Blog

General

Register for Adam Zaretsky’s Vivoarts workshop

Renowned bioartist Adam Zaretsky (US) leads a hands-on lab in Pixelache Festival entitled: ‘How to Extract DNA from Anything Living in the Laboratory or in your Kitchen: A Compare and Contrast Vegetarian Laboratory and Hobbyist Workshop’. It will include a bio-political discussion on the difference between whole plant preparations and purified, ‘isolated’ extracts, with a risk assessment of intentional release ‘utilisation’ of Hybrid DNA.

The workshop will take place in Kiasma Seminar room on Saturday 27th March, from 1730-1900, and is free of charge. Held in English language, it has a limited number of spaces for involved persons (Maximum 25 participants), although another 15 are welcome to watch the proceedings.

Please register before 25.3. Look here for more information.

General

Register for Herbologies Workshops

On Sunday 28th March, the Pixelache Festival weekend, from 13-17, there will be two interactive workshops at Kaisaniemi Botanic Gardens, Helsinki:

‘Herbal Tinctures’ Workshop by Interdisciplinary Arts Group SERDE (LV), and ‘Fermentation Sermon’ by Finnish wild plant expert Ossi Kakko, which teach artistic and ‘hands-on’/practical skills, and give DIY -tools to prepare and enjoy wild vegetables and local herbs following traditional and contemporary procedures.

These workshops are free of charge, but have a limited number of spaces (Max. 20 participants in each). Please register before 25.3. Look here for more information.

Reports

The Making of Windowfarms Finland Part 2

Windowfarms Finland installation with viewers / Photo by Antti Ahonen

The LEDs for the ‘Windowfarms Finland’ installation are now glowing. Also, Helsinki days are sunnier, longer, and many of the plants are growing in the huge Kiasma takaikkuna window.

‘What plants are there?’ you ask.. The latest update can be found in the ‘plant chart’ recording the current content of the installation in an online spreadsheet. Hopefully the majority will make it until the end of the month, where there will be workshops on 27th and 28th March, using some of the plants.

Documentation of the participatory building workshop, LED module-making, and finishing of the installation, have now been gathered onto one page.

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General

Opening of Anisostropics 11.3

Not to miss next week, the opening of the Anisotropics exhibition (12-28.3), with Shaina Anand and Ashok Sukumaran (India)!

The featured projects are based on temporary public works, media interventions and other artistic probes into technologies, communities and spaces in cities like Bangalore, Bombay, Dakar, Delhi, Jerusalem and Mexico. Anisotropics is part of Pixelache’s annual Signals from the South programme, which also includes a seminar to be held during the festival on 28.3.

Artist Ashok Sukumaran will be present at the opening.

Opening Time: Thursday, March 11th, 5-7 pm
Location: MUU Gallery, Lönnrotinkatu 33, 00180 Helsinki, Finland

More information

General

Golan Levin exhibition & Window Farm in Kiasma

The Golan Levin exhibition opened in Kiasma this week, here are a couple of photos:

>>> read more

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General

New Puredyne’s soup is tasty!

Puredyne, a USB-bootable GNU/Linux operating system for creative media, was chosen as Pixelache Software of the Year, next to another multimedia distribution, APODIO. It’s been nearly a month now that the new version, “carrot and coriander“, has been released. We’ve received a lot of positive feedback, making us a really proud and happy crew of developers.

>>> read more

General

Art and Technoscience seminar

A conference by the Academy of Fine Arts in Finland, in collaboration with the Finnish Bioart Society and Pixelache festival.

!! This conference takes place already on Wednesday 24 March + Thursday 25 March !!

Speakers include Roy Ascott (artist, theorist, UK), Jill Scott (artist, researcher, AUS/CH), Andy Gracie (artist, UK/ESP), Ingeborg Reichle (art historian, DE), Adam Zaretsky (artist, US), Tuija Kokkonen (theatre director, FI), Terike Haapoja (artist, FI), Pau Alsina (researcher, ESP), Ulla Taipale (curator, FI/ESP), Anu Osva (artist, FI), Erich Berger (artist, coordinator ArsBioarctica, AUT/FI), Helena Sederholm (head of department of art Aalto University, FI), Laura Beloff (artist, researcher, FI), Manu Tamminen (microbiologist, FI), Eija Juurola (forest researcher, FI), Raitis Smits (artist, curator, LV), Jan Kaila (artist, professor, FI), Antti Sajantila (professor,  medical doctor, FI), Minna Långström (artist, FI) among others.

More information >>

Events

Camping à la BarCamp

We have decided to try out BarCamp-style of programme format for our Camp Pixelache in Kerava. BarCamp is ‘an ad-hoc gathering born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment’, more information at www.barcamp.org. BarCamp is similar to a more generic OST / Open Space Technology.

Our Camp will be a slightly modified version of BarCamp/OST, but the main principle will be the same – the participants themselves will be in charge of the programme of the day, which will be decided upon on arrival at the venue. We will publish more details soon!

This decision means that we will have to cancel the second round of the Call for Proposals – instead, we would like to ask anyone who wants to participate in Camp Pixelache to propose ideas already beforehand (this will be possible in a wiki page, we will add the link to Camp Pixelache page) and to show up on the day to participate.

We would like to thank Mike Bradshaw (organiser of BarCamp Helsinki events) and Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen / YKON for helping us to develop the Camp Pixelache programme format.

Announcements

Pixelache 2010 is looking for volunteers….

Pixelache 2010 is in less than 2 months! We are looking for volunteers to help make the festival happen. Getting involved is a unique opportunity to experience a major international electronic art event and to contribute to its success!

More info about how to get involved here

Events

Pixelvärk 2010 Göteborg

Pixelvärk 2010 kicks off tomorrow!

This year’s edition cross-pollinates with the Göteborg Film Festival and brings together people from the film scene into the mix. It is organized by the Swedish VJ Union and Pitbull/Pixel Lab. The programme includes VJ performances, artists presentations and workshops. It aims to inspire and boost the Gothenburg VJ and new media scenes as well as inspire film makers to experiment with live mixed video and animation.

See the full programme here: http://www.pixelvark.se/program/

Activities