Upcoming 16mm Filmmaking Workshops with Mobile Frames Resident Daïchi Saïto

daichicard

Mobile Frames is pleased to announce our first series of FREE 16mm workshops, conducted by Montréal-based filmmaker in residence Daïchi Saïto, February 13th, 15th and 16th.

The workshops are completely FREE and open to Windsor / Detroit residents. Spaces are limited! Registration is required.

To register, contact: mobileframes@live.com
For more information visit: http://mobileframes.org/

“Introduction to 16mm Filmmaking”

Combining lecture and hands on practice, this workshop surveys the fundamentals of do-it-yourself filmmaking. Aspects of cinematography including light, camera, lens and film stocks, as well as the properties of film and processing chemicals, are covered. Participants will learn to shoot in 16mm with a Bolex Camera, make homemade film processing solutions out of raw chemical ingredients and hand process their own footage using various techniques. This workshop will prepare participants for further explorations of celluloid filmmaking and experimentation with film processing. All materials are provided. No previous experience with 16mm filmmaking is required.

http://mobileframes.org/workshops/

Feb. 13th, 2014 – Introduction to 16mm Filmmaking (Part 1), 1pm – 5pm

Feb. 15th, 2014 – Introduction to 16mm Filmmaking (Part 2), 9am – 6pm

Feb. 16th, 2014 – Introduction to 16mm Filmmaking (Part 3), 1pm – 5pm

Daïchi Saïto is a co-founder of Double Negative, an artist’s collective in Montreal dedicated to exhibition and production of experimental cinema. His films have screened at festivals, museums and cinematheques worldwide and are in the permanent collections of the Austrian Film Museum and the Slovenian Cinematheque, and are distributed by Light Cone (Paris), Arsenal (Berlin) and the CFMDC (Toronto). Saïto has taught cinema at NSCAD University in Halifax, Concordia University in Montreal and the Escuela Internacional De Cine in Cuba.


The series is presented by Media City Film Festival, together with Broken City Lab, Common Ground Art Gallery and Momentum Film & Video Collective and is made possible through the generous support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation. Media City Film Festival acknowledges the support of the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts.

No Experience Necessary: A Workshop Series by Momentum Film & Video Collective

4x6 FRONT

No Experience Necessary – Experiments with Video: Hosted by Momentum Film & Video Collective

Saturday, December 7th from 12-5pm – CIVIC Space (411 Pelissier Street, Windsor)

This workshop, hosted by Windsor’s very own Momentum Film & Video Collective and happening at Broken City Lab’s CIVIC Space, will explore several historical and contemporary concepts and practices of experimental video through screenings, discussions and a hands on video production and editing project. If you’re interested in digital and analog video, this workshop will help you sharpen your skills in visual experimentation and allow you a chance to create with others. We hope to see you there!

Feel free to bring your own camera for shooting & computer for editing.

WORKSHOP OVERVIEW

Presentation / Discussion / Screening
Tech Talk: Digital and Analog Video Capturing / Editing Strategies
Themes / Concepts / Imagery for Experimenting
Shooting & Editing
Present in-workshop Experiments

There is a nominal fee of $10 to attend this workshop. Please pre-register by emailing momentumfilm@live.com.

We’re Featured in Artcite’s 30th Anniversary Exhibition, Opening Tomorrow Night at 7:30

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“30X30 – Artcite 30th ANNIVERSARY SHOW pt. 2”

An Invitational Group Show featuring Works by Emerging Artists Nominated by Artcite Alumni and Members

Opening Reception – Friday, September 13, 7:30 PM at Artcite (109 University Ave. W, Windsor)

We’ve just recently been selected to take part in Artcite‘s 30th Anniversary / 30×30 exhibition, which opens tomorrow at 7:30pm. We contributed a series of posters which deal with issues we confront and negotiate with on a nearly daily basis (collaboration, creativity, time, resources, direction, etc.)

I know it’s short notice, but if you’re in the area, please stop by. There’s a ton of interesting work from 15 Canadian and American emerging artists. We hope to see you there!

The exhibition runs September 13 to November 16, 2013 – Wed-Sat 12-5 or by appointment

Featuring works by:

Daniel Bernyk (Windsor, ON)
Broken City Lab (Windsor, ON)
Michael Paul Britto (Bronx, NY, USA)
Katyuska Doleatto (Toronto, ON)
Hans Gindlesberger (Blacksburg, VA, USA)
Arturo Herrera (Windsor, ON)
Adriane Little (Kalamazoo, MI, USA)
Ella Dawn McGeough (Toronto, ON)
Susy Oliveira (Toronto, ON)
David Poolman (Toronto, ON)
Maayke Schurer (Ottawa, ON)
Andrea Slavik / Alicia Chester (Windsor ON, Rochester, NY, USA)
Owen Eric Wood (Windsor ON)
Nicole June Wurstner (Buffalo NY, USA)
Jade Yumang (Vancouver BC, Brooklyn, NY, USA)

PATHS (Practicing Art through Hide & Seek) Windsor: Sign up Now for this September!

PATHS

PATHS (Practicing Art through Hide & Seek): A Project Series by Andrew Lochhead – Sign up and Participate!

PATHS is part of an ongoing series of works and actions that explore notions of “play” as: an act of transgression, resistance, detournément, and subversion, a method of pedagogy, a means of investigating and exploring the urban environment & a means toward social engagement, in relation to the fine arts, – all within the context of our contemporary zeitgeist. Led by artist Andrew Lochhead, PATHS will consist of 3 games held at 3 locations in Windsor on September 20th, 21st, and 22nd.

Downtown (Friday, September 20th – 8:30pm-midnight) – Meet at Civic Space (411 Pelissier Street)

Devonshire Mall (Saturday, September 21st – 3-7pm) – Meet at doors by Tim Hortons (3100 Howard Avenue)

Jackson Park (Sunday, September 22nd – 3-7pm) – Meet at main gates of Jackson Park (Ouellette Avenue & Tecumseh Road)

Also, join us for a wrap party at 7pm at Villains Beastro on Sunday, September 22nd.

The game represents a fun way of engaging with an aspect of our city of which many of us are unfamiliar. We hope you can make it out.

Please use the form below to sign up for PATHS.


 

 

Slow Down the City: A Month of Alternative Transportation Workshops at Civic Space

Slow Down the City - Promo Card

Slow Down the City: A Series of Alternative Transportation Events throughout the Month of July

We’re pleased to announce a month-long series of workshops here at CIVIC SPACE that will explore the pace of our automotive city and how we might slow it down with our actions and transportation choices. We’ll be teaming with with local bike co-op City Cyclery and local longboarder Troy Linton to host four events throughout the month of July that will use skill sharing and group rides to open a dialog about the pace of Windsor.

All Slow Down the City events are free and open to everyone. Bring your bike, board, or come without. Looking forward to seeing you there!


Monday, July 8th (7pm) – Workshop #1: Bike Maintenance with City Cyclery

Monday, July 22nd (7pm) – Workshop #2: Bike Restoration with City Cyclery

Thursday, July 25th (7pm) – Workshop #3: Longboarding with Troy Linton

Monday, July 29th (7pm) – Workshop #4: Group Slow Ride

ALL EVENTS WILL BEGIN AT CIVIC SPACE – 411 PELISSIER STREET, WINDSOR, ONTARIO

Reshaping Rochester: Transforming Spaces Lecture with Justin Langlois & Dr. Ian Wilson

Rochester

Reshaping Rochester Lecture Series – “Transforming Spaces” Lecture and Exhibition with Justin Langlois & Dr. Ian Wilson

Wednesday, June 5th, 7-9pm – The Little Theatre, Theatre #1, 240 East Avenue, Rochester, NY

Reshaping Rochester is an annual lecture series hosted by the Rochester Regional Design Center (RRCDC). The series focuses on the efforts, strategies and successes accomplished by cities that face challenges similar to Rochester, New York.

On June 5th, Justin will be heading to Rochester to co-present the final lecture, “Transforming Spaces”, with Dr. Ian Wilson, a radiologist and co-founder of Wall/Therapy from Rochester, NY.

To accompany the discussion and support the topics covered by Ian and Justin, the RRCDC is also showing a selection of works by Broken City Lab and Ian’s mural initiative, Wall/Therapy in the Design Gallery (1115 E. Main Street). The exhibition will be up until mid-June and includes a wide variety of past Broken City Lab interventions, publications, and other documentation.

Photography for Goods: A Skills for Good(s) Event Hosted by Mike DiRisio

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Photography for Goods: A Skills for Good(s) Event Hosted by Mike DiRisio

Friday, April 26th, 7pm @ CIVIC SPACE – 411 Pelissier Street, Windsor, Ontario

Photography for Goods, a Skills for Good(s) workshop hosted by University of Windsor MFA Candidate Mike DiRisio, will cover ways to light and shoot objects to white out the photograph’s background – methods similar to those used in product photography. However, we will be using very basic materials, like desk lamps and large sheets of paper, so that you can easily reproduce this at home. We’ll then do some basic edits using Adobe Photoshop software, to completely white out the background and make the photographs as sharp as possible!

Please bring a used object (preferably something no bigger than a microwave) to donate to the Common Goods freestore – we’ll be photographing these for the demo.

Please visit Common Goods to see examples of objects photographed this way, and to learn more about the project Common Goods.

Blog Party: A New Biweekly Get-together

block party!

Blog Party

We’re very excited to announce a new biweekly blogging night, Blog Party, starting Thursday, April 11th here at CIVIC SPACE! Blog Party aims to bring together local bloggers to discuss ideas, inspiration, and issues in the city and beyond, providing a time and space for writing, learning, and creating together, regardless of skill level.

Hosted by Sara and Josh, Blog Party is both an opportunity to learn and teach, and ultimately make great blogs. Blog Party works like a pot luck — you bring something you know how to do, and everyone else gets to sample it — together, we’ll learn how to blog better, faster, and smarter.


Upcoming Dates

June 6th & 20th

July 4th & 18th

August 1st, 15th, & 29th

@7pm, Civic Space – 411 Pelissier Street, Windsor

Hi, 5 with Kirsten McCrea

About the Hi, 5 Interview Series

Hi, 5 (5 Questions) is a web-only interview series which presents five questions to artists, activists, and creative thinkers alike.  The project acts as an educational device which allows us to gain insight into the narratives that define successful individuals.  We are interested in the motivations behind ambitious ideas and how these individuals chart personal change in relation to their surroundings.

About Kirsten McCrea

Kirsten McCrea is a Canadian artist whose work explores issues of cultural memory, looking at pop vs. underground culture, the media, and popular mythologies. Known for her bright colours and figurative subject-matter, Kirsten is quickly establishing herself as a prominent emerging Canadian artist. Primarily a painter, she is also the founder and editor of Papirmasse, an affordable art subscription that sends a monthly print to hundreds of people around the world every month.

Her paintings have been exhibited nationally and her work has been reviewed by The Walrus, Chatelaine, and The Montreal Gazette, amongst others. She has illustrated for the Polaris Music Prize & the Under Pressure Graffiti festival, and her patterned drawings can be found on notebooks and apparel in stores across the country. When not working on her own she collaborates with the art collective Cease and the drawing initiative En Masse, whose work was recently shown in the form of a massive installation in the Musée des Beaux Arts in Montreal. QC.

Kirsten McCrea - Ampersand, ink on paper, 2012

Kirsten McCrea

If you had to describe your current self to a 16-year-old you, what would you say? 

Your parents and everyone you know are going to lie to you and say that nobody can really be an artist as their job. They won’t do it out of malice, but out of love and concern for your future. But you know what? They’ll all be wrong. You CAN be an artist full-time, and you will be. Also, in two years when you decide to grow dreadlocks – don’t. Just don’t. It’s not going to work out.

Could you describe an evolution in your work or way of thinking?

I feel like I have gone back and forth between conceptualism and aestheticism quite a bit. At one point I was a huge theory nerd, then I got really disenchanted with theory and fell in love with street art, which at its core is populist and just viscerally appealing (or sometimes viscerally enraging, depending on your take. Either way – it’s goal is to elicit an emotional reaction). Now I’m cozying up to concept again and am coming to appreciate art with big ideas behind it. But I still love aesthetics, and want to find a way in my practice to make work that is nice to look at but still makes you think. I think that it took a long time to realize that I could do both.

Are there any people who have been instrumental in the development of your way of thinking and viewing the world?

David Choe completely blew my mind wide open when I was 18. I was visiting Montreal (still living in Edmonton at the time, a city that is pretty isolated and not exactly a hotbed of radical anything) and found his book Bruised Fruit in (of all places) an Urban Outfitters. Having grown up in a city that has the highest number of chain stores per capita, I honestly thought that if something was in one bookstore it meant that it was in every single other bookstore. Sad, I know. It turns out that that book was a very limited run (and there were certainly no copies in Edmonton!), but my best friend tracked it down for me and even got him to sign it. Talk about the best birthday present ever! My copy is tattered because I have looked at it so much, and even though I’m not a huge fan of Choe’s work anymore (the sexism kills it for me), it was through him that I discovered Juxtapoz and an entire community of artists on the internet who became some of my biggest influences. I had never seen lowbrow before and discovering it was maybe the most exciting feeling of my life. It felt like I had finally found my home.

How do your political beliefs inform or fuel your work as an artist?

I am a very political person. I used to be very involved in activism, but now art takes all of my time (living in Montreal also made me complacent – it’s so good there compared to right-wing Alberta). Nonetheless, I think that my political beliefs are always present in my work. I try to really consider when I make an image what unconscious ideas are influencing it and how it will be perceived. Particularly in portraiture, I think that it is very easy for artists to fall into the trap of regurgitating the language of advertising. We see ads literally all day long – how can they not dictate your ideas about how a person should be portrayed and what kind of person should be portrayed?

I am currently working on a follow-up to my 2008 series Hot Topic, which is 60 paintings of feminist icons. In Hot Topic Redux I’ll paint another 20. Stay tuned to my website (www.hellokirsten.com) because I’ll be launching a site in the next month or so where I take viewer suggestions about which feminist icons should be painted next.

I also run Papirmasse, an affordable art subscription that sends a monthly print to people around the world for only $5 a month. I really think that people should not be shut out of the art world because of income, so I’m doing my part to make art more accessible and help it circulate through the world. People are afraid to have an opinion about art – they think they need an Art History degree to say whether they like something or not! With Papirmasse I always say – it’s yours now, it’s coming into your home. There’s no expert. YOU are the expert. You decide if you like it or not. And at 5 dollars don’t be too precious about it. If you like a part of it then cut it up and frame it. Make art work for you. Have a dialogue with it. The conversation doesn’t have to be a one-way street.

What do you feel a city should be or do for its inhabitants?

This is an interesting question for me at this time in my life, as I am transitioning from Montreal to Toronto (6 years after leaving my hometown of Edmonton). Toronto seems like a cool place with a really active populace who is interested in improving their city, but I have a sneaking suspicion that in some ways it won’t be able to match Montreal. The reason I love Montreal so much (and what enticed me away from Edmonton) is that it is a very actively lived-in city. The population seems to move through and interact with the space in a much more engaged way than, say, Edmonton, where you rarely see anyone out in the street and only see car after car.

This happens because of bike lanes, beautiful public parks, great public transportation, and lots of lots of free shows, festivals, and events. Montreal routinely shuts down entire busy streets for days (or even months!) at a time so that they can become pedestrian walkways. I think that they value the citizen more than cars or commerce. This seems counterintuitive because obviously citizens in a sense *are* cars and commerce. But it shows a different way of thinking about how we interact with our environments, and it shows that basic day-to-day experience is valued more than getting people to and from work fast. Does shutting down St. Catherines street for 4 months every summer make economic sense? Maybe not, in the traditional sense. But it has turned the Village into a thriving neighbourhood, and nothing really beats walking down a street full of people strung with lanterns and bustling energy. Those kinds of moments are what people who visit the city remember about Montreal, and it’s what makes me sad to leave it. I think that in North America there is a tendency to value making money as the most important factor in city-based decision-making, and what makes Montreal special is that it values happiness, culture, and human experience more.

I also think that a city should leave art (aka graffiti) up outside. Urban environments aren’t supposed to be clean showrooms. Cities are slates for multiple expressions, and street art ads to the feeling of being in a vibrant space that is alive.

Kirsten McCrea