You are cordially invited to the AfterMath Gallery launch, this Friday at 6pm.
AfterMath is a new art gallery specialising in the digital arts and we
are pleased to announce our opening exhibition GREEDY ALGORITHMS. The
show is a collection of 18(!) New Zealand digital artists from a
variety of backgrounds and at different stages of their careers.
AfterMath gallery is located in the Unimed building, near New Regent Street:
165 Gloucester St, Christchurch Central, 8011
Event information and a full list of artists is on our website:
https://www.aftermath.city/new-events/2017/7/7/greedy-algorithms-launch-par…
Please RSVP here: https://attending.io/events/zeroday or via email:
rsvp(a)aftermath.city
Facebook event page https://www.facebook.com/events/643265815876882
The following press release is for immediate dissemination:
Announcing New Zealand's first(?) dedicated digital art gallery!
AfterMath is New Zealand’s first dedicated digital art space opening
its doors in Christchurch on Friday the 30th June.
The inaugural exhibition, “Greedy Algorithms” showcases a range of NZ
based artists such as Vaimaila Urale, hot on the heels of her standout
public work and performance “Typeface”, brought to Christchurch by
CoCA gallery. Also featured is Tauranga born Jess Johnson represented
by the Ivan Anthony Gallery in Auckland. Her drawing and installation
practice is influenced by the speculative intersections between
language, science fiction, culture and technology.
The show consists of prints, video installations and interactive works
that illustrate the gallery’s first steps towards being a fully
fledged exhibition, coworking and learning space. The theme is one of
fun and indulgence, exemplifying the goal of making digital art
accessible and valuable. The technological aspects are deliberately
presented as being immature, such as is the digital art scene in New
Zealand, especially prescient in the current social context of great
uncertainty.
Inspired by successful projects such as the New York School For Poetic
Computation, the gallery is the brainchild of two local artists.
Mathematician and software developer come digital artist Ronan
Whitteker, who is the artistic director of the gallery, and Jaya
Mangalam Gibson, a digital graphic artist, coworking community
developer and arts facilitator as co-director of operations.
Turning misfortune into opportunity
Ronan describes himself as a super-geek and explains how life changing
circumstances provided the perfect opportunity to start the gallery.
“I’d always dreamed of having an educational institute dedicated to
the digital humanities to challenge the customary ways of learning. I
was recovering from a medical procedure to cure a long-term illness
and with the prospect of not being able to work for a long period, I
suddenly had the time on my hands to develop my dream”, Ronan says.
Ronan and Jaya met at a mutual software developer friend’s party and
bonded over their similar art interests and medical circumstances.
Jaya says.
“I was struck by Ronan’s unique perspective on the cross-section of
art and science and it seemed like a no-brainer to collaborate on a
project together. I’m really excited about developing and supporting
the digital art community here in New Zealand and making it more
accessible to the wider public.”
“No other art form can explain and challenge current cultural and
social narratives as deeply and as intricately as digital art is able
to”.
The space was brokered through the independent city-making trust Life
In Vacant Spaces (LiVS). LiVS project manager Molly says,
“We're really excited for AfterMath to open in one our spaces. It will
draw people and add life back to the city. Even more, their idea for
the gallery is unique, innovative and is a place we really want to go
to ourselves!”
Christchurch City Council is proud to support AfterMath Gallery with a
grant from the Enliven Places Projects Fund, says Head of Urban
Design, Urban Regeneration and Heritage Carolyn Ingles.
“AfterMath is New Zealand’s only gallery and collaborative workspace
dedicated to digital art. We’re excited to follow AfterMath’s journey
to help raise the profile for digital arts by investing in emerging
digital artists and by making digital arts and its production
accessible.”
AfterMath provides something for everyone, from interactive art for
curious kids, installations for an intrigued public, to workshops for
dedicated practitioners.
The gallery provides three main functions;
Gallery: public, free, innovative, educational and fun.
Collaborative workspace: quiet and stimulating.
Learning environment: coworking and events.
This is supported by media and tools such as books, games and
electronics provided by sponsors and funding.
Located in the Unimed building (also a supporter) at 165a Gloucester
St, facilitated by Life In Vacant Spaces - LIVS. The gallery will be
open from Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm.
The project is also proudly supported by the Christchurch City Council
through the Enliven Spaces Fund and Creative New Zealand. Local
businessman Clinton Selby owner of ergonomic design consultancy
Ergostyle kindly provided the furniture.
For more information please contact Jaya Mangalam Gibson, 0221065343
or email jaya(a)aftermath.city
Kind regards
Ronan
Call for Papers and Presentations
CIRCUIT Symposium 2017: The Thickness of Cinema
A symposium exploring the idea of cinema as ‘embodied’, sensorial and
affective.
Presented by CIRCUIT at Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu,
Saturday 26 August 10-4pm in association with the Govett Brewster Art
Gallery / Len Lye Centre with support from Creative New Zealand. *The
Thickness of Cinema* is curated by Mercedes Vicente, our 2017
curator-at-large, in collaboration with CIRCUIT.
This symposium invites papers that interrogate phenomenological approaches
to film and changing notions of affect and which explore their ethical,
social and political implications. CIRCUIT invites papers, presentations
and responses to the following questions;
*What might be the role of the body and the sensorial experience in the
emergence of cinematic intelligibility and meaning? How does film’s
affective experience contribute to our knowledge of the world? In what ways
might we be able to analyse and get beyond sensation and emotion to explore
culture, gender or ideology? How have cinema, and phenomenological
approaches to film, been influenced by and responded to recent
technological developments in our digital age that offer new and expanded
sensory and experiential dimensions? What might the cinematic experience
offer in lieu of the new sensorial experiences brought by these
technological advances?*
Submission process: Send 200 word (maximum) proposal to Mark Williams
<director(at)circuit.org.nz>
Presentation formats: Lecture Presentation, Screening, Performance
Maximum length: 20 minutes (please note this will be strictly adhered to)
Deadline for submissions: 12pm, Monday 3 July
Notification of acceptance: Thursday 6 July
Submissions are invited from scholars and practitioners in the fields of
contemporary art, cinema, philosophy and elsewhere. Submissions from
artists are welcome.
The 2017 CIRCUIT Symposium is preceded by an Artists Week of screenings,
installations and performances in a variety of locations across
Christchurch, and features guests from New Zealand, Canada and France. More
details TBA.
On Friday 25 August we will premiere *Thick Cinema*, a selection of new
artist cinema commissions curated by CIRCUIT 2017 curator-at-large Mercedes
Vicente, and featuring works by Fiona Amundsen, John Di Stefano, Sam
Hamilton, Kim Pieters, and Joyce Campbell.
For all enquiries: Mark Williams <director(at)circuit.org.nz>
--
Mark Williams
Director
CIRCUIT Artist Film and Video Aotearoa New Zealand
www.circuit.org.nz
