Opening of EMPAC 8.10.2008, Troy NY

The Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) is a place and a program where the arts, technology and science will challenge and transform each other. Founded by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the nation’s oldest technological university, EMPAC draws strength from being part of a great research university. It will offer artists, visiting scholars, researchers, engineers, designers, and audiences opportunities that are available nowhere else under a single roof, providing unsurpassed facilities for creative exploration as well as for research in fields ranging from visualization to immersive environments to large-scale interactive simulations. EMPAC operates nationally and internationally, attracting creators from around the world, and sending new artworks and innovative ideas onto the global stage.

Rensselaer is the nation’s oldest technological university, offering degrees in engineering, the sciences, information technology, architecture, the humanities and social sciences. It is pre-eminent in research into biotechnology, nanotechnology, IT, and the media arts and technology. In addition to its MFA program, RPI offers bachelor degrees in Electronic Arts, and in Electronic Media, Arts, and Communication – one of the first undergraduate programs of its kind in the United States.

Glowmobiles, NewcastleGateshead, GB

Glowmobiles - A dazzling array of illuminated Art Cars and other amazing vehicles. Fire-breathing, music-making, wild-wheeled mechanical mischief on the streets.

NewcastleGateshead’s fabulous FREE New Year’s Eve celebrations will be better than ever this year, with a fun event for all the family – Glowmobiles. A dazzling array of incredible Art Cars and other illuminated vehicles will make
their lively and mischievous way to several locations around NewcastleGateshead where they can be viewed by the public.

This is no ordinary traffic jam – these surreal wheeled wonders, created by artists and members of the public, include cars, bikes and scooters, a milk float and even a fire engine, all wonderfully lit up, painted, decorated and sculpted. Some breathe fire, some make music and others explode with fireworks! A fleet of gleaming Glow Bikes will make up part of the parade - see the bikes come to life!

Glowmobiles, created by Walk The Plank, will be located at ‘pit-stops’ at Saltwell Park, Baltic Square, Times Square and Monument, finishing with a parade of all the vehicles from Grey’s Monument at 5.30pm, before ending up at Newcastle Civic Centre at 6.30pm for a grand finale and fireworks display.

The final line-up has been announced for the amazing art cars which will take to the streets on New Year’s Eve:

The Blip Festival 29.11.-02.12.

The Blip Festival is a four-day international cultural event taking place in New York City this November into December, focusing on the 8-bit scene - musicians and artists who use low-bit videogame and computer hardware as their creative tools. The festival is the widest-reaching event in the history of the form, boasting a roster of over 40 international artists performing and exhibiting from places as diverse as Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Argentina, and across the United States.

Luminous Echo 2007

Microwave International New Media Arts Festival Based in Hong Kong, the annual Microwave International New Media Arts Festival is a pioneering festival of its kind, both in Asia and internationally. Each year we strive to bring the latest fusion of art and technology to Hong Kong that would inspire both artists and public. The theme of this year's 11th anniversary festival is "LUMINOUS ECHO" - an attempt to display works of public interest that explore the relationship between sound and light, with an emphasis to break down the barrier between man and machine, and heighten the interactivity between people and electronic media art. The Festival will run until 18 November 2007.

DIVA Paris 15.-18.11.07

Digital & Video Art Fair Paris 2007 - New dates
For its 3rd edition in Paris, DiVA (The Digital & Video Art Fair ) sets new dates to be better positioned in the busy international calendar. The new dates and location to allow more flexibility for interested galleries to participate in the fair and art lovers to take their time to view the videos. These changes should bring the number of visitors from 3,000 last year to an estimated 10,000 this fall 2007. The new location offers many advantages such as the unique opportunity to the exhibitors to use an actual retail store space at the central location in the middle of Paris. The most interesting aspect of this new location however is the juxtaposition
of Video and Digital Art with Antiquities. A unique demonstration that Digital and Video Art co/exist with the utmost pertinence in all environment even when it creates an apparent anachronism.
Digital & Video Art Fair Paris 2007 - The program
19 stores at Louvre des Antiquaires used by international galleries
Screenings and lectures at the fair
Outdoor program of recommended exhibitions in Paris with VIP receptions.
Digital & Video Art Fair Paris 2007 - A unique vision DiVA, the first international contemporary art fair dedicated to video and multimedia arts
Since the first edition DiVA have demonstrated a commitment to quality. It is also a profound forward thinking approach to the event we offer to the world. As such DiVA has become the first fair dedicated to Video and New Media, the largest fair for video art, the only international fair for Video Art.
Today DiVA offers possibility to buy the art works directly online.
Since the invention of photography, nothing has had a greater impact on artistic practice than the emergence of the personal video camera, and later, digital technology. Today, cameras and video cameras, digital and otherwise, with the aid of computers, have become the ultimate tool in creating a dynamic arena for artistic expression without the limits imposed by the artists’ physical surroundings. The concentration of serious collectors in Paris, both contemporary art lovers and those who collect as part of family tradition, makes Paris one of the most important places for exhibiting video art and new media. DiVA Paris promises to be a valuable addition to the city's art arena with local and international collectors welcoming video as a serious part of their collections.
Digital & Video Art Fair Paris 2007 - Information
November 15-18 2007
Le Louvre des Antiquaires
2, place du Palais-Royal
75001 Paris

Urban Screens Manchester until 14.10.07

The public element of Urban Screens Manchester 07 is an exciting four-day programme of art and events which range from mobile projection, VJ sets, live streaming, video and animation programmes, audiovisual performances to interactive art.

The programme features the works of more than 80 artists from around the world.

Three LED screens in city centre Manchester will show individual programmes exploring the aesthetic and creative potential of content for urban screens. The curatorial focus lies on works which deliberately respond to the specifics of urban screens being sited in the dynamic and dense terrain of public space.

For the art and events programme artworks/creative projects were chosen and commissioned which enrich the urban and public environment.

You’ll soon find a full line-up of projects and events under each day; you can already find some information on a number of events. We are constantly updating this section of the website.

Live Events
The art and events programme brings to Manchester a number of outstanding live events, in which the screens become a stage for international artists. All live events will be presented on either the big screen in front of Urbis or the second temporary big screen on the MMU campus.

All live events plus the rest of the art and events programme are free. The only exception from this rule is the Light Surgeons’ performance at the City Hall for which you will need a low-price ticket sold at Cornerhouse.

One of the highlights will be the interactive audiovisual performance The Air Been Broken by the Chinese duo 8GG on Saturday 13th. This live, exclusive performance in the shadow of the URBIS building will encourage the public to participate via the giant screen, webcams, microphones and other sensors.

The famous multimedia artists, The Light Surgeons, will premier their new piece True Fictions: New Adventures in Folklore in the UK on Thursday night, the 11th. The live performance brings a true fusion of eclectic musical genres such as classical, electronic, folk and hip-hop together on stage as a kaleidoscopic multi-screen cinematic experience, incorporating live musicians and striking audio-visual manipulations.

The performance Buffer Zone by the Russian-Canadian Samer Najari will bring images and sounds from a location near the port of Calais in France where people gather waiting to illegally immigrate to the UK. On three nights, Najari invites these immigrants to speak about their fears and hopes for their future life. The collected still images, stories and songs are transmitted via the Internet and presented in real time on the screen in All Saints Gardens.

Interactive works
The interactive works will invite passers-by to play with the big screens. Both projects will captivate the audience through their simplicity and intuitiveness which supports spontaneous fun and engagement. The interactive works will be on display repeatedly and for longer durations, so you have a real chance to play with them.

Circulez Y’A Rien A Voir (move along now, there's nothing to see) by French Cécile Babiole converts the movements of people into abstract graphic patterns and sounds. Every passer-by can do as one pleases: roam, dance, stamp, run or simply wave a hand and explore means of activating graphics and cheeping sounds.

Streaming media works
A couple of streaming media works will be shown as part of the art and events programme. These works are special as they have a live element to them, for example they use real time images from sites around the globe. These works are fascinating, because they are not just videos, but they change over time.

One of them is Nocinema.org which draws upon a string of live webcams across the world, transmitting live scenes collected from different locations. While the image is slightly manipulated, thus recalling a cinematic camera shot, the sound compositions by various artists foster the hypnotic character of the piece.

Overnight video installations
The sleepless citizen will enjoy the three video pieces which will be presented on all four nights. These works have been designed for an installation setting and will be adapted for the urban screens. Starting at midnight and running till dawn, these pieces will take you to distant and almost surreal places.

Video and animation programmes
A number of video programmes from various parts of the world have been assembled particularly for Manchester. We have asked leading curators and screen operators, video distributions and institutions to provide video works for the public screens in Manchester.

The result is a culturally diverse and absolutely thrilling programme of videos and animations which celebrate the public screen and its various audiences. So either get caught by walking by one of the screens or show up for a screening of your choice! Roaming projection Last but not least we want you to walk with us and follow the mobile projection of A Wall Is A Screen. On Friday night, A Wall Is A Screen will project a series of short movies specially selected for Urban Screens Manchester 07 onto buildings in the city centre. Watch the stunning movies while the crowd grows and moves from one spot to the next!

PixelVÄRK 05.-07.10 Stockholm

PixelVÄRK is a festival for electronic art and subcultures and a Swedish version of pixelACHE. The first pixelACHE festival was organised in Helsinki in 2002. Since then it has become annual event at Kiasma and additional festivals has been arranged in New York, Bratislava, Montreal, Paris and Colombia. PixelACHE presents projects experimenting with media and technology from a broad range of discipline: artists, engineers, designers, researchers and architects. There is a focus on grass-root networks and communities such as VJ Communities, media activists, open source communities and demo scene.
The theme for the 2007 pixelVÄRk is aesthetics, tools and methods in VJ-ing and other underground media. The festival marks the end of the Game Art focus Mejan Labs has had during the early autumn of 2007, where art related to computer games have been discussed.

The festival starts with a seminar with a certain focus on the festival topics and continues with three club nights celebrating the live video and the pixel.