The City Re-imagined, Re-invented!

aceartinc., Urban Shaman Gallery, Video Pool Media Arts Centre, and Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art are thrilled to present

(in)visible cities

– a performance art festival in Winnipeg’s Exchange District from September 6th to 13th, 2008.

Transforming, Shape-shifting Artists!

(in)visible cities will include live performance events by an array of internationally renowned artists including: Cheryl L’Hirondelle (Vancouver), Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan (Winnipeg), FASTWÜRMS (Creemore, ON), Jessica Thompson (Toronto), and Nhan Duc Nguyen (Vancouver). Cultural theorist Jeanne Randolph (Winnipeg) will act as (in)visible cities’ rapporteur/blogger, providing insightful commentary as festival events unfold.

You! Work it! Mix it up!

To further engage audiences as both participants in and witnesses of the work, (in)visible cities will present two performance workshops:

Performance and Activism in Everyday Life, led by Cheryl L'Hirondelle, Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan, is a two-day workshop expanding ideas of performance art practice in relation to collaboration, community, and activism.

Freestyle SoundHack, led by Jessica Thompson, is a one-day workshop/performance involving the creation of wearable sound pieces that generate and broadcast electronic beats as users move through urban environments.

Meet the Artists! Exchange Ideas! Incite!

(in)visible cities will also include a round-table discussion on performance practice, identity, community, agency and place.

Morphing, Resonating Cities!

The city – our city – is network of living cultures with heterogeneous but intersecting communities, systems, flows and struggles. Through presenting performance works that play out a variety of modes of social interaction with audiences, (in)visible cities provides an arena in which to further animate the stories, histories and economies of the Exchange District.

You are invited to witness and participate in events that expand possibilities for performative agency while also speaking to the politics of place – of cultural visibility and invisibility, presence and absence, utopia and urban myth, renewal and resistance. Through (in)visible cities we offer new forms for imagining how urban dwelling, telling, exchange, site and history can be reinvented.

A full festival schedule with dates, times and venues will be available by mid-August.

For more information about (in)visible cities contact:

aceartinc. Tel: 204.944.9763 Email: program@aceart.org
Urban Shaman Gallery Tel: 204.942.2674 Email: program@urbanshaman.org

(in)visible cities gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Winnipeg Arts Council’s Downtown Festival Grant Program, the Manitoba Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Department of Canadian Heritage.

Generous in-kind support is provided by Canadian Goodwill Industries Corporation, Little Saigon Restaurant, and Kensington Building Ltd.

Sincere thanks also to our donors, members and volunteers; and to our community, and friends and family.

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PS: Visit the (in)visible cities blog! http://invisiblecitiesperformance.blogspot.com/

Robert Hengeveld's "Staging the Gap"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Video Pool Media Arts Centre presents
Robert Hengeveld's "Staging the Gap"

Robert Hengeveld's exhibition Staging the Gap will no longer be presented at Unit 3 - 300 Main Street. Instead the exhibition will presented at Video Pool's studio (3rd Floor, 100 Arthur Street).

Winnipeg, MB (July 2, 2008) – Video Pool Media Arts Centre is very pleased to present Staging the Gap, a provocative media installation by Toronto-based artist, Robert Hengeveld.

Staging the Gap is a miniature model of a concert stage with silently animated lights and smoke. The work explores the relationship of fact and fiction in a technologically mediated world. Hengeveld critically reflects on the mechanisms used to deliver popular culture by focusing on how visual effects – stage lights, pyrotechnics, and dry ice – are used at concerts to shape our understanding of what we hear. Ignoring society’s desire for the spectacle of performance, the stage created by the artist remains empty while a precisely orchestrated light show plays out.

Accompanying the miniature stage is a series of headphone each playing a different audio track specifically composed in response to the orchestrated light show. This inverts the traditional relationship of audio and visual experience in concert settings and addresses the role of audio in shaping our understanding of the world.

Hengeveld's model stage measures 2.5m2 to establish a scale at which viewers are encompassed by the work, yet still feel slightly detached. Next, he coaxes audiences from their suspended disbelief into his alternate reality by offering a familiar space and encouraging them to relate in a familiar manner. This subtle slip from the norm creates a situation that challenges preconceptions while fostering a reevaluation of our spatial environments and our positions within them.

This exhibition runs from July 29 – August 21, 2008 and will be available weekdays from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. at Video Pool's Studio (100 Arthur Street, 3rd Floor).

Exhibition Launch: Friday, July 25
Artist talk begins at 6:00 p.m. in Winnipeg Film Group's Studio; Reception will follow at Video Pool – both venues are on the 3rd floor at 100 Arthur Street.

ARTIST BIO -- Robert Hengeveld completed his MFA at the University of Victoria in 2005 and received a Fine Arts Diploma and Certificate from Georgian College, and an AOCAD from the Ontario College of Art and Design. He has exhibited his work across Canada and internationally, and has participated in artist residencies in both Canada and Scotland. He is currently living and working in Toronto.

These exhibition is presented thanks to generous financial support from:



VIDEO POOL MEDIA ARTS CENTRE is a non-profit artist run centre dedicated to advancing the discipline of media art by providing media artists, non-profit organizations and community groups with access to professional video and media equipment, training, distribution and programming. Video Pool strives to be a national leader fostering innovation, experimentation, critical dialogue and advocacy in media arts.

Contact:
Milena Placentile, Programming Coordinator
Video Pool Media Arts Centre
#300-100 Arthur St., Winnipeg MB R3B 1H3
http://www.videopool.org
http://videopool.blogspot.com
204.949.9134 x 1

Sharon Alward's "Bushi"

A Newly Commissioned Work as Part of Video Pool's 25th Anniversary

Please join us on Friday, May 16 from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. to witness the start of Sharon Alward's latest collaboration with Alex Poruchnyk, a performance-driven video installation titled Bushi.

Rachel Browne Theatre (formerly Winnipeg's Contemporary Dancers Studio)
211 Bannatyne Ave

Exhibition hours beginning May 17
Tues - Sat: 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
(Closed Sun - Mon.)
Exhibition continues until May 24, 2008

As always, our exhibitions and performances are free for all.

++++++++++

Video Pool's 25th Anniversary Commissions have been made possible by the generous support of the Winnipeg Arts Council through the New Creations Fund. Further financial contributions have been kindly provided by The Canada Council for the Arts, The Manitoba Arts Council, the W.H. & S.E. Loewen Foundation, The Winnipeg Foundation, and On Screen Manitoba.

++++++++++

For more information about Sharon Alward and Bushi, please visit:
http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~alward/Bushi and http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~alward/Bushi2.htm

Upcoming Video Pool Events: May 5, 8, and 16

Dear Members and Friends,

We are well underway with our 25th Anniversary celebrations! Peter Courtemanche & Lori Weidenhammer's new media sculpture is available for viewing at PLATFORM (100 Arthur St), and Richard Dyck's experimental computer-generated video project is available for viewing at aceartinc. (290 McDermot Ave).

Here's what's coming next:

Steve Loft "A History in Two Parts" -- May 5 – 17, 2008
Reception -- Monday, May 5 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
The Duke of Kent Legion, 227 McDermot Ave.
Exhibition hours beginning May 6: Mon, Wed - Fri 1:00 - 6:00 p.m.; Tues 2:00 - 6:00 p.m. Closed Sat - Sun.
This exhibition is presented in-part through the generosity of On Screen Manitoba

Sharon Alward "Bushi" -- May 16 - 24, 2008
Launch -- Friday, May 16 from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Rachel Browne Theatre (Formerly the Winnipeg's Contemporary Dancers Studio), 211 Bannatyne Ave
Exhibition hours beginning May 17: Tues - Sat 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.; Closed Sun - Mon.
Performances each day except May 24

Video Pool's 25th Anniversary Commissions were made possible by the generous support of the Winnipeg Arts Council through the New Creations Fund. Further financial contributions have been kindly provided by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Manitoba Arts Council, the Winnipeg Arts Council, The W.H. & S. E. Loewen Foundation, the Winnipeg Foundation, and On Screen Manitoba.

* * *
During this very exciting time, we are also thrilled to be continue offering programming pertaining to our 2007/2007 thematic, Off the Grid: The Creative (Mis)use of Technology. We are very excited to present one-night only performance lectures by...

Jeanne Randolph and Glen Johnson
Thursday, May 8 beginning at 7:00 p.m.
Winnipeg Film Group Studio, 304-100 Arthur Street

The schedule for the evening is as follows: Performances will begin promptly at 7:00 p.m., we will have a brief intermission between each one, and we'll continue the evening with a reception.

For more information about these thoughtful, provocative, and humorous performances, please visit: http://videopool.blogspot.com/2008/04/planning-ahead-upcoming-performance.html

These performances are presented thanks to generous financial support from The Canada Council for the Arts, The Manitoba Arts Council, and the Winnipeg Arts Council.

Video Pool thanks the Winnipeg Film Group for their generous presentation support.

* * *
As always, our exhibitions and performances are free for all. Please note that owing to the venue, Steve Loft's exhibition is open to audiences aged 18 and older.

* * *

We look forward to seeing you!!

A little reminder...

In honour of our 25th Anniversary, Video Pool Media Arts Centre welcomes you to join us on Friday, April 18 at 7:00 p.m. at acerartinc. as we launch three new commissions by Daniel Barrow, Richard Dyck, and Victoria Prince.

Barrow's multi-channel interactive media installation, Trying to Love the Normal Amount, opened at Plug In ICA's satellite space (290 McDermot Ave) on Saturday, April 12, and will be available until Saturday, April 19. Barrow will direct a performance beginning at approximately 7:30 p.m.

Dyck's new media installation, The day we cut Nettie's curls, she was 7 years old, will be presented at aceartinc (290 McDermot Ave) and will run until May 2.

Prince's sculptural video installation, Light and Alter, will be presented at the ADHERE AND DENY Pocket Theatre (315-70 Albert Street) and will run until April 25.


And, please mark your calendars for the launch of a fourth commission by Lori Weidenhammer and Peter Courtemanche. This project will involve two performances -- one on April 24 and one on April 25 -- at PLATFORM Centre for Photographic and Digital Arts at 7:00 p.m.

Following the performance and Q&A session at PLATFORM on April 25, we will celebrate Video Pool's Anniversary with a reception to which all are invited.


For more information about these events and our events upcoming in May, please visit: http://videopool.blogspot.com/2008/04/ton-of-25th-annivesary-programming-to.html

A Ton of 25th Anniversary Programming to Enjoy!

Remember we said we had a ton of 25th Anniversary programming in store? Well, we weren't kidding!

The following list covers everything planned, so far. We have a few more ideas in mind... and we look forward to announcing those details as soon as possible.

Daniel Barrow's presentation of Trying to Love the Normal Amount opens on Saturday, April 12 @ 11:00 a.m.

The reception -- which will also celebrate the launch of projects by Richard Dyck and Victoria Prince -- will take place on Friday, April 18 beginning at 7:00 p.m.

Catering will be provided, most generously, by The Line Up (98 Albert Street). We are grateful for their support!

Exhibitions

Daniel Barrow April 12 – 19
Plug In ICA's Satellite Gallery, 290 McDermot Ave. (Ground Floor) (Map)
Tues - Sat 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m; Closed Sun - Mon.

Victoria Prince April 18 – 25
ADHERE AND DENY's Pocket Theatre, 315-70 Albert St. (Map)
Tues - Sat 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.; Closed Sun - Mon.

Richard Dyck April 18 – May 2
aceartinc., 290 McDermot Ave. (2nd Floor) (Map)
Tues - Sat 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.; Closed Sun - Mon.

Peter Courtemanche and Lori Weidenhammer April 24 – May 10
PLATFORM Centre for Photographic + Digital Arts, 100 Arthur St. (Map)
Tues - Sat 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.; Thurs 12:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.; Closed Sun - Mon.

Steve Loft May 5 – 17
The Duke of Kent Legion, 227 McDermot Ave. (Map)
Mon, Wed - Fri 1:00 - 6:00 p.m.; Tues 2:00 - 6:00 p.m. Closed Sat - Sun.

Sharon Alward May 16 – 24
Rachel Browne Theatre (Formerly the Winnipeg's Contemporary Dancers Studio), 211 Bannatyne Ave. (Map)
Tues - Sat 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.; Closed Sun - Mon.

Performances

Daniel Barrow April 18 – Begins at 7:30 p.m.
Plug In ICA's Satellite Gallery, 290 McDermot Ave. (Ground Floor) (Map)

Peter Courtemanche + Lori Weidenhammer April 24 & 25 – Begins at 7:00 p.m.
(Question and answer session begins approximately 7:45)
PLATFORM Centre for Photographic + Digital Arts, 100 Arthur St. (Map)

Sharon Alward May 16 – 23 – At intervals throughout the duration of the exhibition except for Saturday, May 24.
Rachel Browne Theatre (Formerly the Winnipeg's Contemporary Dancers Studio), 211 Bannatyne Ave. (Map)

Openings

Daniel Barrow, Victoria Prince, and Richard Dyck April 18 – Begins at 7:00 p.m.
aceartinc., 290 McDermot Ave. (2nd Floor) (Map)

Peter Courtemanche + Lori Weidenhammer and 25th Anniversary Reception April 25 – Begins at 8:00 p.m.
PLATFORM Centre for Photographic + Digital Arts, 100 Arthur St. (Map)

Steven Loft May 5 – 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.
The Duke of Kent Legion, 227 McDermot Ave. (Map)

Sharon Alward May 16 - Begins at 7:00 p.m.
Rachel Browne Theatre (Formerly the Winnipeg's Contemporary Dancers Studio), 211 Bannatyne Ave. (Map)

Video Pool Celebrates 25 Years with Six New Commissions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Video Pool Media Arts Centre Celebrates
25 Exciting Years with
Six Newly Commissioned Media Arts Projects

Winnipeg, MB (March 26, 2008) – Video Pool Media Arts Centre is proud to celebrate 25 years of support to Manitoban artists through the commission of six projects by seven artists who have made dynamic contributions to Video Pool's history and to media arts in Canada.

Daniel Barrow. Still from "Trying to Love the Normal Amount", 2008

Temporarily Out of Order: Downtime, curated by Sigrid Dahle, and Seen/Unseen: Light Play, curated by Grant Guy, embrace themes emphasizing key notions and material qualities particular to media arts practices. The themes befit the occasion of Video Pool’s anniversary by simultaneously harkening back to media art’s primal scene of light first being captured as image, and anticipating the future of new media art as a form being assimilated rapidly into larger cultural discourses while outmoded technologies decay. At times, media art is approached as a problem: what is the importance of new technologies to new media works, and what happens when the technologies don’t work?

The curators have noticed a curious shift in media arts practices – as technology-based arts have matured, artists appear to be using electronic media to replicate the past rather than to speculate on the future. They describe an aesthetic attitude particularly suited to Winnipeg as a city equally haunted and inspired by the past. It is a view of technology as something mythical and broken, as opposed to clean and slick.

The commissioned works purposefully introduce a ghost into the machine of media art. Daniel Barrow works with outdated technologies, such as an ‘80s era Amiga editing station and an overhead projector to re-imagine early animation techniques. The work of Peter Courtemanche and Lori Weidenhammer evokes Dr. Frankenstein through the haunting of clothing with circuitry to electronically revive mythological creatures. Richard Dyck encourages us to scrutinize the surface of a mysteriously ominous vintage photograph.

Steven Loft explores societal rather than technological disintegration by drawing attention to the racism exhibited by the broken down and the down and out. Injecting manipulated images of the natural world into constructed environments, Sharon Alward and Victoria Prince escape the hustle of our technology-obsessed society to achieve time and space for meditative contemplation. Most significantly, each of the featured projects focus on creating an active media arts experience.

Join us for six weeks of exhibitions, performances, and receptions; all are welcome!

Daniel Barrow April 12 – 19
*** Plug In ICA's Satellite Gallery, 290 McDermot Ave.
*** Performance on April 18

Victoria Prince April 18 – 25
*** Adhere and Deny's Pocket Theatre, 315-70 Albert St.

Richard Dyck April 18 – May 2
*** aceartinc., 290 McDermot Ave.

Peter Courtemanche and Lori Weidenhammer April 24 – May 10
*** PLATFORM Centre for Photographic + Digital Arts, 100 Arthur St.
*** Performances on April 24 and 25

Steve Loft May 5 – 17
*** The Duke of Kent Legion, 227 McDermot Ave.

Sharon Alward May 16 – 24
*** Winnipeg's Contemporary Dancers Studio, 211 Bannatyne Ave.
*** Performances begin on May 16

Our first reception in this series will celebrate the launch of work by Barrow, Dyck, and Prince and will take place on April 18 at aceartinc. beginning at 7:00 p.m.

For further details about each exhibition, performance, and related receptions, please visit videopool.org.

Video Pool's 25th Anniversary Commissions were made possible by the generous support of the Winnipeg Arts Council through the New Creations Fund. Further financial contributions have been kindly provided by:













Video Pool is also pleased to acknowledge contributions from numerous local organizations; we are deeply grateful for their partnership and assistance:




ADHERE + DENY

The Duke of Kent Legion







VIDEO POOL MEDIA ARTS CENTRE is a non-profit artist run centre dedicated to advancing the discipline of media art by providing media artists, non-profit organizations and community groups with access to professional video and media equipment, training, distribution, and programming. Video Pool strives to be a national leader fostering innovation, experimentation, critical dialogue, and advocacy in media arts.

Milena Placentile, Programming Coordinator
204.949.9134 ext 1
vpprogramming [at] videopool [dot] org
videopool.org // videopool.blogspot.com

The Portage and Main Story Line

1 (204) 943-1423
... the Portage and Main story line

It has been 32 years since Winnipeg’s fabled intersection, Portage and Main, was barricaded to pedestrian traffic.

Do you still remember crossing Portage and Main?
If so, I am interested in your story.

Please call, 1.204.943.1423 and tell me about it.

It is a voice mail box that will record your story that I will then reassemble into a new work made with all of the other stories I am told. Anyone with memories of actually crossing the streets are invited to call, but other Portage and Main recollections would be welcome too. If your story is particularly long, either leave several messages, or if you prefer, email me, jake moore, at mjake@videotron.ca, to set up a direct connection.

Why?
I am collecting these stories for the construction of an audio sculpture to be included in an exhibition called SUBCONSCIOUS CITY, curated by Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan for the Winnipeg Art Gallery.

According to the curators:
“Inspiration for the title of the exhibition comes from American cultural theorist and art critic Rebecca Solnit. In her recent book, “A Field Guide to Getting Lost”, (Viking, 2005), she posits that, “A city is built to resemble a conscious mind, a network that can calculate, administrate, manufacture. Ruins become the unconscious of a city, its memory, unknown, darkness, lost lands, and in this truly bring it to life.”

If we accept the mind as a model for Winnipeg, the unconscious (the lesser seen or ignored) makes its presence felt in unexpected ways. It burbles to the surface in ways that inform and enrich us, as well as revealing injustices and neglect. Similarly, the conscious (the affluent, the celebrated, the new) can reveal paucity (of community, of vision, of spiritual connection with each other and our past) as well as promise.”

In many ways I am beginning a conversation; an oral history of the ruins of the public site that Portage and Main once was, and the monument to the automobile and civic politics that it has become. Collective memory, or memories collected, can be the promise referred to Dempsey/Millan.

There will be a public opening on Valentine’s Day, February 14th, 2008.
Remember, “Love me, Love my Winnipeg”

for further information on this project, please contact jake moore

NB. The artist would like to acknowledge the support of Video Pool Media Arts Centre in the production of this work.

SUBCONSCIOUS CITY
February 8 to May 11, 2008
the Winnipeg Art Gallery
300 Memorial Boulevard

Public opening 7:30 p.m., Thursday, February 14, 2008
with performances by John K. Samson, Christine Fellows, and Freya Olafson.

Curated by Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan, Adjunct Curators.

For the complete list of artists please visit http://www.wag.mb.ca/upcoming.asp

More Photos from the Rockstars & Wannabes Launch Party

All pics courtesy of Scott Stephens...

Germaine Koh’s Exhibition Launch and Artist Talk

Last night, beginning at 6:00 p.m., Germaine Koh delivered a fantastic talk about her work, which surveyed her dynamic and varied conceptual practice encompassing performance, intervention, installation, new media, painting, and even knitting.

Following a lively Q & A session, attendees proceeded to try Call. The unique and satisfying experience of participating encouraged at least three more individuals came forward to join the list of volunteers. Owing to sudden unexpected technical difficulties, Relay was unavailable for use during the opening reception, but we anticipate that it will be up and running again very soon.

Thank you to Platform Gallery for welcoming Video Pool to host this event in its space, and thank you to everyone who attended!

Join us for Germaine Koh's Artist Talk Tomorrow @ Platform Gallery

Hi everyone!!

Video Pool here, writing to remind you about a two great events we’ve planned for you, both of which will take place tomorrow evening, Tuesday, October 16...

To launch her latest exhibition at Artspace, Germaine Koh will deliver a talk about her work beginning at 6:00 p.m. at Platform Gallery (1st floor, 100 Arthur Street). This will precede a reception beginning at 7:00 p.m.

Join us tomorrow and be the first group of lucky people to talk to strangers through Call, and to broadcast messages via Relay!

We look forward to seeing you!!

Details for Germaine Koh's Artist Talk Announced

Hi everyone!

We now have all the details you need to plan on attending Germaine Koh's artist talk.

Thanks to the awesomeness of Platform Gallery, we are very happy to announce that Germaine will give a presentation about her work on Tuesday, October 16 from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.

The talk will be followed by an reception to launch Call and Relay, which will continue until 9:00 p.m.

Platform Gallery is located on the first floor of Artspace @ 100 Arthur Street. This event is free of charge and open to everyone so we really hope to see you there!

PS. If you haven't already had a chance to take in Platform's current exhibition, Soft Ground curated by Lisa Stinner and featuring work by Elaine Stocki and Sarah Small, then you're in for a bonus because it will still be up =-)

"Call" and "Relay" Launch on October 16!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Video Pool Media Arts Centre
in conjunction with Artspace is proud to present

Call and Relay

two projects by internationally renowned Canadian artist Germaine Koh

Winnipeg, MB (October 4, 2007) – Video Pool welcomes residents of Winnipeg to talk to strangers via two intriguing new media projects by Germaine Koh.

Call is an interactive installation involving a hacked vintage rotary-dial telephone that connects immediately to one of several volunteers as soon as the receiver is lifted. Participants are invited to experience the unique opportunity of striking up a conversation about anything or everything with an anonymous individual at the other end of the line. Interpersonal exchange with other inhabitants of our city has never been easier, and when was the last time any of us took the time to hold a random and potentially meaningful conversation with someone new?

To connect with someone through Call, just visit the Artspace lobby. You don’t even have to dial!

Relay is a subtle intervention that combines the lonely signal of a flashing navigation beacon, city electrical systems, and the invisible communications networks that surround us. A utilitarian light fixture enigmatically flashes – in Morse code – short text messages (SMS) received on a designated mobile phone number. Locally, the light will operate as a sort of bulletin board conveying news from near and far, and providing opportunities for sociability and local messaging in the immediate area and across the city. The beacon merges early technologies for communication and navigation with some of the more contemporary methods by which information and desire flow today.

Share an exciting scoop, or just say hello, by sending a text message to 204.951.1929. From the roof of Artspace, your message will be conveyed to all.

Call and Relay will be available at Artspace, 100 Arthur Street, Winnipeg, from October 16 – November 16, 2007.


Related events – All welcome

Artist talk on Tuesday, October 16 at 6:00 pm, followed by an opening reception from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Platform Gallery, 1st floor, 100 Arthur Street.

Call and Relay are presented thanks to generous support provided by:





VIDEO POOL MEDIA ARTS CENTRE is a non-profit artist run centre dedicated to advancing the discipline of media art by providing media artists, non-profit organizations and community groups with access to professional video and media equipment, training, distribution and programming. Video Pool strives to be a national leader fostering innovation, experimentation, critical dialogue and advocacy in media arts.


Contact: Milena Placentile, Programming Coordinator
204.949.9134 ext 1
vpprogramming@videopool.org
videopool.org // videopool.blogspot.org

Thanks for rockin' out with us!

Wow! What a night!

If you had the chance to join us on Saturday, you know just what I'm talking about!

The evening started at 7 p.m. with a pre-reception for special guests including family, funders, and members of the media. At about 7:30 p.m., Benny Nemerofsky Ramsay burst into the gallery concluding the last stage of his performance, Jimmy, which involved him running through downtown Winnipeg carrying a flag designed to honour his hero, Scottish pop star, Jimmy Somerville. He placed the flag into a mount on the gallery wall, affixing additional ribbons in what created a moving ceremony.

At 8:00 pm, the gallery doors were opened to welcome rock stars, wannabes, and art lovers of all stripes. However, the party really got started when the the art stars of the evening (and their groupies) arrived by stretch limo!

Following words of thanks by the Directors of both Urban Shaman Gallery and Video Pool, curator, Cathy Mattes, added further acknowledgments. Applause filled the gallery.

The dynamic range of performance video works by Skawennati Fragnito, Warren Arcand, Kevin deForest and Benny Nemerofsky Ramsay, captured the attention and imagination of all in attendance. Some attendees were even inspired to launch into impromptu performances – thank you David Byrne, Slash, and Annie Lennox for adding your special touches to a night of fabulous art, music, conversation, and dancing.

Video Pool and Urban Shaman Gallery are grateful to the Canada Council for the Arts, The Manitoba Arts Council, The Winnipeg Arts Council, the Winnipeg Foundation, Culture.ca, and Canadian Heritage for their generous support.