Creative Expression

Call For the WEAD Magazine : DIRTY WATER

This post comes to you from Cultura21

WEAD_print_logoWEAD seeks proposals for the upcoming issue of the WEAD magazine from artists working with “dirty water” projects.

“Rainwater, stormwater, graywater and blackwater are being treated with increasing frequency as important resources. Designers and artists, together with engineers and agencies, are highlighting the presence of water reuse in our communities through creative expression, interpretation, and the visible additions of green infrastructure.”

The articles chosen will appear in the next WEAD Magazine Fall/Winter 2013, and authors will receive a complimentary one-year membership to WEAD and $100 honorarium.

For more information : http://weadartists.org/wead-magazine-call-out

Cultura21 is a transversal, translocal network, constituted of an international level grounded in several Cultura21 organizations around the world.

Cultura21′s international network, launched in April 2007, offers the online and offline platform for exchanges and mutual learning among its members.

The activities of Cultura21 at the international level are coordinated by a team representing the different Cultura21 organizations worldwide, and currently constituted of:

– Sacha Kagan (based in Lüneburg, Germany) and Rana Öztürk (based in Berlin, Germany)
– Oleg Koefoed and Kajsa Paludan (both based in Copenhagen, Denmark)
– Hans Dieleman (based in Mexico-City, Mexico)
– Francesca Cozzolino and David Knaute (both based in Paris, France)

Cultura21 is not only an informal network. Its strength and vitality relies upon the activities of several organizations around the world which are sharing the vision and mission of Cultura21

Go to Cultura21

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Northern Light Events and C venues Green up their Act at Edinburgh Festival Fringe

The Events division of leading UK sound and lighting installer Northern Light is working with one of the biggest venue producers on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe – C venues – to ‘green-up’ the latest addition to its stable of festival venues – C aquila.

Head of hire and events for Northern Light, Nick Read, has teamed up with C venues production manager Richard Williamson, artistic director (and international lighting designer) Hartley Kemp, and industry journalist Sarah Rushton-Read to collaborate on an energy-efficient lighting rig that will not compromise creative expression or practical application.

To that end, Read, Williamson and Rushton-Read trawled the aisles of PLASA Focus in Leeds and the ABTT Show in London to source the very best in low-energy entertainment technology. Read comments: “I’m delighted to say that having established the kit we required we received unfettered support from a number of top lighting manufacturers and suppliers. They include Robert Juliat with its Aledin LED profile; White Light, which is exclusive distributor for a number of low energy and LED pro lighting kit including the impressive RevEAL CW LED Washlight from Prism Projection; ETC with its Selador range of LED wash lights, dimmers, consoles and low-wattage Source Four Juniors; and Philips with its Selecon range of low-wattage Fresnels and PCs. This is fantastic as we have just 63A single phase available to run two performance spaces, catering and a bar!”

Read, Williamson, Rushton-Read and Kemp’s priority was to develop a lighting rig that would offer full creative flexibility yet be as low-energy as possible. Williamson comments: “It‘s essential that we don’t go green just for the sake of it – that can often do more damage than good! The entertainment technology products we will be using have to make sense on all fronts – creatively, practically and logistically. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe presents a number of unique challenges. Venues generally have limited power available, many hosting up to ten different shows a day, and turnaround between shows is tight – less than 15 minutes in most cases. Such a gruelling schedule demands that technical kit is robust, quick to rig, de-rig, set up, adjust and programme and, in particular, quick and simple to maintain.”

Read continues: “We’ve chosen equipment we believe will sit comfortably with the demanding schedule, fast set up and turnarounds, however Northern Light technicians will be on hand to offer incoming theatre companies any training, help or advice they may need.”

Rushton-Read will document activities, measure results and feed back information online through Northern Light Fringe Networking Site, Facebook and Twitter, she explains: “Not only will we document the all important numbers, but also the artists and technicians response to the new kit. We’ll look at how user friendly and fit for purpose it is and feedback on how quick and easy it is to programme. We aim to evaluate the wider environmental impact of C venues using British Standard BS8901 – Sustainability Management System for Events. This process will help us identify areas where the operation can be improved in a truly sustainable way – environmentally, economically and practically.”

At the end of the Festival, Northern Light Events, C venues and Sarah Rushton-Read will compile a report detailing the successes and any issues raised and look at where improvements can be made. It will also detail recommendations for next year’s event. It will be available for download from C venues, Northern Light and The Fifth Estate websites.

Hartley Kemp, artistic director for C venues concludes: “We’re deeply concerned about the environmental impact of festivals like the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and we welcome the chance to play our part in improving its sustainability. However, we also believe strongly in what we do artistically. We are therefore aiming to take a realistic approach to reducing our carbon emissions and our wider impact on the environment, in order to achieve minimal environmental impact without compromising creative expression. C venues is not claiming to be the greenest of the green or anywhere near the elysian fields of carbon neutrality. What we’re doing is taking the first positive steps to reduce our CO2 emissions, waste and environmental impact. I believe this exercise will give us the context and benchmarks by which to achieve effective results year on year.”