiences. Working with artists’ moving image, animation and documentary films – produced by artists from Hong Kong and the UK – we aim to reinterpret the experience of here and now for both cultures.
A corresponding tour of artists’ film from the UK will take place in Hong Kong and China in August 2014.
Both Sides Now is supported by Arts Council England, Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art, Brighton & Hove City Council, Connections through Culture (British Council), Osage Art Foundation and Hong Kong Arts Development Council.
Videotage is a leading non-profit organisation in Hong Kong focusing on the presentation, promotion, production and preservation of video and media art, serving artists in the expanding technological art and culture network. Since 1986, Videotage has developed itself from an umbrella for media artists, to a network of media art and culture for cross-disciplinary cultural productions, and platform to facilitate international exchange.
Venue and screening details:
FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology)
Date and time: Tuesday 24th June, 6:30pm
Price: £4 / 3. Please book at: www.fact.co.uk or in person at box office.
Address: FACT, 88 Wood Street, Liverpool, L1 4DQ
Web / box office: www.fact.co.uk / 0871 902 5737
Duke’s at Komedia
Date and time: Thursday 26th June, 7pm
Price: £5
Address: Duke’s at Komedia, 44-47 Gardner Street, North Laine, Brighton BN1 1UN
Web / box office: BOOK A TICKET / 0871 902 5728
Whitechapel Gallery
Date and time: Saturday 5th July 2014, 1:30pm
Price: Both Sides Now + Selected 4 £12.50 full / £10.50 conc / £6.25 Whitechapel members or Both Sides Now only £8.50 full / £6.50 conc / £4.25 Whitechapel members
Address: Whitechapel Gallery, 77-82 Whitechapel High Street, London E1 7QX
Web / box office: BOOK A TICKET/DETAILS / 020 7522 78889
Floating Cinema with Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art – OPEN AIR WEEKENDER
Date and time: Sunday 13 July, 3pm onwards – playing on a loop on the Floating Cinema barge
Price: Free
Address: Canalside Steps, Granary Square, Off Good’s Way, King’s Cross, London N1 4AA (Tube: King’s Cross)
Web / details: http://floatingcinema.info/
Star and Shadow Cinema
Date and time: Wednesday 30th July, 7.30pm
Price: £5 full / £3.50 concessions. Star and Shadow membership is required for entry; £1 for a year, available on the door.
Address: Star and Shadow Cinema, Stepney Bank, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 2NP
Web / box office: www.starandshadow.org.uk / 0115 9526 611
This is my first time in DC and I’m surprised by how much I like it, the low rise buildings and handsome architecture, combined with the unavoidable sense of intrigue, make it feel warm and dynamic at the same time.
Hillyer Art Space is centrally located at Dupont Circle, it sits nestled behind hotels and embassies, right in the middle of the capital. I realise it’s the first contemporary art gallery that I’ve shown the programme at, and it feels very welcome.
The space is managed by two full-time staff, Allie Frazier (Events and Public Programme Coordinator) and Allison Nance (Gallery Director), working alongside interns to deliver the programme, which is a combination of short-term exhibitions, screenings and artist talks.
We sit in the gallery space with iced coffee (it is a warm, muggy day) and talk about the funding situation in Washington DC and the infrastructure for film in the city. It appears the main support structure for showing film in the city is via festivals, including DC Shorts Festival, DC Independent Film Festival and 48 Hour Film Project. A couple of other gallery spaces show artists’ film, but mainly as exhibited work, rather than as screenings, these are: Hamiltonian Gallery and Project 4 Gallery.
We talk about funding for the arts. DC Commission for the Arts sounds like a god-send for the city, which funds individual artists and organisations with non-project funding, received following an application to the commission. Unusually the city has a decent amount of funding, compared to other US cities. Finance is gathered by the commission through the city’s planning gain programme, i.e. by requiring new construction in the city to provide funds towards cultural activity in exchange for being given planning rights.
I have a good conversation with Allie and Allison about the possibility of working together, and I’m hoping there might be a way for us to collaborate in the future. I hope so, because the Hillyer Arts Space team and space are inspiring. And I like Washington DC – a lot.
The screening takes place in the centre of the gallery space in the evening, and has an excellent turn out; helped along, I am sure, by the free, freshly made popcorn. The films are received really well, lots of discussion ensues afterwards and I feel really proud of the programme and the artists who made the work.
Afterwards, the Hillyer guys take me to an amazing dive bar, which I am failing to remember the name of. It sold the most wonderful variety of craft beers, including banana beer, which was surprisingly very good. I’ll update with a name when I have one. Allie, Allison?
October 11, 2014Boys by Piotr Krzymowski on screen at Spectacle Theater
Spectacle Theater, 13/05/14
This is my first time in Brooklyn, and I’m struck by certain similarities it has to Brighton, at least the Williamsburg part that I’m in. Independent bars and stores, cute coffee shops with tech heads working away, and the ‘local’ feeling of a town. It’s very heart-warming after the swarms of Manhattan.
Spectacle Theater is a volunteer-run independent space, set up by a group of individuals who wanted to get more diverse, challenging and foreign language work shown in New York. The space has windows covered in posters from current and previous shows, it looks like the wrong type of exciting might happen inside; it’s stimulating after the shiny, clean downtown spaces.
John Dieringer, one of the programmers and projectionists for the space – who has been amazing in helping me out with showing the work – meets me at Spectacle. We test the films and talk about Spectacle’s work. Incredibly, the volunteer run space does a seven day a week programme, with sometimes three screenings per day. I am stunned by this, in awe. Ten volunteers are on the programme committee and research and deliver a seven day programme, this has been happening for three and a half years. Something to be said for the sustainability of voluntary-led organisations…
We have a small crowd, but they’re ideal; including one of the Selected 4 (2014’s programme) artists, Ian Giles, who brings along some friends. Films are received well, there’s some discussion at the end and we pack up.
I go for a drink with John following the screening and we talk about opportunities for seeing artists’ film as a screening, and, as has been usual, it’s not a common practice, even in New York. Light Industry is probably the most well know, a similar organisation to the Lux in UK. I’m also referred to Union Docs for interesting work going on in the city. There is also New York Film Anthology. I was told by another New York resident that Flux Factory and Silent Barn also do screenings from time to time.
Echo Park Film Center is jewel of a place, the walls are lined with film canisters, DVDs and information about films and processing films. When I arrive the education coordinator for Echo Park is hand processing some film in readiness for a youth session on film processing. I like this place, it feels rare and rather magical.
Rick Bahto (or Dicky), Echo Park’s curator and programmer, is sparkling with energy and enthusiasm for film, I feel immediately inspired on meeting him. We do a test run of the films and decide to go get a drink together to talk about LA and artists here.
Rick talks to me about some of the other spaces that are receptive to experimental film in LA, these include: Redcat (an interdisciplinary arts centre, with exhibitions, screenings and performances), LA Filmforum (the longest running not-for-profit organisation screening experimental and independent films in Southern California) and Human Resources (a mixed arts space, with screening programmes). Rick also suggests, for inspiration for artists, the New Works Salons, which he curates, and which showcases new work for discussion.
Echo Park’s audience feeds back positively on the films, several questions regarding Naheed Raza’s Silk – a visceral, affective film, which explores the environment of spiders being raised for silk harvesting and the process used to do this – arise. It’s an appreciative audience, and I would really like to work with Echo Park again on other programmes or future work. Rick’s obvious passion and knowledge of artists and the sector is really valuable, and it would be good to work with someone who is so committed to film and video.
After the screening we go to the Tom of Finland House for Tom of Finland’s birthday party, organised by my friend Stuart Sandford who is artist in residence there. My final evening in LA, and I am sad to leave.
“If you thought the Jarman Award was where you’d find the next big thing in British film art, you’re one step behind.” – The Guardian
Various screening dates
(full details at the bottom)
20 May 2014 : Nottingham Contemporary
11 June 2014 : Star and Shadow Cinema, Newcastle
12 June 2014 : CCA, Glasgow
16 June 2014 : Fabrica, Brighton
18 June 2014 : FACT, Liverpool
05 July 2014 : Whitechapel Gallery, London
Selected is a new collection of artists’ film and video touring the UK in June 2014, taking place at some of the UK’s leading venues for showcasing artists’ film.
Chosen by the artists shortlisted for the Film London Jarman Award 2013, Selected brings together some of the best emerging film and video artists from the UK in an exciting and diverse programme of new artists’ moving image.
Shortlisted artists for the 2013 Award – Ed Atkins; Beatrice Gibson; Emma Hart; Rachel Maclean; Uriel Orlow; Charlotte Prodger; Hannah Sawtell; Grace Schwindt; John Smith; and Jessica Warboys – have selected work by up-and-coming, fresh filmmaking talent, to develop an invigorating new programme of work.
Artists in the Selected 4 programme are: Ian Giles, Anne Haaning, Morten Halvorsen, Jonathan Long, Katherine MacBride, Heather Phillipson, Kerstin Schroedinger & Mareike Bernien, Marianna Simnett, Chooc Ly Tan and Stina Wirfelt.
Selected will be touring to six venues in the UK, including: Centre for Contemporary Art, Glasgow; Duke of York’s Cinema, Brighton; FACT, Liverpool; Nottingham Contemporary; Star and Shadow Cinema, Newcastle; and Whitechapel Gallery, London.
Selected has been produced in partnership by videoclub and Film London Artists’ Moving Image Network (FLAMIN), with the aim of showcasing and celebrating some of the most innovative emerging talent in artists’ moving image.
Film London Artists’ Moving Image Network
Film London Artists’ Moving Image Network (FLAMIN) supports London-based artists working in moving image, working in partnership to deliver a comprehensive programme including production award schemes, regular screenings, talks and events, as well as the prestigious annual Film London Jarman Award. The Jarman Award honours the legacy of avant-garde film-maker Derek Jarman. It recognises and rewards the exceptional creativity of today’s UK artist film-makers whose work, like Jarman’s, resists conventional definition.
Date and time: Tuesday, 20 May 2014, 7pm Price: FREE Address: Nottingham Contemporary, Weekday Cross, Nottingham NG1 2GB Web / contact: www.nottinghamcontemporary.org / 0115 948 9750
Star and Shadow Cinema
Date and time: Wednesday, 11 June 2014, 7:30pm Price: £5 full / £3.50 concessions. Star and Shadow membership is required for entry; £1 for a year, available on the door. Address: Star and Shadow Cinema, Stepney Bank, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 2NP Web / contact: www.starandshadow.org.uk / 0191 261 0066
CCA Glasgow
Date and time: Thursday, 12 June 2014, 7pm Price: £5 full / £3 concessions Address: CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G2 3JD To book tickets (tickets also on door): www.cca-glasgow.com / 0141 352 4900
Fabrica
Date and time: 16 June 2014, 6.30pm Price: Free / voluntary donation Address: Fabrica, Duke Street, Brighton BN1 1AG Web / contact: www.fabrica.org.uk / 01273 778646
FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology)
Date and time: Wednesday, 18 June 2014, 6.30pm Price: FREE – Booking required. Please book at: www.fact.co.uk or in person at box office. Address: The Box, FACT, 88 Wood Street, Liverpool, L1 4DQ Web / box office: www.fact.co.uk / 0871 902 5737 Selected forms part of FACT’s Artist Cine Club programme.
Whitechapel Gallery
Date and time: Thursday, 05 July 2014, Time TBC Price: £6 full / £4 concessions Address: Whitechapel Gallery, 77-82 Whitechapel High Street, London E1 7QX Web / tickets / contact: www.whitechapelgallery.org / 020 7522 78889
“It’s never easy to keep abreast of artists working in film, but
here’s a great way in for those looking to explore.” – The
Guardian
Various screening dates across the US
(Full details further down)
15 April 14 : Northwest Film Center, Portland
17 April 14 : Seattle International Film Festival
25 April 14 : Artists’ Television Access, San Francisco
29 April 14 : No Festival Required at Space 55, Phoenix
30 April 14 : Exploded View Gallery, Tucson
08 May 14 : Echo Park Film Center, LA
13 May 14 : Spectacle Theater, New York
15 May 14 : Hillyer Art Space, Washington DC
Selected 3 is a new collection of artists’ film and video touring the US in
April and May 2014, following a successful tour of the programme in the UK.
Chosen by the artists shortlisted for the Film London Jarman Award 2012, Selected
brings together some of the best emerging film and video artists from the UK in a
diverse programme of new artists’ moving image.
Shortlisted artists for the 2012 Film London Jarman Award – Brad Butler & Karen
Mirza; Aura Satz; Ben Rivers; Benedict Drew; James Richards; Shezad Dawood; Nathaniel
Mellors; Matt Stokes; Marcus Coates and Jon Thomson & Alison Craighead. – have
selected work by up-and-coming, fresh filmmaking talent, to develop an invigorating new
programme of work.
Artists in the Selected 3 programme include: Emma Alonze, Sophie Beresford, Nicholas
Brooks, Mat Fleming, Piotr Krzymowski, Naheed Raza, Frances Scott, Daniel Shanken,
Cheryl Simmons and Edward Thomasson.
Selected has been produced in partnership by videoclub and Film London Artists’
Moving Image Network (FLAMIN), with the aim of showcasing and celebrating some of the
most innovative emerging talent in artists’ moving image.
Film London Artists’ Moving Image Network
Film London Artists’ Moving Image Network (FLAMIN) supports London-based artists
working in moving image, working in partnership to deliver a comprehensive programme
including production award schemes, regular screenings, talks and events, as well as
the prestigious annual Film London Jarman Award. The Jarman Award honours the legacy of
avant-garde film-maker Derek Jarman. It recognises and rewards the exceptional
creativity of today’s UK artist film-makers whose work, like Jarman’s,
resists conventional definition.
Date and time: Tuesday, 15 April 2014, 7pm
Price: $9 General admission; $8 for Portland Art Museum members, students, and seniors;
$6 Friend members
Address: Northwest Film Center, 934 SW Salmon St, Portland, OR 97205, USA
Web: www.nwfilm.org
Seattle International Film Festival, Film Center
Date and time: Thursday, 17 April 2014, 7pm
Price: $11 full / $6 SIFF member
Address: SIFF Film Center, Seattle Center
Web: www.siff.net
Artists’ Television Access
Date and time: Friday, 25 April 2014, 8pm
Price: $7 / $10
Address: ATA, 992 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94110
Web: www.atasite.org
No Festival Required @ Space 55
Date and time: Tuesday, 29 April 2014
Price: $6 cash on door
Address: Space 55, 636 E Pierce St, Phoenix, AZ 85004
Web: “http://nofestivalrequired.wordpress.com/upcoming-screenings/”>http://nofestivalrequired.wordpress.com
Exploded View Gallery
Date and time: Wednesday, 30 April 2014, 7.30pm
Price: TBC
Address: Exploded View Gallery, 197 E Toole, Tucson, AZ
Web / box office: “http://explodedviewgallery.org/”>http://explodedviewgallery.org
Echo Park Film Center
Date and time: Thursday, 08 May 2014, 8pm
Price: TBC
Address: Echo Park Film Center, 1200 N Alvarado St. (@ Sunset Blvd.) Los Angeles, CA.
90026
Web: “http://echoparkfilmcenter.org/”>http://echoparkfilmcenter.org
Spectacle Theater
Date and time: Tuesday, 13 May 2014, 8pm
Price: TBC
Address: Spectacle Theater, 124 South 3rd St, Brooklyn, NY, 11211
Web: “http://www.spectacletheater.com/”>www.spectacletheater.com / 0141 352 4900
Hillyer Art Space
Date and time: Thursday, 15 May 2014, 7pm
Price: TBC
Address: Hillyer Art Space, 9 Hillyer Ct NW, Washington, DC 20008
Web: “http://hillyerartspace.org/”>http://hillyerartspace.org / 0141 352 4900
Here I was expecting Tucson to be a hard sell, and the type of town I would feel most alien too. But no, if anything, I felt most comfortable here. Tucsonians are generous, beautiful, creative and friendly people. If you want to feel welcome, come here.
Reception of the Selected 3 programme at Exploded View Gallery was exceptional; applause after each film, whistles, appreciative laughter, sighs – everything in compliment. I was over the moon by the end with a deeply embedded grin on my face.
The screening was followed by interested questions; all the films were talked about, again Sophie Beresford’s Making Adidas Mermaid got attention – loved very much. Lots of curiosity about Cheryl Simmons’ film What are you doing man? They’re cooking my men like sausages. A glorious collage piece that examines reinterpretation and memory.
Exploded View is unique in Tucson; opportunities to show artists’ film and experimental work rely on Rebecca and David’s commitment to the gallery, which is an inspirational example. The University of Arizona’s Center for Creative Photography is worth checking out (the archive gets shown off to the public every Friday), and, off the arts track, there is also the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, a superb department for those interested in dendrochronology.
Tucson also has an amazing desert surrounding it, with huge Saguaro cacti soaring into the sky, perched on the mountain slopes like armies of headless triffids. I was driven into the desert by Carl Hanni, a devoted Tucsonian, who generously took me on a hike to see the Saguaros, desert sunset and endless mountainous landscape.
I leave Tucson with a heavy heart, but with eyes set on LA for Echo Park Film Center and to see some good friends.
