The pictogram animation „Tower to the People“ which was realized for the opening of the Water Tower Art Fest 2014 has been nominated for the German Multimedia Art Award for the young generation (Deutsche Multimediapreis). The awards ceremony takes place in the Technical Collection in Dresden on 15th of November where the project will be presented to the public during a festival of exhibitions, workshops and performances.
For more information visit mb21.de/
Water Tower Art Fest is an artists-led initiative, began as a small-scale event and grew over the years, becoming a significant international forum in Sofia and the country, representing local and international artists working in the contemporary visual arts field.
Part of the festival, now in its eighth year, will be traditionally presented in alternative spaces around the country as an act of decentralization of cultural life in Bulgaria. In Plovdiv this is the newly opened gallery space of eXAF – at 89 Ruski Blvd.
Artworks from this year’s June edition of the festival will be presented where more than 45 international artists from around the world took part. In the selection you can see presentations of video and spatial installations of artists from Bulgaria, Korea, Japan, Britain, Germany and USA.
Welcome to our “temporary protected spaces” with faith in the future and enthusiastic perseverance!
Opening: 03.10.2014 at 19:00 h.
Working hours:
Sat & Sun from 12:00 till 20:00 h.
89 Ruski Blvd., 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria
More information at:
www.watertowerartfest.com and www.exaf.org and on Facebook
Tower to the people from Kim Dotty Hachmann on Vimeo.
This Pictogram Animation was screened during the opening of Water Tower Art Fest (June 2014) in the garden of the actual water tower.
Realised by students of SRH Hochschule der populären Künste (hdpk) in Berlin, Germany. Namely: Niklas Almerood, Niklas Bauer, Jendrik Drazetic, Nicolai Herzog, Mareike Heyne, Sandra Janke, Leon Jurtzik, Kalina Meyer, Dimitri Müller, Tim Pertuch. The project has been organised by assistant professor Kim Dotty Hachmann.
There is an unlikely change in this year’s edition of WTAF. The festival’s emblem, the tower, has been closed for visitors and people by the local authorities. Due to the political problems in Bulgaria this tower is just more than a closed monumental building. It is a place where change happens. A team of students from the hdpk Berlin collect information around the situation and thus visualise together an animated protest video against the prohibition. Their aim is to support and promote the claim and wish: Tower to the people.
ON THE NEXT EDITION OF
WATER TOWER ART FEST
20 – 25 OF JUNE 2014
FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY ARTS IN SOFIA
UNDER THE THEME OF “TEMPORARY PROTECTED SPACES”
Photo by Galya Yotova – all rights reserved Water tower art fest® 2013 – old train station Kazichene
It is our pleasure to announce the spectacular program for the Water Tower Art Festival as an artist-run initiative this year, including the participation of the notorious Bill Viola, in full William Viola (born January 25, 1951, New York, New York, U.S.), an American video, digital, and sound artist. Viola was one of the pioneering figures of a generation of artists in the 1970′s who employed video art and sound technologies. Known for his room-sized environments (installations) that envelop viewers with sound and feature multiple screens of moving images, Viola created sublimely romantic imagery in the tradition of painting through radically new digital media.
The work “Visitation” from his 2008 Transfigurations series, by California-based video artist Bill Viola goes on display in our festival this year in one of our non-traditional venues – the underground ancient remains of Serdika.
The 12-minute video, which is shown vertically on a 65″ plasma screen with stereo sound, was created out of additional material from Viola’s 2007 Venice Biennale series Ocean without a Shore.
Look forward to more information on the artwork soon!
Our strong program, a hallmark of our 8-year-old festival, will be presented traditionally in our array of non-traditional venues. These unique locations include: an old foundry and hall in the industrial zone of Sofia, the garden of a disused water tower (for reasons beyond our control the tower itself is closed by authorities this year due to safety concerns), and many other venues for displaying contemporary art installations and housing performances and talks.
Water Tower Art Fest is artist-run initiative that started as a small-scale event and grew into the most popular Bulgarian showcase of national and international artists working across all disciplines in contemporary visual art. It gives artists and visitors the opportunity to share ideas and to change the socio-political situation through its socially engaged works created especially for its unique venues. It also strikes artists and visitors alike with the notion of overcoming the paradigm of our age, one dominated by economic structures prohibiting the inherent and divine right of existence itself.
“Temporary protected spaces” is our festival’s theme for the second year in a row. It is rooted in the idea of home – or rather the lack of it. The need to rest, recuperate, and communicate freely is the basis of this year’s theme. We will be communicating, while using several disused and abandoned structures in the city of Sofia.
You are welcome to enter and enjoy our Temporary Protected Spaces with faith in the future and a spirit of enthusiastic perseverance.
More information to follow shortly.
All rights reserved.
Water Tower Art Fest ®
FOR NEXT EDITION OF
WATER TOWER ART FEST 2014
June 20-25, 2014
Water Tower Art Fest is an artist-run initiative and the biggest international contemporary art festival in Sofia, incorporating alternative spaces in a series of exhibitions held annually in June since 2006.
The festival has developed into a platform for the creative exchange of national and international artists working in all disciplines within the contemporary visual arts. It gives the opportunity to share ideas on how to change the socio-political situation via socially engaged works done specifically for the venues or with the notion of overcoming the paradigm of our age, dominated by economic structures prohibiting the default and divine right of existence.
Our temporary-protected spaces, the encompassing theme of our festival, is derived from the idea of home – or rather the lack of it. The need for rest and recuperation, and the need to communicate freely are the basis of this year’s theme. We are to “communicate”, by using several abandoned sites/buildings in the city of Sofia, with the possibility of short residencies at some of the venues.
The touring edition of the festival’s artworks is planed for late Summer/early Fall for locations throughout Bulgaria. We do this with the aim to decentralize the cultural life from the capital, Sofia, and share ideas with the wider public that live in remote, even secluded regions.
You are openly invited to our Temporary Protected Spaces with trust for the future with enthusiastic perseverance.
Our philosophy is that art can be made for and by ordinary people and that by expressing their feelings and fears and thoughts they will learn to accept and deal with themselves and others for what they really are.
Public places around the city of Sofia from June 20-25.
Note: The team of WTAF reserves the right to change venues due to unforeseen circumstances.
Anyone, working in the field of contemporary visual arts, with no restriction on age, race, gender, sexual orientation, nationality or education!
We accept proposals on the basis of our proposed venues, being site specific, or based on our theme for the year. We also accept proposal topics for our discussion panels during the festival.
A Selection committee consisting of prominent art figures from the art world is invited to assist us in choice of artists.
NOTE: Artists are responsible for their own travel and shipping of artworks, unless otherwise arranged, under third parties relations made in advance. We are more than happy to send an official festival invitation for participation to be used toward the application for available arts funding and grants at selected artist’s countries of residence.
Please state a detailed explanation and concept of your proposed art work including:
Please distribute or repost this open call freely.
P.S. The festival is listed in the Cultural Calendar of Sofia Municipality for 2014, a mark in our favour, which we hope would support the consideration of our candidature for Sofia – Cultural Capital 2019.
Water Tower Art Fest Team
25.02.2014, Sofia
Contacts:
www.watertowerartfest.com
For the latest news, like our facebook page or follow us on twitter!
watertowerartfest@gmail.com
9 Bogatica Street, app. 12
Sofia 1421
Bulgaria
Nia Pushkarova
Director of NGO IME and organizer/curator of Water Tower Art Fest
Member of Bulgarian Festival Association (BFA)