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Book now for The Great Glen Artists Airshow

01/09/2010

Dalcrombie, Loch Ruthven, Inverness-shire, Scotland, UK and Outlandia , Glen Nevis, Lochaber
18 and 19 September 2010

Online booking is now open for The Great Glen Artists Airshow, the third airshow presented by The Arts Catalyst.  This time created in partnership with the Highland Institute of Contemporary Art (HICA) and London Fieldworks' Outlandia artist's treehouse project in Glen Nevis.

The Airshow focuses on an abstract meaning of 'Air': the notion of air as information, matter and space, as well as a metaphor for artists moving beyond the constraints of gravity. Taking inspiration from it's location it will feature new artist's projects in the landscape surrounding H-I-C-A as well as a talks programme and bus tour.

Saturday 18 September free performances and events at HICA 2-5pm

• an airborne investigation of wind currents above Loch Ruthven by Dutch artists Esther Polak and Ivar van Bekkum. Polak will be extending her inventive use of global positioning (GPS) technology in her live performance beside the water in this collaboration.  
• Bruce Gilchrist and Jo Joelson of London Fieldworks will present new work, installed in the woodland behind the loch, which imagines the flight path of birds as augurs, or omens, part of an ancient tradition of divination by birds. This new project was made in collaboration with a former hunter turned bird guide in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest. London Fieldworks are also the creators of Outlandia, the destination of the Sunday bus tour event.  
• Poet and artist Alec Finlay will read Sky-wheels poems beneath a wind turbine reached through the woodland.
• Brazilian artist Camila Sposati will create a vast smoke drawing across the horizon of the fell, Yellow Vanishing Point, tracing the landscape, perspectives and contours of the hills, in an ephemeral performance that dissolves into the ether.
• Participatory flying of 'supremacist kites' by artist, Susanne Norregard Nielsen, suitable for those with kite-flying experience.

Open Air meal at HICA 5-8pm

The Territory of the Air, HICA 6-7.30pm.  Free progamme of talks by artists about the military/industrial and aerospace presence in remote places such as Scotland.

• Artist, Louise K Wilson will discuss her Spadeadam project in which she attempted to trace the remains of Britain's cancelled space programme, Blue Streak
• Gair Dunlop will provide insights into his photographic and video work relating to contemporary archaeology of the airfield and his forthcoming project at the nuclear reactor Dounreay
• Esther Polak will talk about the implications and possibilities of increased civilian uses of GPS technologies
• Claudia Zeiske, Director, Deveron Arts and cultural activist will talk about Walking and Art, in relation to Huntly’s Walking Festival and the recent residency at Deveron arts by Hamish Fulton

Sunday 19 September - Perambulatory bus tour of the Great Glen, 10am-5pm, conducted by artist Adam Dant, in conversation with The Arts Catalyst curator Rob La Frenais.  This day-long event takes place along the length of the spectacular glen and will reveal unusual and possibly hidden aspects of Loch Ness and the Caledonian canal with the aid of a new ‘aerial map’, Biblioteque Outlandia, devised by Dant.  The climax of the journey will be the arrival at and the first public unveiling of Outlandia, the tree house for artists, which will be inhabited by Adam Dant in the manner of the Scottish enlightenment. Dant will be the first of many artists to transform the Utopian aerial studio, devised and designed by London Fieldworks as a long-term artists project for Fort William. 

Booking

The Great Glen Artists’ Airshow is a very special participatory weekend event.  Capacity is limited so please register and indicate when booking which events you will be taking part in - the Saturday daytime events, evening talks and Sunday bus tour. The Saturday events are free except for the Open Air meal - £10 (£5 for under 14s) in advance or £12 (£5) cash on the day. Please indicate whether you need vegetarian food.  Bus tour tickets cost £15 (£10 concessions) and £10 for lunch (if you are travelling independently please book a lunch-only ticket at £10).

Participants should be aware that some walking on steep, boggy and uneven ground at both Loch Ruthven and Glen Nevis.  There will be some climbing over fences and up steep inclines - fitness, suitable footwear and clothing will be needed.

Book Online now

The Great Glen Artists Airshow

Further Instructions

23/08/2010

Situated on the experimental edge of the London Design Festival, the show features two new projects: one exploring the use of tumour targeting nano-gold particles as hypothetical family heirlooms, the other proposing the use of feral pigeons and synthetic biology for aesthetic interventions in urban metabolisms.

22-26 September, Wednesday 10am-3pm, Thursday-Saturday 10am-6pm, Sunday 10am-4pm
The Arts Catalyst, 50-54 Clerkenwell Road, London EC1M 5PS.

Artists' websites

www.revitalcohen.com, www.tuurvanbalen.com

Arctic Perspective in Dortmund

11/07/2010

The Arctic Perspective Initiative (API) is a non-profit, international group of individuals and organizations whose goal is to direct attention to the global cultural and ecological significance of the polar regions. These are zones of contemporary geopolitical conflict and at the same time potential spaces for transnational and intercultural cooperation and collaboration. The exhibition Arctic Perspective documents the development of a mobile work and habitation system which can be used for nomadic dwelling, environmental monitoring and media based work “on the land”, away from the established Arctic settlements as well as its connection to traditional knowledge and culture. The exhibition focuses on the notions of architecture, geopolitics, autonomy, technology, and landscape, while featuring other positive, northern initiatives and projects that reflect these notions and values of API.

Related articles and events

• Arctic Perspective in London
• Arctic Perspective Initiative
• Arctic Perspective Cahier No. 1: Architecture
• Arctic Perspective Initiative media workshops in Iqaluit
• Arctic Perspective Initiative (blog)

Antennae’s Interspecies issue

28/06/2010

Interspecies communication is now more than ever a key topic in contemporary academic and artistic debates.  Through the propelling enthusiasm and deep anxieties characteristic of recent post-humanism approaches, interspecies communication has become something of a chimerical entity. We all, in one way or another, communicate to animals, especially with our closest pets. The cat and the dog have co-habited with us long enough to allow the development of a shared syntax made of body language, sounds, habits and rituals which enable a bi-lateral communication. Anthropomorphism plays, of course, a part in our communicational exchanges with animals. When do we really see the real animal, or when do we just see ourselves reflected in it?

This issue of Antennae is entirely dedicated to Interspecies, an exhibition, curated by The Arts Catalyst, that bravely gathered the work of eight artists whose practice is entirely dedicated to bridging of the communicational boundaries between animals and humans. Through an inventive and original set of methodologies, each artist established communicational exchanges
with the animal, aiming at overcoming the anthropomorphic format.

The Arts Catalyst deals with many varied areas connected with art, science and society, but when it comes to animal studies and surrounding issues they had a lot to discover. As Rob La Frenais, curator of The Arts Catalyst explains: “When we decided to develop a project to coincide with Darwin 200 and had a few ideas about what was out there. We knew Donna Haraway had moved from cyborgs to biological species (or dogs at least) and were aware of the strong feelings generated with the public by issues about animal experimentation. But, like diving into a deep pool, we became aware of a huge community of interest into whose affairs we were swimming. Thanks, animal studies crowd, for waiting for us to catch up”.

That strong commitment to a very charged field of scrutiny has been reflected by the extraordinary efforts of the Interspecies artists. Kira O'Reilly endured extreme weather and sleeplessness in her work Falling asleep with a pig, and redesigned a second piece completely, after discussing the work in a pub by Donna Haraway. Anthony Hall struggled to keep his fish alive after a mystery illness killed a few, and kept a unique animal-human communication system going despite great difficulty. Ruth Maclennan spent days and days observing men and their hawks, bringing back extraordinary and intimate footage of their interaction on the Northumberland moors. As for the animals involved, we cannot comment without entering an ethical minefield, but we hope that, in the process, we kept them warm and well fed.

With the existing work by Rachel Mayeri bringing new insights into links between smouldering glances and baboon betrayal and Snaebornsdottir/Wilson's Radio Animal caravan injecting a unique social focus to the exhibition by collecting stories about infestation and invasion by animals, Interspecies has offered fresh and original perspectives on human-animal relations for new audiences. The artist who most of all inspired this project, Nicholas Primat has unfortunately passed away. This issue is dedicated to Primat, who died a year ago.

Giovanni Aloi
Editor in Chief, Antennae Project

Rob La Frenais
Curator, The Arts Catalyst

Interspecies London and Interspecies London symposium, October 2009

 

 

 

 

Related articles and events

• INTERSPECIES - artists collaborating with animals (blog)
• Interspecies collisions (blog)
• Interspecies opening pics (blog)

Arctic Perspective Cahier No. 1: Architecture

21/05/2010

Arctic Perspective Cahier No. 1: Architecture
€ 19.80
ORDER ONLINE

Edited by Andreas Müller, graphic design by Ziga Testen
English
2010. 148 pp., 92 ills., 16 in color
16,50 x 24,00 cm hardcover
ISBN 978-3-7757-2679-5

This cahier documents the Arctic Perspective Initiative (API)'s open architecture competition to design a mobile media-based work and habitation unit, capable of functioning in extreme cold and powered by renewable energy, and explores the manifold questions surrounding the Arctic and its architecture through a series of commissioned essays by Robert Kronenburg, Marilyn Walker, Carsten Krohn and Jeremie Michael McGowan, with contributions by John Ross and Stijn Verhoeff, Matthew Biederman and Marko Peljhan.

The cahier is edited by Andreas Muller and published by Hatje Cantz and the API partners, HMKV, Projekt Atol, C-TASC, Lorna and The Arts Catalyst.

Forthcoming cahiers in the Arctic Perspective Initiative series:
Cahier No 2: Landscape. Editor: Inke Arns
Cahier No 3: Geopolitics & Autonomy. Editors: Michael Bravo & Nicola Triscott
Cahier No 4: Technology. Editor: Adam Hyde

Arctic Perspective Initiative media workshops in Iqaluit

17/05/2010

Team members of the Arctic Perspective Initiative (API)  - Marko Peljhan, Matthew Biederman, August Black - are in Iqualuit in the Canadian Arctic giving free workshop presentations on open source and free software tools for video and audio production and distrbution. The workshops are for local independent media video and audio producers and are running from 18 - 23 May. Interested participants will take part in a live stream to Canada House, London, on 20 May during the talk Contemporary Nomadism: Autonomy & Technology in the North at the opening of the Arctic Perspective exhibition. 

Related articles and events

• Arctic Perspective Initiative
• Arctic Perspective in London
• Arctic Perspective Initiative (blog)

Arctic Perspective in London

13/05/2010

The Arctic Perspective Initiative is an international group of artists, designers and media workers, led by artists Marko Peljhan and Matthew Biederman with collaborators Nejc Trost, Samo Stopar, Andrej Bizjak together with Miha Bratina and Ziga Testen. Partners include HMKV (Germany), Projekt Atol (Slovenia), C-TASC (Canada), Lorna (Iceland) and The Arts Catalyst (UK).

Arctic Perspective highlights the cultural, geopolitical and ecological significance of the Arctic and its indigenous cultures. The London exhibition presents work from the project's collaboration with the people of Igloolik, Kinngait, Iqaluit, Mittimatalik and Kanngiqtugaapik in Nunavut, Canada, and other Arctic communities. The focus of this work is the design of a habitable mobile media unit, and infrastructure, to be powered by renewable energy sources. Designed to be used by Inuit and other people of the Arctic for creative media production such as filmmaking, communications and monitoring the environment, the unit’s mobility is essential for those living away from settlements for periods of up to two weeks, moving, living and working on the land.

Arctic Perspective Initiative

Contemporary Nomadism: Autonomy & Technology in the North

For more press information please contact: Jo Fells .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Related articles and events

• Arctic Perspective Initiative
• Arctic Perspective Initiative (blog)

Save the date for the next Artists Airshow

28/04/2010

Dalcrombie, Loch Ruthven, Inverness-shire, Scotland, UK
18 and 19 September 2010

Save the date for the third Arts Catalyst Artists Airshow, a two-day event that takes place in rural Inverness-shire 18/19 September. This event is being created in partnership with the Highland Institute of Contemporary Art (HICA) and London Fieldworks' Outlandia artist's treehouse project in Glen Nevis.

The Great Glen Airshow focuses on an abstract meaning of 'Air': the notion of air as information, matter and space, as well as a metaphor for artists moving beyond the constraints of gravity. Taking inspiration from it's location it will feature new artist's projects in the landscape surrounding H-I-C-A as well as a talks programme and bus tour. Keep watching this website for more details or sign up for The Arts Catalyst international e-bulletin here.

The Great Glen Artists Airshow

Available for tour - The Case of the Deviant Toad

22/04/2010

Following it's very positive reception at the Royal Institution, Brandon Ballengée's exhibition is now available for touring.

The accompanying art|science|ecology book Malamp: The Occurance of Deformities in Amphibians, published by The Arts Catalyst and Yorkshire Sculpture Park also available now.

The exhibition presents specimens, video works and high-resolution scanned images of malformed toads by the artist and ecological researcher Brandon Ballengée and addresses ideas around biodiversity and ecological change, and particularly focuses on global species decline.

For more details about exhibition touring please contact:

Gillean Dickie .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 020 7375 3690

Related articles and events

• The Case of the Deviant Toad
• Malamp: The Occurrence of Deformities in Amphibians, Brandon Ballengée.
• Deformed toadlets in Yorkshire Sculpture Park (blog)

Malamp: The Occurrence of Deformities in Amphibians, Brandon Ballengée.

29/01/2010

Malamp: The Occurrence of Deformities in Amphibians, Brandon Ballengée. Edited by Nicola Triscott/Miranda Pope.

To coincide with  The Case of the Deviant Toad exhibition at the Royal Institution we are launching Malamp, The Occurrence of Deformities in Amphibians by Brandon Ballengée. This monograph, jointly published by The Arts Catalyst and Yorkshire Sculpture Park, brings together Ballengée’s UK research with findings from his global amphibian studies. It includes texts on his practice from arts, science and ecological perspectives, including a keynote essay by the renowned art critic and curator Lucy R Lippard. Additional contributors include Clare Lilley, Head Curator at Yorkshire Sculpture Park; Nicola Triscott, Director of The Arts Catalyst; Dr Stanley K Sessions, Professor of Biology, Hartwick College and Dr Kerry Kriger, Director of Save the Frogs. The publication is richly illustrated with extraordinary photographs, Ballengée’s drawings and other artworks.

Malamp: The Occurrence of Deformities in Amphibians, Brandon Ballengée. Edited by Nicola Triscott/Miranda Pope. 72 page, softback. £15.95. ISBN 978-0-9534546-7-9

Buy online at Cornerhouse.

Announcing Autonomous Infrastructures symposium

15/12/2009

Planetary Breakdown - autonomous infrastructures for sustainable futures

BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead
Wednesday 10 March 2010, 10am-6pm
£40/£30 concessions (incuding lunch and refreshments)
Bursaries are available for artists, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
This one-day symposium brings together an exceptional range of artists, academics and other industry experts to look at future approaches to living. It will explore the possibility of creating new autonomous infrastructures across energy, trade and transport, offering a space for everyone to contribute to an active dialogue about our futures. Confirmed speakers include: writer on Utopian Futures Malcolm Miles and international artists Lise Autogena, HeHe, Bruce Gilchrist and Jo Joelson, Kate Rich, Ashok Sukumaran and Shaina Anand. Following the symposium, at 6.30pm, AV Festival 10 and BALTIC present a free lecture by artist Gustav Metzger, booking required.
Produced by Intersections (Newcastle University), The Arts Catalyst and AV Festival 10.

Bookings

Downloads

• AV Festival 10 brochure pdf

The Case of the Deviant Toad

14/12/2009

The Arts Catalyst, the contemporary art organisation that creates bridges between artists and scientists as they address issues about our changing world, presents an exhibition of specimens, video works and high-resolution scanned images of malformed toads by the artist and ecological researcher Brandon Ballengée.

The exhibition is accompanied by the launch of a new art|science|ecology book by Brandon Ballengée, Malamp: The Occurence of Deformities in Amphibians, published by The Arts Catalyst and Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

Ballengée's artistic practice is immersed in the study and exchange of ideas around biodiversity and ecological change, and particularly focuses on global species decline. His practice incorporates primary biological research, ecological surveys, field trips, environmental activism and exhibitions, often collaborating with scientists and members of the public.

Ballengee, now based in New York. has worked with The Arts Catalyst since 2006 leading field trips to Gunpowder Park, Essex and Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield to collect specimens, highlighting environmental changes which impact on biodiversity. 

Events:

Monday 15 March 2010

6.30pm Café Scientifique - discussion about the work of artist and ecological researcher Brandon Ballengée, chaired by Nicola Triscott, Director of The Arts Catalyst

7.30pm Book launch and exhibition opening

Exhibition open 16 – 31 March 2010, Monday to Friday, 9am to 11pm.  Admission free

For more details and images please contact:

Jo Fells .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 020 7375 3690

 

Related articles and events

Winners of Arctic Perspective Initiative announced

01/12/2009

Three architects – Richard Carbonnier (Canada), Giuseppe Mecca (Italy), and Catherine Rannou (France) – have been selected as the joint winners of the Arctic Perspective Initiative open architecture competition. The challenge of this international competition was to design a zero-footprint mobile research unit for use by local populations in the Arctic. The unit is intended to facilitate a diverse range of technological research opportunities, such as remote sensing, environmental monitoring, video editing and streaming, and communications systems.

The three winning entries, each awarded €1500, were selected by an expert jury from 103 submissions from architects and engineers in more than 30 countries. The competition was the first phase of a design process, the next phase of which will involve working with the winning submissions through a collaborative design effort with local community members from Nunavut, Canada. A prototype unit will be tested in the field next year in Igloolik, Nunavut, by local media workers, hunters, youth and elders of the community.

API is committed to the empowerment and sustainable development of Northern communities through the collaboration and combination of science, arts, engineering and culture. The unit aims to serve as a model for mobile research in the north, incorporating proven local expertise, sustainable resources, and high tech solutions, while promoting open source data sharing strategies and management. All required power will come from green sources.

The Arctic Perspective Initiative (API) is a transnational art, science, and culture work group composed of HMKV (Germany), The Arts Catalyst (UK), Projekt Atol (Slovenia), Lorna (Iceland) and C-TASC (Canada), API is the brainchild of Marko Peljhan and Matthew Biederman, who met and worked together for the first time as crewmembers of the Makrolab in Blair Atholl, Scotland in 2002, a project produced by The Arts Catalyst.

For more information:

Contact Nicola Triscott, director on 020 7375 3690 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Downloads

• API Press Release

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