WATERPIECES 2011

Festival 2011

As usual at the start of September we will begin the new working year and colourful autumn with the Waterpieces International Contemporary and Video Art Festival which this year will take place over three days from 8-10 September on AB Dambis, as well as at the NOASS and Betanovuss Floating Arts Centre.

We will begin the second decade of the festival with video programmes from the “Japan Media Arts Festival” and “The archive of the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen”, as well as showcasing “CologneOFF – Video Art in the Global Context” – a three day travelling festival exhibition.

Cologne Off is a festival that has evolved from the Cologne Online Festival, which for several years has operated as an Internet-based network which unites art curators and video artists from all over the world. In order not to lose the essence of the festival as a network, CologneOFF has become a travelling contemporary art event and throughout 2011 it has drawn the attention of visitors to video as a global art medium rapidly gaining in popularity which, utilising the opportunities provided by a communications network, reaches far beyond the borders of countries and regions. During Waterpieces, special attention will be paid to the moving image’s unlimited means of expression, particularly highlighting the contribution of artists and curators in promoting video art across the globe.

This year we will also augment the festival with an informal discussion about video art and its latest developments which will be chaired by programme curators: Wilfried Agricola de Cologna and representatives of the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen.

Likewise, the 11th Waterpieces International Contemporary and Video Art Festival’s showcases and exhibition will be made more colourful by a three day masterclass “Naive Animation at Naive Art Museum” coordinated by “multenkulten” Studio, which has previously organised creative workshops at various festivals in Rīga, Liepāja, Cēsis and Ventspils. Participants in the Waterpieces Workshop will have the chance to create a video from recycled materials, and the works created during the masterclass will be presented to the public at the conclusion of the festival. The programme will be led by animator Kristīna Ratniece and architect Ivars Šmits.

Augmenting “multenkulten’s” showcase, as part of the White Night programme, a musical performance will be given on the final evening of the festival by “Bērnu rīts” (“Kids’ Morning”), presenting an evening of moving soundscapes entitled “Skaļā daba” (“Noisy nature”).

We further inform you that this year the annual best Baltic video work competition will not take place. In future, the competition will take place every second year and will be open to participants from the whole Baltic Sea region.

Entering its second decade, this year’s “International Contemporary and Video Art Festival WATERPIECES” will set off around the world, offering visitors to the festival not only the latest trends and developments within video art, but also colourful and attractive selections of works from the most diverse countries and regions.

From 2 – 4 September we will kick off the festival with a creative animation workshop “Naïve animation at the Naïve Art Museum” which will be run by “Multenkulten” Studio, and attended by a select group of invited participants aged from 16 – 116 years. Apply for the workshop.

This year’s Waterpieces Festival has the special honour of welcoming the travelling video festival “CologneOFF – Video Art in the Global Context” programme, which combines video selections from all over the world. On the opening day of the festival, a lecture on video art in the global context will be given by CologneOFF Director Wilfried Agricola de Cologne.

“Cologne OFF” is one of the world’s most notable video festivals and stands out through the geographical diversity of its video selections, as well as the number of art curators it invites. Throughout 2011, the travelling video festival programme has visited more than 40 countries across six continents.

The festival’s traditional nightly outdoor screenings will also be held continuing the festival’s long-standing collaboration with the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, as well as the Japan Media Arts Festival.

This year, Oberhausen will present a programme of video works by young artists, while over two evenings the Japan Media Arts Festival will showcase the latest achievements in technology, as well as accenting the impact of pop culture and the development of video.

As part of the “White Night” Contemporary Art Festival – saying neither yes nor no, nor white, nor black – the conclusion of Waterpieces will be rounded off by an evening of ambient music “Noisy Nature” (Skaļā darba), as well as a presentation of video works created by the participants in the animation workshop.

During the festival, “Betanovuss” Floating Arts Centre will host an exhibition in which five different selections of video works will be shown every evening, showcasing programmes compiled by different curators from all over the world comprised of colourful, vivid and captivating works of video art, as well as three works made by Finish video artist Eric Mutel in 2010 – “2x IS”, ”Warm up”, “Mute”.

PROGRAMME:

September 8 – Opening day

20:00 Opening of The Festival

20:30 – 23:00 “CologneOFF VII” programme

Inner war (50 min.)
Mysterious Entanglements (50 min)
A Matter of Identity (50 min)

23:00 – 00:30 Selection of works from 15th Japan Media Arts Festival (JMAF) Part I

Parallel to the screenings of Waterpieces 5 instalations from CologneOFF will take place on the floating art centre “Betanovuss”. Videoart from the countries around the Baltic Sea:

1. Germany curated by Agricola de Cologne / Poland curated by Antoni Karwowski 2. Russia curated by Vika Ilyushkina / Finland curated by Pekka Ruuska 3. Sweden curated by Jonas Nilsson / Eva Olsson / Norway curated by Margarida Paiva 4. Estonia curated by Raivo Kelomees / Iceland / Denmark / Latvia / Lithuania curated by Agricola de Cologne 5. The Caucasians: Solo – Irena Gabiani (Georgia), Videoart from Armenia

September 9 – 2nd Day of the Festival

20:30 – 22:00 “CologneOFF VII” programme Art and the City

Mirrors (45 min.)
Velvet Undergraund (45 min.)

22:00 – 23:30 Selection of Films from The Archive of The International Short Film Festival Oberhauzen

Parallel to the screenings 5 programmes in the exhibition:

1. Still Fighting – Videoart from Africa 2. Solo Larissa Sansour / Videoart from Palestine 3. Black & White – CologneOFF VII – special selection 4. Land-scaping – CologneOFF VII – special selection 5. Expression of Freedom – Ex-Soviet Union

September 10 – Final day of the Festival and Contemporary Culture Forum “White Night”

19:00 – 22:00 Ambient Music Evening “Skaļā daba”

22:00 – 22:30 presentation of works from Waterpieces animation workshop “Naive Animation in Naive Art Museum”

22:30 – 23:30 “CologneOFF” programme “1 minute Cologne” – 60×60 60 videos in 60 minutes

23:30 – 01:00 Selection of works from 15th Japan Media Arts Festival (JMAF) Part II

Parallel to the screenings 5 programmes in the exhibition:

1. Videoart from Chile & Argentina 2. Space, Colour & Emotions – videoart from Latin America 3. 20/20 & Home-made Videos – Hong Kong 4. Blackmail – Solo: Marianna & Daniel O’Reilly (UK) 5. Inner Ruling: Perceiving the Real – videoart from Asia

ORGANIZED BY:

SUPPORTED BY:

ABLV Charitable Foundation

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