<videovortex> AV Festival 08 - starts today!

[Honor Harger]

Dear Friends,

I hope this email finds you well.

AV Festival 08: Broadcast <http://www.avfestival.co.uk/> begins today 
with the opening of many exhibitions and the launch of our three 
festival radio stations.

Some of the highlights of the opening weekend are outlined below.
Further highlights will be announced in coming days.

Very best wishes

Honor Harger
Director, AV Festival 08
http://www.avfestival.co.uk/



AV FESTIVAL 08 - STARTS TODAY!

AV Festival 08
http://www.avfestival.co.uk/
Newcastle, Gateshead, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, UK
28 February - 8 March 2008

The AV Festival <http://www.avfestival.co.uk/> is a biennial 
international festival of electronic art, moving image and music. AV 
Festival 08: Broadcast will take place across the three urban areas of 
NewcastleGateshead, Sunderland & Middlesbrough, 28 February - 8 March 
2008.

The theme of the festival is broadcast.

The UK has begun to switch off analogue television signals, paving the 
way for television to become entirely digital. At the same time the 
internet and mobile networks have created opportunities for us to 
'broadcast ourselves' in entirely new ways.  As the landscape of 
broadcasting changes irrevocably, AV Festival 08 will be a catalyst for 
debate about the future of broadcasting, and an event to celebrate a 
century of on-air and online transmission.

AV Festival 08: Broadcast features of over 100 new commissions, 
exhibitions, screenings, concerts, workshops and events.


___AV Festival 08: Highlights

Our opening weekend is focused on Newcastle & Gateshead.  Highlights 
include:

- Broadcast Yourself - Various artists
http://www.avfestival.co.uk/programme/events/broadcast_yourself
This international group exhibition, co-curated by Sarah Cook and Kathy 
Rae Huffman, includes a selection of TV, video installation and 
web-based works which demonstrate how artists have successfully 
challenged the dominant culture of television since the 1960s. The 
exhibition includes artists who have taken TV technology and turned it 
into a performance space, a cultural forum, and an interactive media 
platform, as well as projects which document how artists are now using 
the Internet to broadcast themselves.
The single channel video broadcast on television by Stan Douglas, Chris 
Burden, and Ian Breakwell (his landmark diaries made for the launch of 
Channel4 twenty-fix years ago) will be experienced through the 
recreation of a period living room for watching TV. Also included are:
Bill Viola's 'Reverse Television: Portraits of Viewers' (1983/4); 
'Piazza Virtuale' by Van Gogh TV (1992);  'Hole in Space' (1980) by Kit 
Galloway and Sherrie Rabinowitz; 'KhirkeeYaan' (2006) by Shaina Anand  
and many other works.
Visitors to the exhibition will also be able to make and stream their 
own celebrity-style television interviews in the gallery with the 
restaging of the online web project MakeTV (2006) by artist group 
Active Ingredient (Rachel Jacobs and Matt Watkins)


- Yokomono by the Staalplaat Soundsystem
http://www.avfestival.co.uk/programme/events/staalplaat
Yokomono is one of the best known projects of Staalplaat Soundsystem 
founded by Geert-Jan Hobijn and  Carsten Stabenow. Four cars called 
'vinyl killers' will run round specially made vinyl records. Each one 
is effectively a record player, fitted with a wireless FM transmitter 
which sends signals to stacks of radios piled up in Newcastle's 
alt.gallery.


- Bairdcast: A History of Machine Translation - Yuko Mohri (exhibition, 
commission)
http://www.avfestival.co.uk/programme/events/bairdcast-media
Japanese media artist Yuko Mohri, has created a new installation for AV 
Festival 08 inspired by the work of TV pioneer John Logie Baird.  The 
installation at Newcastle's Discovery Museum reflects Yuko Mohri's take 
on old and new television technologies.


- 3 radio stations, - AV Festival on NE1FM, Resonance FM at mima & 
Soundscape FM
http://www.avfestival.co.uk/onair
AV Festival 08 has three radio stations all broadcasting on FM. If you 
live in NewcastleGateshead, Sunderland or Middlesbrough you'll be able 
to tune in any time 24 hours a day from 28 February - 8 March. These 
special radio stations will be broadcasting radio art, news, music, 
live concerts and special programmes from across the festival to your 
radio.


- the AV Festival 08 Opening Gala, featuring John Cage's Variations VII
http://www.avfestival.co.uk/programme/events/opening-gala
On BALTIC's Level 1, as part of AV Festival 08's opening gala, one of 
John Cage's most noted performances is to be recreated for the first 
time in the UK. The original Variations VII took place at 9 Evenings: 
Theatre & Engineering in New York, in 1966. Cage intended the work to 
transform the building into a broadcast space. Alongside, radios and 
televisions collecting sounds, there were 10 phone lines connected to 
city locations. Photoelectric cells triggered different sound sources 
off and on as the performers moved around. The aim, said Cage, was to 
"go fishing" for sounds. AV Festival 08 are staging an entirely new 
version of the work, performed by an exceptional ensemble - Atau 
Tanaka, Matt Wand, and Newcastle duo :zoviet*france:
After Variations VII, Staalplaat Soundsystem will delight visitors by 
orchestrating a wireless symphony with a performance version of 
Yokomono.


- Music & Machines VIII  - AV Festival 08 conference
http://www.avfestival.co.uk/programme/events/music-and-machines
This international two day conference will present different ways that 
artists and musicians engage with radio and broadcast technologies. 
Douglas Kahn, Brandan LaBelle (Norway/USA), Tetsuo Kogawa (Japan), 
Marko Peljhan (Slovenia), Sneha Solanki (UK), Laura Kuhn (USA), Julie 
Martin (USA) and others all feature on Day 1. Atau Tanaka 
(UK/Japan/USA), Heidi Grundmann (Austria), Andreas Broeckmann 
(Germany), Tao G. Vrhovec Sambolec (Slovenia) and others, all feature 
on Day 2.


- Radiophonia - by Broadcast, Dick Mills ( BBC Radiophonic Workshop), 
Jean-Jacques Perrey et al
http://www.avfestival.co.uk/programme/events/radiophonia
Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, 
original workshop member Dick Mills will give an illustrated talk about 
their work. Radiophonia also includes an appearance by the legendary 
Jean-Jacques Perrey, whose inventive work since the 1950s firmly placed 
electronic music within popular culture and influenced a generation. + 
a radiophonic DJ set by the UK band Broadcast and a live performance by 
electronic artist Brian Duffy in collaboration with a participation 
group from The Sage Gateshead.


- Waygood's Amateur Radio Rally
http://www.avfestival.co.uk/programme/events/radio-rally
A radio rally in the Grainger Market, Newcastle, in collaboration with 
Waygood Gallery which has created a new Arts Amateur Radio Club to 
explore the creative possibilities of the medium.


- Reality Soundtrack by Tao G. Vrhovec Sambolec
http://www.avfestival.co.uk/programme/events/reality-soundtrack
Reality Soundtrack by Tao G. Vrhovec Sambolec is a moving sound 
intervention in public spaces. 25 or more participants equipped with 
small radio receivers walk together through the city, all transmitting 
the same electronic composition, broadcasted from a radio station. The 
goal of the intervention is to transpose an actual situation in public 
space onto a plane of fictionality. The sound intervention alters the 
mode of perception of a random passer-by listener. That which a 
listener sees becomes a fiction and support for that which he or she 
hears.


- Autechre with SND & Rob Hall
http://www.avfestival.co.uk/programme/events/autechre
Autechre bring angular machine music to the masses, celebrating their 
new album Quaristice (Warp). This unfeasibly popular duo take the 
sounds of Todd Terry, Mantronik and Kraftwerk, jam them through 
corrupted hardware, and bring Cage and Stockhausen to the dancefloor. 
In the dark. Also in attendance will be Sheffield's clicks n' cuts funk 
duo SND and Rob Hall of Gescom and Manchester's legendary Skam label.


- Desert Island TV
http://www.avfestival.co.uk/programme/events/desert-island
Listeners to BBC Radio 4 will be familiar with the iconic show Desert 
Island Discs, which asks well- known personalities to choose the songs 
which have been the soundtrack to their lives.
In this twist on the broadcast classic, we have asked two very special 
guests along.
We're delighted to announce that North East broadcasting legend Paddy 
MacDee who talked his way to the top of the radio tree many years ago 
and is currently riding on the crest of an airwave with his popular 
late night show on BBC Radio Newcastle will be under the spotlight as 
he is interviewed about the television programmes that have shaped his 
life.






___ AV Festival 08: programme

The full programme can be downloaded or viewed online: 
http://www.avfestival.co.uk/programme

Forthcoming commissions & premieres include:

- A Marriage of Shadows - by Michael Edgerton (concert, world premiere)
- Aeriology - by Joyce Hinterding (exhibition, UK Premiere)
- Atlas of Electromagnetic Space - (installation, co-commission)
- Deep Play - Harun Farocki (exhibition, UK Premiere)
- Now Hear This - Marcus Coates, Zoe Irvine & People Like Us (outdoor 
sound works, commissions)
- War of the Worlds - directed by Joanna Read (theatrical performance, 
commission)
- Scatter! - by Marko Peljhan (performance, commission)
- Whispering in the Leaves - Chris Watson (installation & performance, 
co-commission)
- AV:ISIONs Club & lounge nights - various dates
- Disinformation & Strange Attractor - in National Grid - 5 March
- Prepared Radios - Ryota Kuwakubo
- Slow TV - Various artists
- Artists' Talks by José Luis de Vicente & Irma Vilà, Chris Watson, 
Yuko Mohri & others
- At the Top of the Game: Jimmy McGovern - a talk by the celebrated 
television writer
- Northern Screenwriters Conference 2008  - a conference for 
screenwriters - 4 - 5 March
- The Television Will Not Be Revolutionised - a 2-day debate on 
broadcasting featuring Bill Thompson and others - 6 - 7 March

Download the full programme online: 
http://www.avfestival.co.uk/programme


___AV Festival 08: tickets
http://www.avfestival.co.uk/tickets

Tickets to all AV Festival events are on sale from the AV Festival Box 
Office at the Tyneside Cinema.
Phone:  +44 191 232 8289
Email:  bookings at avfestival.co.uk

** Tickets are already selling out for major events so book now if you 
wish to attend **


___AV Festival 08: organisation
http://www.avfestival.co.uk/about

AV Festival 08 is organised by Audio Visual Arts North East and forms 
part of NewcastleGateshead's world-class festivals and events programme 
managed by culture10, based at NewcastleGateshead Initiative.


___AV Festival 08: supporters
http://www.avfestival.co.uk/supporters

Arts Council England, North East, Newcastle City Council, Gateshead 
Council, ONE NorthEast, Middlesbrough Council, Sunderland City Council, 
Tyneside Cinema, Northern Film & Media, UK Film Council, European 
Regional Development Fund, V.

Event Supporters: Anime projects, Castle Keep, Digista, The Leverhulme 
Trust, MAP, Media Routes, Ormiston Wires, PRS Foundation, Triple Echo.

AV has developed close working relationships with some of the region's 
key cultural organisations. Our partners include alt.gallery, BALTIC, 
Centre for LIFE, Centre for Excellence In Teaching and Learning Music 
and Inclusivity (Newcastle University), Cineworld, Cornerhouse, CRUMB, 
CultureLab (Newcastle University), Design Centre (University of 
Sunderland), Discovery Museum, forma, IDI (University of Teesside), 
ISIS, Locus+, mima, Media Centre (University of Sunderland), Mobile 
Cinema, National Glass Centre, Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, 
NE1 FM, No-Fi, NOVAK, Northern Screenwriters Conference, Reg Vardy 
Gallery, Resonance FM, /slab, Star & Shadow Cinema, Sunderland Museum & 
Winter Gardens, The Hatton Gallery, The Sage Gateshead, Tyne & Wear 
Museums, Waygood, Multistorey, White Hot Communications, Velcrobelly & 
Evolve.


___AV Festival 08: contacts

For more information contact:

AV Festival
c/o Tyneside Cinema at Gateshead Old Town Hall
West Street
Gateshead
NE8 1HE
UK
Tel: +44 (0)191 2328289, ext 112
Email: info at avfestival.co.uk
http://www.avfestival.co.uk/

The AV Festival is run by Audio Visual Arts North East. A Company 
Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England No 06141603. Registered 
Charity Number 1120368.  Registered Office: c/- Tyneside Cinema at the 
Old Town Hall, Gateshead, West Street, Gateshead, NE8 1HE, UK