Saturday 28 February 2015

Quantum of Disorder | Museum Haus Konstruktiv, Zürich
The exhibition «Quantum of Disorder» is the result of a collaboration with the artists-in-labs programme ICS/ZHdK. Showcased are works between arts and science.

The cooperation project "Quantum of Disorder" is supported by the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia as part of its "Digital Culture" initiative.

Quantum of Disorder 
5 February to 10 May 2015 
A collaboration between Museum Haus Konstruktiv Zurich and artists-in-labs program ICS/ZHdK, curated by Sabine Schaschl and Irène Hediger. 
With works by Thomas Baumann, Cod.Act, Attila Csörgő, Alexandre Joly, Peter Kogler, Pe Lang, Carsten Nicolai, Semiconductor, Troika

The exhibition "Quantum of Disorder" and its supporting program are a result of the eponymous cooperation project between the ICS/ZHdK artists-in-labs program and Museum Haus Konstruktiv. Against the backdrop of the solo exhibition on computer artist Vera Molnar (which is taking place at Haus Konstruktiv simultaneously) and the curatorial work of the artists-in-labs program in art and science, there arose the idea of creating a platform for trans-disciplinary approaches in contemporary art. Established ordering systems and design systems, the definition of algorithms and parameters, with which certain forms are generated or functions are activated, mathematical calculations, and scientific deductions all serve as a basis for constructivist-concrete art, and for the artists exhibited here. Here, the incorporation of disorder and deviation is an essential and (to an equal extent) interlinking element.

The group exhibition "Quantum of Disorder" presents a number of artists, and groups of artists, who create their works by means of new technologies and programming engendered by the interplay between order and disorder, system and deviation. Principles of order emerge as a common denominator, providing the basis for both artistic and scientific practice. The exhibition presents nine artists, or artists' groups, who offer an insight into various possibilities regarding algorithmic and systematic applications.

For more details click here.

Friday 27 February 2015

Focus Photography Festival invites Mirjam Spoolder
Swiss artist Mirjam Spoolder will present 'Nine Times Nine', a photographic interpretation that she has worked on during her residency in India.

Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council and FOCUS Photography Festival 2015 
in collaboration with Bombay Electric invite you for

NINE TIMES NINE
a photography exhibition by Swiss artist
Mirjam Spoolder

Opening on 12 March 2015
On view until 26 March 2015 // open 7 days // 11 am - 7 pm 
Venue: Bombay Electric, 1, Reay House, Best Marg, Colaba, Mumbai 400001

Walk and talk with the artist 
on 14 March 2015 at 4:30 pm.
Duration: one hour
Venue: Bombay Electric, 1, Reay House, Best Marg, Colaba, Mumbai 

About the artist: 
Mirjam Spoolder received a grant supported by Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council and IAAB / Ateliermondial in Basel, Switzerland for a residency in Delhi, India. The work Nine Times Nine, comprising of 9 images is an outcome of her stay in Delhi where she has had the possibility to work, develop and create her artistic work further.

Born in the Netherlands, Mirjam has lived and worked in Basel, Switzerland since 2007. She studied sculpting at the art Academy in Enschede and Theatre in Rotterdam. Finally, after moving to Switzerland, she finished her education in Master of Fine Arts in Basel in 2010. Over the years Mirjam has developed a way of combining three mediums in one form of art: sculpture, design and performance art. She reflects art into fashion design by producing individual art pieces and transforms them into performance art. Through photography she tries to capture those three mediums together in one image.

At FOCUS Mirjam presents Nine Times Nine, a series of 9 photographs which represent the nine districts of Delhi. Next Mirjam will develop nine wearable objects out of these patterns. With this work Mirjam aims to crossover four different mediums into one form of art: photography, design, sculpture and performance art.

Partners: FOCUS Photography Festival Mumbai 2015 and Bombay Electric.

For more information on Mirjam Spoolder visit: www.mirjamspoolder.blogspot.com 
For more information on Bombay Electric: www.bombayelectric.in/about 
For more information on the festival: http://focusfestivalmumbai.com/ 

Press mention: Art Illustrated / Short Shorts / Volume 3 - Issue 3

Wednesday 25 February 2015

Swiss artists at Kochi Biennale 2014
The works of Swiss artists, Christian Waldvogel, Julian Charrière and Marie Velardi are up on display at the Kochi Biennale 2014, which will be open for public viewing until March 2015.

Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2014 / Whorled explorations
The work of all three artists relates to the theme of the Biennale which is Whorled Explorations, which draws across axes of time and space to interlace the terrestrial with the celestial. 

Opening / Flag hoisting on 12 / 12 / 14 Aspinwall House at 12 noon 
Official Introduction of KMB 2014 by 13 / 12 / 14 Aspinwall House at 4:00 pm  

For more information on the work being presented by the artists at Kochi Biennale click here.

For more information on the artists: 
Christian Waldvogel  -  www.waldvogel.com/works 
Julian Charriere  -  www.julian-charriere.net/ 
Marie Velardi - marie.velardi.ch  

Mirjam Fischer, a freelance Swiss book publisher and writer will be the Editor of the Biennale's short catalogue and review catalogue. The objective of this collaboration is to increase and intensify Pro Helvetia - Swiss Artist's engagement and emphasise the potential of intercultural engagement and skill sharing. 

The works of the Swiss artists will be on display at the Aspinwall House, Fort Kochi. Aspinwall House is a large sea-facing heritage property in Fort Kochi on the way to Mattancherry. The large compound contains office buildings, a residential bungalow and a number of warehouses and smaller outer-lying structures. Aspinwall House will be a primary venue of the Biennale, hosting numerous artist led projects and events spaces. 

The Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) is engaged in promoting art & culture and educational activities in India; primary amongst them the hosting of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale. KBF works around the year to strengthen contemporary art infrastructure and to broaden public access to art across India. 

Partner: Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2014 - kochimuzirisbiennale.org  

Christian Waldvogel , Julian Charrière and Marie Velardi's participation at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2014 has been supported by Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council.  

DAMUS India article Nov 2015

Monday 23 February 2015

Birdly in India
swissnex India and Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council bring you an opportunity to fly like a bird. Explore ‘Birdly’, a truly incredible Swiss innovation.

Ever dreamt of flying? swissnex India gives you a chance to make this dream come true. We bring to India a truly incredible Swiss innovation called Birdly.

Birdly is a full body flight simulator and virtual reality machine, with sensory-motor coupling in which you embody a Red Kite and fly over a virtual landscape. In short, you experience flying like a bird in virtual reality. Visualized through Oculus Rift (a virtual reality headset), the experience is heightened by sonic, olfactory, and wind sensations along your flight path. Birdly was developed at the Zurich University of the Arts(ZHdK), IAD Interaction Design for the BirdLife Center Switzerland in 2014. Their first demo video went viral, with over a million views in one weekend, and the story was picked up world-wide by major technology blogs and media outlets. Take a look at the video.

Where: swissnex India#26, Rest House Crescent Road, Bangalore, Karnataka
From March 10, 2015 8:00 am - March 17, 2015 5:00 pm

Schedule
Open talk at swissnex India, 13th of March, 6.30 pm. Join us for a talk by the inventors. The first 30 people to arrive will get the chance to try Birdly. Register here. 

Birdly at Rangoli Metro Art Center, 14th of March, 11 am to 6 pm. 
No online registration necessary.

Open talk at IIT Madras, 16th of March, 5 pm. Join us for a talk by the inventors. 

Open slots for flying Birdly: From the 10th to 13th of March, slots need to be booked online. 
Please be on time. Book your slot now!

Saturday 21 February 2015

The distance between two thoughts
A presentation by artist-in-residence Sachin George Sebastian at Rote Fabrik, Zurich Switzerland.

Open Studio // Artist Sachin George Sebastian at Rote Fabrik in Switzerland.

Sachin George Sebastian, the FICA Emerging Artist Award recipient for 2014 has completed his three-month residency at Rote Fabrik, Zurich which was supported by Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council.

Sachin is presenting 
The distance between two thoughts
and is hosting an open studio day on 18 March 2015 
from 6 - 9 pm at his studio in Zurich.
The event is open to all.

To view invite click here.

Thursday 19 February 2015

Percussion maestros from Switzerland and India come together
Lucas Niggli and Pierre Favre from Switzerland and Aneesh Pradhan from India will come together this March at the Peninsula Studios in Delhi.

An initiative of Pro Helvetia New Delhi to bring together maestro percussionists from Switzerland and India to create work during a 4day intensive workshop. This initiative is towards a long term potential project of organizing a tour for the artists later in India.

Lucas Niggli, Pierre Favre from Switzerland and Aneesh Pradhan from India will come together to work from 9- 12 March 2015 at Peninsula Studios in Delhi. They will do a recording session on 13 March and present their work to an audience on 14 March 2015.

Pierre Favre
To read about Pierre Favre click here.

Lucas Niggli
To read about Lucas Niggli click here.

Aneesh Pradhan 
A disciple of tabla maestro Pandit Nikhil Ghosh, Aneesh Pradhan is a leading tabla soloist and accompanist to vocal and instrumental music and dance. He has inherited from his guru a considerable repertoire of traditional tabla solo compositions from the Delhi, Ajrada, Lucknow, Farrukhabad and Punjabgharanas. A recipient of several awards, Aneesh is a popular performer for classical and inter-cultural music concerts at most prestigious concerts and festivals in the country and overseas. He is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the India Research Centre, Macquarie University, Australia. He was also a Research Fellow at the Department of Media, Music and Cultural Studies, Macquarie University, Australia. He regularly conducts lecture-demonstrations, workshops and participates in seminars, at various universities and other educational institutions in India and abroad. His teaching assignments in the past include short terms as artist-in-residence at the University of New England, Australia, and as guest lecturer at the Music Department, University of Mumbai.

Aneesh has a doctoral degree in History from the University of Mumbai. A keen researcher of trends in performance, music education and patronage that unfolded in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, he writes frequently on music for newspapers, journals and other publications in India and abroad. He is deeply involved in creating and developing educational material related to Indian music and is the author of a children's book on tabla and a recent publication entitled Tabla: A Performer's Perspective. Aneesh is Founder-Director of Underscore Records, an independent online record label that he established with vocalist Shubha Mudgal. Along with Shubha, Aneesh also curates a festival called Baajaa Gaajaa: Music from 21st Century India which celebrates and showcases the diversity of music from India.

Directions to The Peninsula Studios

Tuesday 17 February 2015

Post Disaster Architecture
A screening of the film Tsunami Architecture by Christoph Draeger and Heidrun Holzfeind followed with a conversation between the artists and architect Moulshri Joshi.

Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art in Association 
with Pro Helvetia Swiss Arts Council 
presents
Post Disaster Architecture 

Saturday 28 March, 5:30 pm
at Vadehra Art Gallery, D 53, Defence Colony, New Delhi 110024

Screening of film Tsunami Architecture by Christoph Draeger and Heidrun Holzfeind 
The screening will be followed with a conversation between the artists and architect Moulshri Joshi, whose firm Space Matters is working on the redevelopment of the former Union Carbide factory in Bhopal into a memorial. 

The discussion will be moderated by architect Madhav Raman.

About the FilmTsunami Architecture (60 min, 2012) looks at the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, one of the worst natural catastrophes in history. Artists Christoph Draeger and Heidrun Holzfeind visited the affected sites six years later, when international attention had long faded. Yet post-tsunami challenges continued to have an impact on affected communities. On a three month trip from December 2010 to February 2011 the two visited the five countries most affected - Thailand, Aceh/Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Maldives and India and investigated the current state of architecture built or reconstructed in the aftermath of the tsunami. Using video and photography, they documented the long-term effects of the disaster through conversations with survivors, eyewitnesses, aid workers and rescue personnel. They also established a collection of footage of the disaster and the reconstruction efforts. They were interested in how the flood of aid money has transformed the affected regions, rebuilt and refashioned local economies and shaped communities. How does collective and individual memory work, years after such a highly publicized media mega-event? How has architecture built after the Tsunami been able to respond to the individual needs of affected communities? How were these communities able to participate in the recovery process? How have these structures been adapted over time by their inhabitants, and how did architectural interventions alter societal and communal structures? Their research trip and the filming was finished just weeks before the Fukushima disaster.

About Christoph Draeger
Christoph Draeger is a conceptual artist who has been working on themes of disaster and destruction for over 20 years. His projects take form in installation, video, and photo-based media to explore issues pertaining to catastrophe and media-saturated culture. Solo exhibitions include 2014 Lokal 30 Warsaw; Centre d'Art Contemporain Yverdon (w/Heidrun Holzfeind), 2013 Kunsthaus Rapperswil; 2012 Kunsthalle Arbon; OK Centrum Linz (w/Heidrun Holzfeind); 2008 CCA Centre of Contemporary Art, Ujazdowskie Castle, Warsaw (PL) Roebling Hall, New York 2003 Kunstmuseum Solothurn 2000 Kunsthaus Zurich (w/Reynold Reynolds); Orchard Gallery, Derry. Group exhibitions include the Tamayo Museum and Carrillo Gil Museum in Mexico City, Whitney Museum, Brooklyn Museum, New Museum, MoMA, P.S.1 (all in New York), Van Abbe Museum in Eindhoven, Centre Pompidou in Paris, Paco das Artes in Sao Paulo, Museum der Moderne in Salzburg, KW Kunstwerke Berlin,; Biennals: 55th Venice Biennial 2013, Moscou 2007, Liverpool 2002, Havanna 2000, Kwangju 1997.

Sunday 15 February 2015

Swiss photographers to participate in Goa Photo 2015
Swiss photographers, Sophie Brasey and Joël Tettamanti, and curator Hélène Joye-Cagnard (Director, Bienne Festival of Photography) to participate in the festival.

Swiss photographers to participate in Goa Photo 2015, an annual international photography festival

Swiss photographers, Sophie Brasey and Joël Tettamanti, and curator Hélène Joye-Cagnard (Director, Bienne Festival of Photography) will participate in the festival. Besides the exhibitions, the catalogue will include photo essays by the two Swiss photographers and an introductory text by Hélène Joye-Cagnard. 

Schedule: 25 February 2015 - 7 March 2015 
Multiple open-air as well as indoor exhibitions will be held at different venues across the city, many of which will be in public spaces.

For more information: www.goaphoto.in 

About the event: 
Goa Photo 2015 will be the first edition of an annual international photography festival to be held across the city of Panaji between the 25th of February and the 7th of March 2015. Over a period of ten days, the festival will transform the city into a platform for showcasing contemporary photography. Goa Photo 2015 is a photography festival that will bring to Panaji (Goa's capital) a finely curated selection of international photography exhibitions organized around the theme of The Other, which is an exploration of portraiture. 

Partner: Goa Photo 2015 
Photo credit: Sophie Brasey

Friday 13 February 2015

re-mapping the body by Compagnie Linga
It's Bangalore next. The music of re-mapping the body is entirely created by the movements of the dancers, as they explore a new relationship with their bodies augmented by the possibility of making sound.

A Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council and swissnex India present 
re-mapping the body, a contemporary dance performance by Compagnie Linga

Delhi
Friday 20 February 2015 at 7:00 pm 
Saturday 21 February 2015 at 7:00 pm 
at the FICCI Auditorium Federation House, Tansen Marg, New Delhi 110001 
Entry: Complimentary passes available at the venue on the day of the performances.
Seating on a first-come first-served basis.
Children under the age of eight not permitted.

Bangalore
Thursday 26 February 2015 at 7:30 pm 
Friday 27 February 2015 at 7:30 pm 
Venue: Ranga Shankara
Entry: as per venue rules

About the event:
re-mapping the body 
hear the movement / see the music 
The work presented by Compagnie Linga makes use of the dominant role of science and technology as adjuncts to the human body, illustrating the complexity and ambiguity of our relationship with technology. Where we fear the never-ending flows of data that might ultimately overwhelm our bodies, the dancers transmute these flows, subduing and resisting them. By re-appropriating the measurement devices they show the human body in a new light - and give it a new resonance, too, with sounds created using gyroscopes, accelerometers and other technologies, transforming the performance space.

The music of re-mapping the body is entirely created by the movements of the dancers.

In a sound 'system' developed in association with Christophe Calpini, dancers explore a new relationship with their bodies augmented by the possibility of making sound, a laboratory, through which the dancers rediscover their bodies, with moments of intense sensuality. By offering spectators the representation of a hybrid body, still inhabited by the emotion of human interactions, re-mapping the body once again shows how the language of art provides a means of exploring and enacting new alliances.

Director and Choreographer: Marco Cantalupo and Katarzyna Gdaniec
Dancers: Hyekyoung Kim, Ai Koyama, Dorota Łęcka, Michael Theophanous, HyunWoo Nam, David Gernez 
Tour technician: German Schwab 
Sound Database: Christophe Calpini
Interactive systems: Alain Crevoisier
Lights: Bert De Raeymaecker Photographer: Gert Weigelt 
Touring & promotion: Luisa Daniel

The Company Linga is supported by City of Pully, Canton of Vaud and Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council. A collaboration with the Sports Science Institute at the University of Lausanne, the Geneva University of Music, Future Instruments and Biopac Systems Inc.

Photo credit: Gert Weigelt
To view poster click here.

Wednesday 11 February 2015

Upcoming workshop with Swiss choreographer Marco Cantalupo
The workshop Liquid Bodies on technique Linga will develop a technical work based on the relation to gravity, imbalance, fluidity, energy and the precision of the movement.

Call for applications! 
For upcoming workshop on Technique Linga with Swiss choreographer Marco Cantalupo 

Date: Thursday 19 February 2015
Time: 2:00 pm - 4.00 pm
Venue: Gati Studio, S-17 Khirki Extension, Opposite Select Citywalk, New Delhi - 110017
Gratis / no fee applicable

HOW TO REGISTER?
Call +91 9971406113 OR 
email Gati Dance Forum at gatidance@gmail.com

About the workshop // Liquid Bodies
The workshop will develop a technical work based on the relation to gravity, imbalance, fluidity, energy and the precision of the movement.The analysis of the internal paths of the body, of the "anatomy" of the gesture, allows exploring several amplifications and qualities of movement with a new authenticity.Some choreographic phrases of our productions will be learned, in order to research movement entirely experienced into the space. 

About Marco Cantalupo
Marco Cantalupo - choreographer - (Italy) studied at The Scala Theatre Ballet School in Milan followed by the Hamburg Opera Ballet School, where he graduated. Several stays in the US gave him the opportunity to work with the choreographer Daniel Ezralow (Momix, ISO). He danced with the Hamburg Opera, and then as a soloist with the Staatstheather Gelsenkirchen, the National Ballet of Portugal, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Stadttheater Bern and the Béjart Ballet Lausanne. He choreographed for a number of independent projects in Italy before founding LINGA with Katarzyna Gdaniec. 

About Compagnie LINGA
After an important and international career as dancers, Katarzyna Gdaniec and Marco Cantalupo founded the linga company in 1992. As early as 1993 they are offered residency at L'Octogone Théâtre de Pully , a national stage located in Lausanne (CH), where they create a permanent space dedicated to choreographic research. Several prizes (Hanover Choreography Competition, Leonide Massine Prize in Positano, etc.) have been awarded to the company's choreographers, whose language and artistic concepts quickly entered the repertoire of other companies as Dresden, Florence, Ankara Opera's house, Mannheim National Theater, Portugal National Ballet.The choreographic process of the company has rapidly turned to political and social issues, exploring through dance social phenomena and their repercussions on the bodies. With go! (2004), a piece on immigration, the company developed a hybrid style, integrating a dance theatre research. emballe-moi (2005) denounced the mechanisms of consumer society, la kitchen (2006) dared to speak about domestic violence, mucus and angels (2007) questioned femininity, speeed (2007) queried our society's fascination with speed, kiss me good night (2008) confronted the nocturnal world and carnal desire, no.thing (2010) wanted to portray a gesture as something unique, falling grace (2011) explored the relationship between balance and lost of balance.

Today, with more than 40 creations, linga has become one of the leading contemporary dance companies in Switzerland and is invited to the most important events on the international scene. 

More information at www.linga.ch
Workshop partner - Gati Dance Forum

Monday 9 February 2015

alt / REASONS - live music, performances and interactions
Swiss performance poet, Heike Fiedler joins Nathalie Ramirez, Shyamant Behal, Ish S, edGeCut and Khayali Pulao on Wednesday 25 February at antiSOCIAL, Hauz Khas Village, Delhi.

Swiss performance poet, Heike Fiedler, who works in the fields of text, sound, visuals and performance will join Nathalie Ramirez, Shyamant Behal, Ish S, edGeCut and Khayali Pulao on Wednesday 25 February at antiSOCIAL, Hauz Khas Village, Delhi. 

alt / REASONS - live music, performances and interactions
Wednesday 25 February at antiSOCIAL, Hauz Khas Village, Delhi. 
8:00 pm onwards

About Heike Fiedler
Swiss author and poet, Heike Fiedler works in the fields of text, sound, visuals, performance, installation and intervention in public space. Between improvisation and composition, Heike Fiedler has participated in festivals and exhibitions in many countries in collaboration with musicians, artists and writers. Heike will read from her book << langues de meehr edition spoken script>> DER GESUNDE MENSCHENVERSAND. 

For more information on Heike Fiedler visit www.realtimepoem.com