Curating.info

I'm proud to announce the (semi-recent) launch of my latest curatorial effort.

In-Site Montreal is a collection of site-specific art presented on the portal pages of five wireless internet hotspots in the Ile Sans Fil network. Artists Nicolas Fleming, Maria Legault, and Virginie Laganiere have created art works that can be viewed simply by logging in to the Ile Sans Fil network at the selected hotspots. Though the project is best viewed in-situ, you can also view the works produced by the artists for the hotspot locations at the In-Site Montreal micro-site.

I have produced a curatorial text for the project, which I would be grateful for your feedback on, my cherished readers.

The concluding paragraphs of the essay include the following statements:

The virtual spaces that In-site Montreal inhabit are amorphous areas around several accepted gathering places such as cafes, galleries, markets, and bars. They are perhaps places where as an internet user, you may intend to use the opportunity of connectivity to the network to look outward, to read news of distant places or connect with friends far away through e-mails and online social networking sites. The art practice of telematics in particular addresses the creative possibilities when two parties are connected over distance to communicate. In some way, the pieces presented on the portal pages of Ile Sans Fil's network as part of the In-Site Montreal project present something that is almost anti-telematic, in that the works look inward rather than outward. In the case of this project, a connection to someone across the globe is not sought, it is shunned in favour of a further examination and rumination on the details of the local environment.

I'm interested in this idea of the inverse-telematic, the inward-looking, the intensely-local, especially using a tool such as Wi-Fi that we are so accustomed to associate with an outward-looking, nearly-anonymous roaming of virtual terrain.

Thanks to Year Zero One for producing the project, the Canada Council for the Arts for funding the project, Ile Sans Fil for hosting the project, and Rita Godlevskis for designing the map and visual identity of In-Site Montreal.

Job offer at Studio XX: Programming Coordinator

Application Deadline: 1 March, 2007
Position Start Date: 19 March, 2007
Send in your c.v. and cover letter to: administration -at- studioxx.org

Description of the position: Programming Coordinator

The person who takes on this position is responsible of programming, promotion, and the supervision and organisation of regular public events at Studio XX, including the salons Femmes [email protected]ées, the Journées de la culture and Art's Birthday. The coordinator supervises both the regular programming committee and the special events committee (except for the HTMlles Festival). She is also responsible, alongside the technical director, of the selection committee of artist residencies and coproductions. With the collaboration of the general director, she is in charge of grant writing with regards to the programming of regular and special events. The person who takes on this position agrees to work 21 hours weekly.

More specifically:

The ideal person has a good knowledge of current artistic trends in network arts, emerging media and sound art. She should also be very aware of questions related to gender studies, as well as feminist and activist practices. In order to be selected for the position, it is necessary to have organisational, technical and administrative skills, but mostly, abilities to develop a marketing strategy and visibility of our activities to a larger public.

Description of tasks
1- Coordinating Public Events and Collaborations
The programming coordinator must: Coordinate the event logistics (equipment rental, venue booking) and their production schedules by collaborating with the team, especially the technician; Create links between the artists and the speakers, the curators, team members (technician, translators, webmaster) and the volunteers in the organisation of events; Create and work with a programming committee; Coordinate the promotion of events as well as communications; See with the team members that events are documented; Coordinate the production of critical articles and promotional material, and the development of audiences.

2- Programming
The programming coordinator must: Supervise the programming committee; Articulate, with the help of the members of the team and of the Board of directors, the main aspects of the annual program which should follow the priorities of Studio XX; Develop an event calendar; Contact artists and speakers for Femmes [email protected]ées.

3- Artist Residencies
The programming coordinator must: Come up with the pluriannual theme; Select the artist residencies with the programming committee; Facilitate links between the artists, the technician, the workshop coordinator and the rest of the team.

4- Public Image of the Studio and Website
The programming coordinator is responsible for the online content related to Studio XX's programming. She is in charge of updating the information on recent events and the archiving of past events (artist biographies, description of projects and of salons Femmes [email protected]ées); The programming coordinator should underline the critical interests of the Studio via her participation in the committee of the online journal, .dpi

5- Grant Writing
The programming coordinator is responsible for writing grants for regular annual activities. This responsibility is fulfilled in conjunction with the general director.

STUDIO XX
Centre d'artiste féministe engagé dans l'exploration, la création et la critique en art technologique.
Feminist art centre for technological exploration, creation, and critique.
338 Terrasse Saint-Denis . Montréal . Québec. H2X 1E8
tél: 514-845-7934 . fax: 514.845.4941 . www.studioxx.org . [email protected]

Méta Femmes [email protected]ées 05 – Nat Muller
October 5th 2006, 10AM, at Studio XX

StudioXX celebrates its 10th birthday under the auspices of Event X, 2 days of conferences, round table discussions and performances. In connection with this event StudioXX will host visitor Nat Muller to present her own curatorial practice.

Nat Muller will be at StudioXX in the morning, on the 5th of October to host an intimate talk on her curatorial work. Her primary research directions have concentrated on the intersections between aesthetics, technology and politics, as well as new media and art practices in the Middle East. Nat will update us on her position as curator working between Europe and the Middle East, bringing up questions emerging from this networked practice which is, according to her, often schizophrenic. You are cordially invited to take part in this discussion.

In order to orient and animate the discussion we have invited active local curator Alice Ming Wai Jim who has recently returned to Montreal after working for 3 years in conservation at the Vancouver International Center for Contemporary Asian Art (Center A). Alice is now a professor at Concordia University. Her main fields of interest include contemporary Asian art, the art of the Diaspora, new medias, theories of representation, globalization, urban studies and curatorial practices. The links between the practices and orientations of Alice Min Wai Jim and Nat Muller promise to foster a dynamic discussion between these two interventionists and the attending public.

The discussion will be in English. $5, free admission for members. Register: [email protected] or call (514) 845-7934

Studio XX
338 Terrasse Saint-Denis, Montréal (Québec) H2X 1E8 Canada