V2_East/Syndicate Newsletter 96/11

[abroeck@v2.nl (Andreas Broeckmann)]

V2_East / Syndicate Newsletter 96/11

- Introduction
- Dates of upcoming events
- Update (Redundant Technology Initiative; Student Fund; Kaleidoscope; VP97
and ISEA98 initiative)
- Institutions (Laznia, Gdansk/PL; E-L@b, Riga/LV)

- General info about the Syndicate list
- Subscription


* Introduction *

Dear Syndicalists,

some of us were lucky to meet in Prague at the CoE conference on Culture,
Communicatin and New Media, or at the opening festival of the E-L@b in Riga
about which Alise sent a report the other day. The Prague conference was a
very curious political event and nobody I have talked to since then could
explain to me what it was actually about. What became clear for me is that
there is quite a gap between the strategies and policies of the large
European organisations and the kind of work that is happening at the level
at which most of us are working. There was a lot of interest in this
network initiative, but the kind of help that we would need seems far too
small to be considered. Plus the fact that we mostly don't have the
resources to put together the complex applications that are required by the
European bureaucracies.

As regards the content of the conference, I hope to get my own notes on
paper in the next days and would be very happy to receive comments from
other people as well. The 'art and technology' theme was certainly relevant
to what we are doing, but the presentations and discussions seemed very
much out of touch with the culture and the politics of our own day-to-day
practice as artists, designers, writers and curators using digital media.
(And then we are also curious to receive reports, for instance, from Novi
Sad, Hamburg, Madrid, Japan, ...)

Many of us are anxiously following the events in Belgrade, where Radio B92
and the rest of the opposition are under attack from the government that
does not want to accept last weeks election victory of the opposition
parties. After disruptions of the transmissions about the ongoing protests
against the government, B92 is now putting radio nieuws onto the Net as
RealAudio files. (Check: http://www.xs4all.nl/~opennet) It is another case
that shows how art, technology and politics have become inseparable, and
how we continuously have to be alert in all these fields.

Please, continue using the list syndicate@aec.at for posting info that is
of interest to the media art community in East and West Europe. And once
again: Some of you have promised info about their institutions and
activities, and I would like to encourage you to write a few sentences -
there are a lot of curious people in this growing network who might be
future partners for your projects. Also, I would like to ask you all to
pass information that might be interesting for people who don't have e-mail
on to those people. Wealth in information comes from exchanging it freely.

Best wishes, and see you soon,
Andreas Broeckmann (V2_East)



* Dates of (some) upcoming events and exhibitions *
(info below or in Newsletter 96/..)

- 18 Oct. 1996 - 30 Sept. 1997: exh. Dawn of the Magicians, Prague/CZ (96/10b)
- 28 November 1996 - 19 January 1997: exh. Discord: Sabotage of Reality,
Hamburg/D (96/10b)
- November 1996 - January 1997: exh. The Human and the Invisible,
Barcelona/ES (96/10b)
- 28 November - 1 December 1996: Circles of Confusion Film&Video Festival,
Berlin/D
- 3 - 5 December 1996: Media Arts: Intercultural Hope or Art without a
Message? Prague/CZ
- 20 - 21 December 1996: Videomedeja, Novi Sad/YU  (96/10b)
- 29 Jan - 9 Feb 1997: 26th International Film Festival Rotterdam/NL (96/10b)
- 29 January - 1 February 1997: 'arte en la era electronica', Barcelona/ES
- 10 -14 February 1997: WSCG'97, Plzen/CZ (96/02)
- 13 - 23 February 1997: Berlinale Film Festival, Berlin/D
- 19 - 21 February1997: Imagina, Monaco
- March 1997: Crossing over Cultures II, Sofia/BG
- 24 March - 27 April 1997: Lab (Media Art Exhibition), Warsaw/PL
- 11 April - 18 May 1997: Video Positive 97, Liverpool & Manchester/UK
- 30 April-4 May 1997: WRO 97, Wroclaw/PL (96/10b)
- 27 - 29 June 1997: INTERACTIVE FRONTIERA, Romania
- 27 - 29 June 1997: Digital World Fair
- 8 -13 September 1997: Ars Electronica Festival, Linz/A
- 24 October 1997: opening Multimediale 5, Karlsruhe/D


* Media Arts: Intercultural Hope or Art without a Message?
Goethe Institut, Prague
3rd - 5th December 1996

The sixth symposium in a series of annual international
interdisciplinary meetings devoted to the legacy of Vilém Flusser.

The speakers are: Michael Bielicky, Lubor Benda, Bernhard Rathmayer, Misko
Pandilovski, Marta Smolikova, Claudio Gallio, George Legrady, Christian
Huebler, Karl Dudesek, Paul Sermon, Nan Hoover, Alexei Shulgin, Edith
Flusser, Milena Slavicka, Miroslav Petricek, Wolfgang Welsch, Bazon Brock,
Ehrhardt Cremers, Volker Grassmuck, Jaroslav Andel.

For more information:
Goethe Institute-Prague:
Mr.Andreas Stroehl
Masarykovo nabrezi 32
111 21 Prague 1
P.O.BOX 1118
tel: 00/42/2/24 91 57 25
fax: 00/42/2/29 94 21


* 'arte en la era electronica - perspectivas de una nueva estetica'
29 January - 1 February 1997
Casa de la Caritat, Centre de Cultura Contemporania de Barcelona

International Congress organised by the Goethe Institut, Barcelona, and the
Cultural Division of
the Diputacio de Barcelona.

Includes artists' presentations, performances and lectures. Among the
participants are:
Juan Millares (Madrid), Mario Costa (Salerno), Edmond Couchot (Paris),
Antoni Muntadas, Malcolm Le Grice (London), Josep M. Catala Domenech
(Barcelona), Lynn Hershman (Davis), Jeffrey Shaw (Karlsruhe), Otto E.
Roessler (Tuebingen), Peter Weibel (Wien), Jorge Wagenburg (Barcelona),
Jose Jimenez (Madrid), Arlindo Machado (Sao Paulo), Siegfried Zielinski
(Koeln), Holger van den Boom (Braunschweig).

For further information:
Goethe Institut di Barcelona
tel. +34-93-317 3886
fax.+34-93-301 0630


* Berlinale Film Festival, Berlin/D
13.-23.2.1997
[re: Videofest - according to my latest information, the Videofest
TransMedia, which normally takes place during the Berlinale, will be
shifted to May in 1997; during the Berlinale, the Videofest team will
probably be organising a number of screenings and smaller events. This info
is, however, as yet unconfirmed.]


* Lab (Media Art Exhibition), Warsaw/PL
24 March -27 April 1997
Further info will be available at
http://sunsite.icm.edu.pl/culture/csw/


* VIDEO POSITIVE 97:   ESCAPING GRAVITY
Liverpool & Manchester
April 11 - May 18, 1997.

The UK's major international festival of art and creative technology is
evolving. After four highly successful festivals the VIDEO POSITIVE
biennale now sets out to explore the changing landscape of electronic media
within which much of the most interesting contemporary art is being made.
The festival will take a critical position in relation to many of the
claims made about technologies, using the theme of escaping gravity  as a
starting point for a journey from the material to the virtual.

ESCAPING GRAVITY looks at new ideas through the lens of desire and
reality. An accelerating shift from the material to the virtual has become
a defining feature of culture and society as we exit the twentieth century.
Certainty is difficult to grasp and the fleeting images from film,
television and other visual media become clues to comprehend this
fast-changing world.

Utilising a large number of venues in both Liverpool and Manchester, its
near though entirely different neighbour. A large number of conventional
[and unconventional] exhibition and performance spaces will be utilised in
both cities. Alongside the exhibition programme, Video positive 97;
Escaping Gravity will feature continuous and special screenings, symposia,
on-line and networked projects, performances, collaboration programme,
projects and a major student conference.

Please contact Rebecca Owen on +44 (0)151 709 2663 or e-mail <fact@fact.co.uk>


* INTERACTIVE FRONTIERA: art on the edge of the future
an international colloquium
proposed to take place in Romania 27-29 June 1997

The object of the meeting would be to increase understanding of current
practice and theory in the field of art and advanced technology, as it
is developing in both Romania and other parts of the world, and would
seek to develop proposals which would advance communication and
collaboration between Romanian artists and those in the field
internationally. The relationship of research to art practice would also
receive attention, as would the impact of new developments in science on
artistic and cultural strategies.

For further info please contact: Joseph NECHVATAL (jnech@imaginet.fr)



* Update *


* Redundant Technology Initiative

I have had questions from several people regarding the possibility of
finding and re-using computers and
other equipment, which are being trashed by companies, for arts projects
and initiatives. There seems to be a lot of demand for such an initiative,
the main problem being that somebody will have to do the work of making all
those phone-calls to companies and arrange the transport and customs
logistics, plus acquisition of further sponsorship of software, etc. It
would be great if anybody had an idea for actually getting this started. I
guess we would either need to formulate this as a project proposal and try
to find some structural support, or we need to find a volunteer who can
invest the necessary time. Suggestions would be very welcome. Please, get
in touch with abroeck@v2.nl.


* Student Fund

Eric Kluitenberg and Andreas Broeckmann have started drawing up a proposal
for a European fund for postgraduate studies in digital media in Western
Europe, for students from Central and Eastern Europe. We are now
approaching schools and training centres that are offering such study
courses and that would be interested in supporting this initiative. If we
can establish it, the fund will be open for applications from students, but
it would be important to have institutional backing that shows that there
is a commitment on the part of the training institutions. For more
information, and if you have suggestions for institutions we should get in
touch with, please contact: eric@scan.media-gn.nl or abroeck@v2.nl.


* Kaleidoscope etc.

The deadline for applications to the Kaleidoscope 1997 programme is 15
January 1997. Check the URLs, or, if you don't have www access, I can send
you the complete document. The money is available, the tough bit is to get
the applications in on time, and complete. Good luck to us all. -a

http://europa.eu.int/en/comm/dg10/dg10.html
http://europa.eu.int/en/comm/dg10/culture/index-en.html


* VP97 and ISEA98 initiative

Iliyana Nedkova from Sofia/BG writes:

I would like to break the good news that I am shortly moving for a
three month training period (25.11.-25.02.97) to the Foundation of Art and
Creative
Technology, FACT, Liverpool, UK after applying successfully to the
Council of Europe - Marcel Hicter Fund, British Council and FACT.
FACT is the UK's leading development agency for video and electronic
media art (formerly known as Moviola).

I will be mainly concerned with promoting East-European multi-media
artists to a wider international context through working for the Video
Positive 97 Biennial of electronic arts and the International
Symposium of Electronic Arts - ISEA 98 that are both organised by
FACT.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHETHER I CAN BE OF ANY ASSISTANCE
TO YOU DURING MY FACT TRAINING.

tel +44 (0) 151 709 2663
fax +44 (0) 151 707 2150
e-mail: fact@fact.co.uk



* Institutions *

*Laznia Multimedia Center, Gdansk/Poland

"We are conducting a project 'Laznia' through the process of creating a
system of open ateliers of multimedia with a meaningful incorporation of
modern forms and ways of shaping artistic opinions. Open ateliers should be
backed by: a gallery that would also play the role of a concert and
performance hall, a discussion and presentation room, editorial room,
office of the foundation, new culture library, philosophy room, a place to
keep artistic objects, and in a further perspective, music studios,
photographic atelier, computer and video studios.
The 'openness' of the studio is understood twofold: as a way of presenting
art and as an invitation of other artists to cooperate. We would like to
form a basis for artistic exchange on a large scale, internationally if
possible. The 'Laznia' has a chance to become a place of creative emerging
values, a place where the gap where artists existed until now will be
bridged through a holistic activity. Where essence will meet existence.
The historic former City Baths in Gdansk at 1 Jaskolcza Str. is located
next to the Island of Granaries. The building area is 1500 sq. metres, and
a volume of 10.000 cu. metres. Many various styles of its character can be
observed inside the building. Since 1992, thanks to the Municipality
Authorities, the building is being utilized by artists."

Laznia Multimedia Center
Fundacja Wyspa Progress
Grzegorz Klaman
Chlebnicka 13/16
80 830 Gdansk
Poland
tel&fax +48-58-312816



* E-L@b, Riga/Latvia

"ART + COMMUNICATION" - First electronic media art conference/festival in
Riga, Latvia <http://www.parks.lv/home/E-LAB/events/fest.html>
Latvia recently has got wired - more and more creative people are getting
used to Internet and other new media facilities. During this year
Electronic Media and Art Centre E-L@B was founded, considering the rising
interest about electronic media. Now, in November 22-23 we - E-L@B
organised the first electronic media art conference/festival in Latvia "Art +
Communication", and officially opened our E-L@B centre.

e-l@b homepage: <http://www.parks.lv/home/E-LAB>
contact: <e-lab@parks.lv> , <rasa@parks.lv> , <alise@parks.lv)
address: 11.Novembra Krastmala 35-94, LV-1050, Riga, Latvia.
tel. +371-7210297



* General Info *

V2_East is an initiative of V2_Organisation Rotterdam, which is aimed at
creating a network of people and institutions who are involved with or
interested in media art in Eastern Europe and which wants to create an
infrastructure that facilitates cooperations between partners in East and
West. With its 'Syndicate' mailing list, website <http://www.v2.nl/east>
and regular meetings, V2_East is becoming an important tool for fostering
ties within the media art community in Europe which makes it increasingly
obsolete to think in term of 'East' and 'West', and which will eventually
make the V2_East initiative itself redundant.

The V2_East/Syndicate is a no-budget network initiative rather than an
institution. <syndicate@AEC.at> is the address of a mailing list which is
dedicated to an exchange of information and ideas relating to the situation
and future development of electronic and media art in Eastern Europe. The
list members include more than 80 artists, curators, networkers, writers,
festival organisers, etc., from East as well as West European countries and
beyond, who, through the 'Syndicate', are trying to improve the
communication and cooperation between artists and organisations in East and
West. The list was first installed following the initial meeting of the
V2_East initiative at V2_Organisation in Rotterdam on January 21, 1996, at
the end of the second Next 5 Minutes conference. During the DEAF96 festival
in September, we held a V2_East Meeting in which around 30 people from 12
different countries participated.


* Subscription *

To subscribe to the syndicate list, please, send a message to
<syndicate-request@aec.at> with the following text in the body of the
message: 'subscribe [email-address]'
For more information about the Syndicate, please, contact <abroeck@v2.nl>
(Andreas Broeckmann).


*Please, send information that you feel should appear in the next edition
of this newsletter (deadline: 28 December 96) to: abroeck@v2.nl.