GROUP EXHIBITION I SCREENING PROGRAM I PUBLIC INTERVENTIONS
LECTURES I WORKSHOPS I LIVE A/V PERFORMANCES
Upgrade! is an international, emerging network of autonomous nodes united by art, technology, and a commitment to bridging cultural divides. Its decentralized, non-hierarchical structure ensures that Upgrade! operates according to local interests and their available resources; and reflects current creative engagement with cutting edge technologies. While individual nodes present new media projects, engage in informal critique, and foster dialogue and collaboration between individual artists, Upgrade! International functions as an online, global network that gathers annually in different cities to meet one another, showcase local art, and work on the agenda for the following year. Upgrade! Brussels/Ghent is represented by Annemie Maes and Eva De Groote.
The 3rd Upgrade! International meeting Chain Reaction will take place in Skopje, Macedonia from September 11th to 14th, 2008. Growing from the Upgrade! International community, this event takes the form of a city-wide digital art and networked culture festival including exhibitions, screenings, live local and streamed performances and a program of critical and active lectures and workshops exploring numerous facets in the field of digital art.
The exhibition will present 20 artists and artists’ collectives from the world. The media they work in, bridge the cultural borders and represent a complex of knowledge, skills, high technology, social activism, spatial interventions, political attitudes and collaboration.
The Skopje audience will have the unique opportunity to see an interactive web-installation from light stones built with LEDs, audio-visual extraction of web contents, computer-generated characters and ambient that react to interaction, documentary photographs about the internet cafes in Johannesburg (mainly refugees/foreigners initiated business), generative pieces for mobile phones, animations and CCTV pieces.
According to LINE’s mission, two young artists from Skopje will be presented too. Their expression fits in the complete idea of this gathering – new media, innovative approach and interactivity.
The Chain reaction exhibition will be set in the Museum of the city of Skopje, from 11 to 14 September. Its opening will mark the opening of the Upgrade! International meeting.
Chain Reaction explores issues of cultural development and growth in the local region as well as within digital networks. Exhibiting works and presentations from over 20 cities across the world, the organizers expect this event to be a catalyst for dialog, future collaborations and new cultural
Event info: www.line.org.mk