Upgrade!

Upgrade! is an international network of independent nodes linked by art, technology and commitment to overcome cultural rupture. Its decentralized, non-hierarchical structure enables Upgrade ! to operate according to local interests and on the basis of means available, as well as to consider the current creative feats in new technologies. Independent nodes are projects realized in new media, promoting informal criticism, dialogue and cooperation between independent artists. At the same time, Upgrade !International functions as an on-line global network presented every year in different cities, with the aim to present local art and to discuss the current issues for the next conference.

P2P Outdoor Art Videos

In cooperation with Upgrade ! International was initiated a series of international projections in public areas. The form of presentation was inspired by the model of drive-in movies plus PSK (BYP = bring your popcorn), of course!

y adopting the functional model of websites like YouTube, a whole range of experimental events was created, events that translate the social exchange of video works into analogue street environment. For selection of video works are in charge individual Upgrade ! nodes. Projections are realized in the public areas of the following cities: Vancouver, Paris, Belgrade, Seattle, Skopje, Chicago, Amsterdam, and Istanbul. In the scope of this project the social software is being investigated through a low-tech model, in terms that during the projection were distributed flyers with information on participants, for the purpose of encouraging people in individual cities to get in touch.

Mission New Media Scotland/Upgrade! Scotland

New Media Scotland have put into the centre of its organization structure experimentalism and support to all those who practice new media. This organization is committed to development and improvement of opportunities for artists who deal with the link between art and technology.
http://www.mediascot.org

B-sides is a short programme of video works and art films that presents gags and accompanying effects of more complex creative enterprises and radical experiments. All artists produce works that permit them to test news techniques and ideas, therefore the digital video is like a sketch pad for many cotemporary artists who are creating in new media. Yet, these artefacts are rarely visible in public presentations. By including them into its programme, New Media Scotland praises their raw beauty.

 Selection B-sides
B-SIDES programme:

Speechless Moments – Angela Bartram / Single Track Road – Lisa O’Brien / Yellow Road – Jane Frazer / Cold Breeze – Thomas Qualmann / Madame I – Beverley Hood / Facade – Alison Philp / Surfbloom – Jaygo Bloom / Zombie Lick – David Hutchison / Intimate Klüver – Johannes Birringer / Hologram – Jane Frazer /A Film Found in a Dump – Alex Hetherington / Passenger – Gillian McIver / Arch – Louise K Fraser / Sacred Turf – Holger Mohaupt / Liferaft – Ryszard Lewandowski / Railings – Jane Frazer / 20 Games of Scrabble – Thomas Qualmann / B-sides Triptych – Luke Collins / Fur Kiss – Angela Bartram / 134 Contrails – Lizzie Hughes
Duration: 24 minutes

About Upgrade! Vancouver

Upgrade! Since 2003 Vancouver has been successfully organizing discussions and presentations on the cross-section of art and technology. Kate Armstrong is the main organizer of this node in the scope of Upgrade ! International network and she collaborates to produce publications, exhibitions and innovative processes of exchange between 22 cities.
URL: http://www.katearmstrong.com/upgrade/vancouver/

Selection Upgrade! Vancouver

Medium: Sean Arden / Home Bathroom Hotel: Victoria Stanton / Moving Fruit: Victoria Stanton / Roller Disco Solo (Segue): Miriam Needoba / Anamorphic Loop 1: Puttering in the Meltdown: Oliver Hockenhull / Anamorphic Loop 2: Cab Wise: Oliver Hockenhull
T3 DNL 06 – Tempograph ( Pink Kite ): David Leith / Hacking the Jack: Jesse Scott
Cauliflower: Christopher Zimmermann / Afterthoughts: Lane Last / A Doll’s House Is (excerpt ): Henry Gwiazda /Time Present Solo: Evann Siebens and Keith Doyle Duration : 26 minutes

Upgrade! Vancouver
Contact: Kate Armstrong, kate@katearmstrong.com

Selection of Asian Video

Curator Biljana Ćirić (Shanghai)

Since 1990s video art has become a relevant field of creation all over Asia. During economic and urban expansion of Asia in the past ten years, artists used video to react to swift changes in their environment and to build a system of strategies to survive. The video selection of the curator Biljana Ćirić ( Shanghai) presents a wide range of the emerging artists who are pioneers of the contemporary art practice in different regions of Asia. The video selection is a review of works of young artists actively present on the international scene butwho are at the same time the leading protagonists of the Asian scene of contemporary art.

Artists:
Miljohn Ruperto (Philippines/USA)/ Ho Tzu Nyen (Singapore)/ Song Tao (China)/ Sun Xun (China) / Li Pinghu (China)/ Dong Wensheng (China)/ Huang Kui (China)