JOHANNESBURG ART HAPPENINGS THROUGH THE EYES OF THE TRINITY SESSION
[1] The PREMISES Gallery: Zander Blom on Saturday 8 July, 17:00 – 20:00
Sounds and Pictures,
and any sort of hyperbolic theoretical promise we want to wallow in
by Zander Blom
Having completed his in-situ project at The Premises, Blom will end his process with drinks and a presentation of works made in this 3 week period, accompanied by his own music produced in this time, guests are invited to celebrate the closing with the artist with a view to anticipating his Audio CD and book launch in early 2007.
http://www.onair.co.za/thepremises
[2] Public Art: Large scale tree sculptures to be installed in Juta Street, Braamfontein
Juta Street Public artworks:
9 large scale steel tree sculptures to be installed in Juta Street between Bertha, Debeer and Melle Streets in Braamfontein.
Installation commences Monday 3 July and is due for completion by Monday 10 July.
The Trinity Session will conduct a walk through of the finished installation – please respond if you or your colleagues are interested in attending.
To embellish on the recent surface upgrades in Juta Street, The Trinity Session will be introducing a series of sculptures that respond to the planting of trees in designated concrete planters along the pavements of Juta Street. This intervention is the conclusion of a series of conceptual design workshops conducted by The Trinity Session with Claire Regnard and a group of students from the Imbali Visual Literacy Project at the Bus Factory in Newtown, in 2005.
Under the artistic direction of Claire Regnard these design concepts have been translated into human scale expressions of tree-like forms; the positive-negative shape profiles of the sculptures will respond to daytime and nighttime light in the form of shadow play, reflection and movement.
This public art intervention marks the continuation of ideas and implementation of public art situated within the Cultural Arc and associated urban regeneration in the area. This artworks programme was initiated and funded by the Johannesburg Development Agency in consultation with The Trinity Session and Albonico, Sack, Mzumara Architects.
http://www.onair.co.za/juta/juta.pdf
[3] Sourcing / Commissioning Art: call to artists / interior designers / architects
Through the course of 2005 The Trinity Session sourced and commissioned 1500 artworks for the Raphael Penthouse Suites and Michelangelo Towers in Sandton, with a view to giving the rooms in the hotel pool an original and authentic South African edge. Working closely with the interior designers, developers and the artists, The Trinity Session was able to mediate the needs of all parties and deliver a product that has been well received by owners and visitors alike. A defining factor of this project was that the commissioning process engaged some 70 artists, which in turn created significant social awareness and local support. The project also included placing art into the corridors and public spaces in the hotels and the adjacent mall. Legacy Property Holdings received a BASA Award for this initiative in May this year.
The impact on the lives of the artists involved with this project was substantial and the lessons from this process have demonstrated the significant impact that original works of art have on shifting the perception of space and functionality in terms of design, leisure, status and brand awareness.
The Trinity Session aims to further engage such collaborations.
for more information please contact: ts@onair.co.za
Artists can send examples of their works (low-resolution) and contact details to:
thepremises@onair.co.za
[4] Hobbs/Neustetter: URBANET Hillbrow-Dakar-Hillbrow
Inspired by encounters with francophone immigrants within Hillbrow, Johannesburg, Hobbs/Neustetter (for their contribution to the Dak’Art Biennale ‘Off’ Programme) interviewed a group of Senegalese traders asking them to draw maps of Dakar, which Hobbs/Neustetter would use to navigate the city during their two week residence in May. The culminating exhibition at the Ker Thiossane residency space comprised a series of wall-map-paintings and photographic stills projections that reflected on the interactions and engagements that resulted from navigating Dakar on foot and visiting colleagues and friends of the Johannesburg based Senegalese traders.
To date the project has been featured at the “Sightings / Site-ings of the African City” conference held at the Wits Institute of Social and Economic Research, in June. A Project page has been commissioned for the forth coming Art South Africa, September 2006 issue.
And the Johannesburg exhibition version to be held in Hillbrow, will be announced in the coming weeks. This project has been made possible by the collaborative and financial support of the French Institute of South Africa with additional assistance from Africalia, Belgium.
[5] eMODM -Enjin Museum of Dead Meida: call for participation and proposals
Enjin Magazine in collaboration with The Trinity Session is embarking on the development of a ‘Museum for Dead Media’. The purpose is to call public attention to the significance of collecting or preserving one’s redundant or dated technology, reflections on ways in which these tools are still applied in creative processes and to reflect on the advancements in new technologies and media.
The first steps towards this project manifested in the Hobbs / Neustetter “Awaken the Dead” installation at Design Indaba 8 and the call for interest and ideas on creative uses of dead media as well as concepts for the “museum”. Following this launch, interested participants and artists have responded to the questions around what shape and form a museum of dead media could take as well as what can be produced using old-technology. These comments, concepts and ideas have been featured in a project page in Enjin magazine. More information can be found on http://onair.co.za/emodm
Call for participation:
Enjin magazine is building a museum and we need your help. Create a visual piece in any format or material. Submit your personal or professional interpretation of dead media to Enjin magazine for inclusion in the Enjin Museum of Dead Media. Works will be selected to feature in future editions of Enjin magazine, and for pride of place in the Museum.
Send your museum-piece concepts and proposals modm@onair.co.za
[6] DigiArts AFRICA: Dakar network meeting and the UNESCO DigiArts Portal
DigiArts is one of UNESCO’s major initiatives aiming at the development of interdisciplinary activities in research, creativity and communication in the field of media arts.
The DigiArts AFRICA network is a tool to find people working in Digital Arts in Africa and to provide a collaborative working space to promote digital arts in Africa. As coordinators of networking activity of DigiArts AFRICA, The Trinity Session, in partnership with UNESCO DigiArts, have conducted research and development within the continent and the Diaspora. This activity has resulted in networking strategies, Africa focused research and key partnerships, as well as networking sessions, conferences, workshops and online activity. The history of this project has seen the use of international platforms such as ISEA04 (Helsinki) and Ars Electronica 2005 (Linz) and in 2006 an encounter in Dakar during the Dak’Art Biennale.
Dak’Art_Lab 2006: Encounters and experiences
While the Dak’Art Biennale is well known as the most prominent contemporary arts exhibition in Africa, people still might question what the Dak’Art_Lab is about. Since 2004, the Biennale has made a unique move towards artistic practices using digital media, promoting this initiative through the experimental project of Dak’Art_Lab, the lab of art and technologies of the Biennale. This year’s Dak’Art_Lab (6-14 May 2006, Dakar, Senegal) was showcased though a comprehensive programme of an exhibition, forum discussions, and training workshops on creative digital practices in the African context, organized by UNESCO in partnership with the Daniel Langlois Foundation.
READ MORE: http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=31333&URL_DO= DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
The experience at Dakar has motivated further research and development for a Africa-specific project-driven approach. With this in mind we would like to encourage any interested individuals or organizations to inform us of their current explorations that are related to creativity and technology within Africa or the Diaspora. digiarts@onair.co.za
UNESCO DigiArts Portal: http://portal.unesco.org/digiarts