WAVE Berlin Opus 1 Archive

Transmediale.10 Satellites / Feb 4th 2010 / 8pm to Midnight:
Betahaus : Prinzessinnenstraße 19-20, 10969 Berlin www.betahaus.de
Live webcast : www.sidebysidestudio.net
Partners : Relais Culture Europe Production, SideBySide Studio Coordination, with Transmediale / Sklunk / Arscenic Support

WAVE Berlin Panel Discussion

Fluctuations in the economy have become similar to global climate warnings: nobody knows exactly what will happen tomorrow, or whether the future will be bleak or bright. Uncertainty seems to become the only certain rule.

Throughout the early 20th century, art was the forerunner of social, political and technological upheaval. Art at the time foresees (but not always understands) in advance what would happen. Now, artistic activity seems too be carried away by the whirlwind of uncertainty.

The democratic ideal has never seemed so fragile. To a very large extend, it remains to be a total utopia. The modesty of political ambitions, the widespread practice of mafia, the rise of nationalist and religious sect, continuation of poverty, distraught middle-class, all these elements are destroying day after day the ideals of brotherhood, equality, and liberty.

Modern communication technology and the digital economy have overwhelmed all social practices, either cultural or economical but we still have great difficulty understanding the reality. We still continue to struggle with positive outlook and engage in critical changes into the future.

In this context, it is possible to imagine new relationships between money, politics, and artistic creation? How will we identify new approaches, especially critical approaches in a time of crisis?

WAVE BERLIN Panel Discussion

I-Wei Li - multi-media artist, freelance curator, artistic director of SideBySide Studio
www.sidebysidestudio.net
www.unstablecircus.net

Christoph Fahle - co-Funder of betahaus
www.betahaus.de

Ela Kagel - program curator of Transmediale, initiator of the Free Culture Incubator
www.transmediale.de

Christine Kriegerowski - artist, working with drawing, digital drawing and photography
Claudia Burbaum - art historian and freelance curator
www.duckwoman.de/
www.mitzeitung.de/veranstaltungen

Arthur Engelbert - ae prof. dr. habil., theory and practice of media and contemporary art
http://arthur-engelbert.de/
Mutual Aid

Heather Corcoran - Curator at FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology)
www.fact.co.uk/

Matthias Reichelt - cultural journalist, curator and editor

WJ-Spots Berlin

Anne Roquigny, French media arts curator will follow her series of interviews in Berlin of outstanding figures of the internet community who share their reflections of 15 years of Internet history. The interviews are conducted inside the WJ-S (webjay) multi-screen environment, transformed into a space for thought and investigation. Live online browsing into a selection of emblematic websites, chosen by the speakers, take place simultaneously on 3 big screens. Real time surfing magnifies and augments thought presentation, offering multiple points of view while the participants comment and analyze, from an artistic perspective, how the Internet has been progressively taken over as a space of artistic creation, from its beginning until now.
www.wj-s.org/WJ-SPOTS-1-15-years-of-internet

Live internet browsing : Isabelle Arvers (FR), curator, art critic /www.isabelle-arvers.com & Anne Laforet (FR) researcher and critic / www.sakasama.net
Translation : Sylvine Bois Choussy

Interviewees
I-Wei (TW/CA/DE), artist, curator / www.sidebysidestudio.net
Pierre Bongiovanni (FR), artist, curator / www.bongiovanni.info
Helen Thorington (US), writer and sound artist and co-director Turbulence / www.turbulence.org
Marie Petit (FR), author, theater director / www.chambrebleue.eu
Maria Ptqk (ES), critic, curator / ptqkblogzine.blogspot.com
Per Platou (NO), artist, curator / http://www.perplatou.net
Hans Bernhard (CH), artist / www.ubermorgen.com

Video documentation will be available at Digitalart Platform

MCD « Musiques et Cultures Digitales Magazine» will publish special bilingual editions of WJ-SPOTS Berlin with the interviews and the bookmarks.

Special Thank You

Thomas Pigache (Sound Design), Guillaume Siffert from Staalplaat (Sound Equipment), Sylvine Bois-Choussy (Translation), Alexia BalandJian (Transport), Nicolas DeFawe from HBC (Sound Equipment), Sévérine Marquin, Richter Bernd, Maria Ptqk, Gael Duongvandang, Giacomo Zaganelli, Babara Kramer from Shroeder’s Data Shop, and Daniela Marzavan from betahaus.