FreqOUT! visits Liverpool

This week FreqOUT! visited four Liverpool based arts institutions, FACT, Open Eye, The Liverpool Biennial and Tate Liverpool to talk about possibilities for future collaboration and research models of social engagement.



Each gallery/team approached engagement of young people through their programmes in different ways – from delivery of one off and short-term projects related to exhibitions through to rolling activities and services for local communities. All groups agreed that gratuitous imposition of ‘do-gooding’ arts activities on communities were not useful, but that thoughtful matching of high calibre artists with communities who express a wish to extend their skills and experience in stated directions were worthwhile.

There was a universal desire for sensitive facilitation to ensure that programmes match the triumvirate of needs of artists, communities and institutions, which result in creatively credible material and meaningful exchange between people. And of course all four were searching for further sustainable funding which with to achieve this.

Thanks very much to Patrick at Open Eye, Renae at Biennial, Angharad at FACT and Naomi at TATE Liverpool.

You can find out more about the galleries/events through the links below:
FACT / Foundation for Film, Art & Creative Technology
Open Eye Gallery
The Liverpool Biennial
TATE Liverpool / Young TATE

FreqOUT! artist debuts soundwork in New York

This week FreqOUT!lead artist and tutor Mellissa Bliss launched her new soundwork 'THE TELEPHONE TOUR'which will run until 13 January 2007.

The work is part of 'Peter Stuyvesant's Ghost', a civic art project in Manhattan which celebrates Dutch Art & Culture Past and Present. The project takes place within the footprint of the 17th century farm of Peter Stuyvesant, the last Dutch Governor, in what is now the East Village.

THE TELPHONE TOUR is a series of soundworks by US and international artists delivered through telephones. The public can download the map and walk round the locations marked, calling numbers from the pay phones or mobiles at each location.

Melissa's soundworks were also heard on Michelle Nagai's Dutch Days Radio Hour on free103point9 daily 15-19 November 2006.

The project is documented on Melissa's website Living Cinema

You can find out more at:

THE TELEPHONE TOUR - MAP AND INSTRUCTIONS
PETER STUYVESANT'S GHOST
FREE103POINT9
DUTCH DAYS IN FIVE BOROUGHS

Things We Like! - Trading Places

The South Bank Centre has been working with people of Lower Marsh on a project that discovers the hidden poetry of everyday places. The project haas bee running in partnership with the Lomography Society (a Lomo is a small russain built camera distinctive in taking images which produce photographs with a darkened 'halo' effect around the edge of the frame)and inspire by local residents and the begining of teh South Bank's Poetry Festival.

The project has culminated in an interactive sonic and photographic exhibition outside the Royal Festival Hall. While the building is undergoing reconstruction the installation provide a welcome focal point for visitors. Passers by are encouraged to touch a photograph on the 'lomo wall', which will trigger the playing of a related sound recorded in Lower marsh Street.

Find out more at:
The South Bank / Trading Places
The international Lomographic Society

Things We Like! - Turning virtual reality into objects

Rajiv Kumar of Vertex, a member of teh freqOUT! Steering Group has brough the following link to our attention...Sketch Furniture

The Swedish, 'design as performance' group FRONT have developed and explored the Motion Capture as a technique that translates motion into 3D-files. Motion capture is mostly used for animations in movies and computer games. Front have used the technique to record the tip of a pen when they draw pieces of furniture in the air during their theatrical activities.

Rapid Prototyping is a technique that materializes 3D-files. A laser beam builds the 3D-file layer by layer within a liquid plastic material. Every 0.1mm the liquid harden by a laser beam. After a few hours, the 3D-files come out as materialised pieces - each FRONT performance results in newly made furniture!

Front performed their extroadinary performance at Art Basel and Miami / Design 05 and at Tokyo Wonder between 31 October – 5 November this year. The project is made in collaboration with Barry Friedman Ltd.

To see other reviews go to:
PC News
Hacked Gadgets

Art Of The Digital Age - book launch and lecture

This week FreqOUT! attended the launch of the book 'Art of The Digital Age' by New York Digital Salon pioneer and new media art academic Bruce Wands. The launch, hosted by James Faure-Walker at Camberwell School of Art included a short lecture of the history of digital art by Bruce Wands, and guest speakers William Lathom and network artist Ilza Black (Porta 2030/AmbientTV).



Bruce Wands was particularly interesting when talking about works included in the installation, or 'immersive experience' catergory such as Char Davies user controlled fly through piece called 'Ephemere' from 2003 and Erwin Redl's LED works (shown on the front of the book jacket).

Ilza's contemporary, socially engaged perspective brought a refreshing criticality into the arena. Her talk covered the use of mobile and wireless networks to highlight connectivity (Usman Haacke's mobile phone project and John Gail's wireless umbrella's which light up as they detect a 'friend' within range) and the varied use of personal data in a digital age.

You can find out more about the book and the speakers and the below:
Thames and Hudson / Art Of The Digital Age
Camberwell Schoolof Art / James Faure Walker
NY Digital Salon / Bruce Wands
Porta 2030 / Ilza Black

CHArt Conference

This week FreqOUT! attended the CHArt (Computers In the History of Art) Conference at The Clore Lecture Theatre, Birkbeck College in Central London.

This year, the focus bringing togather the lectures, PHD papers and demosntrations was, 'Fast Forward - Art history, curation and practice after media'. A hightlight was a panel session from CRUMB (AKA Sarah Cook, Beryl Graham and Ele Carpenter, University of Sunderland) and their paper on curating new media art.

Another was from Katrien Berte of the Department of Communication Sciences at Ghent University who spoke on 'User Requirements for a 'Virtual Arts Centre of the Future''. Her research into the leisure activities of Belgian citizens has found that a new layer of culture comsumers are emerging consisting of minimumly educated young people who experience culture (music, film, games) only online. Her department found this group will enter a virtual cultural centre (museum/arts venue) online, but not in the real world. Based on this research the Belgian authorities are focusing more resources on developing online cultural information and digitally delivered activities to this group.

You can read the abstracts and papers at http://www.chart.ac.uk