Original Cultures Pilot – Programme
What? Original Cultures Pilot
When? June 3 to 6
Where? Bologna, Italy
Final programme:
• Thursday 4 June @ Sì, via San Vitale 67
Time 18,00: seminar and meeting with musicians Tayone, 2Tall/Om Unit, Tatsuki
• Friday 5 June @ Libreria Modo Infoshop, via Mascarella 24/b
Time 19,00: seminar and presentation of the Original Cultures project with all artists and staff
• Saturday 6 June @ Sì, via San Vitale 67
Time 18,00/22,00: live aperitivo with live art from Ericailcane, Dem, Will Barras + DJs
Time 22,00/24,00: live showcase with music from Tayone, 2Tall/Om Unit, Tatsuki and art from Ericailcane, Dem, Will. Directed by the artists, one of a kind showcase!
• 1/31 July @ Museo Internazionale e Biblioteca della Musica di Bologna
Installation and exhibition of all the work produced during the Original Cultures pilot + extra work commisioned for the occasion
For more information on the artists please visit our Artists section. For full details of each activity please visit our Events section.
See you there!
Original Cultures Bologna 09 – Trailer 2
The second trailer video for the Original Cultures pilot is now live. This time we’re shining a bit more of a light on the 3 musicians who will take part in the pilot: 2tall aka Om Unit, Tatsuski and Tayone who represent the UK, Japan and Italy respectively.
The Original Cultures pilot will culminate on June 6 with an evening event featuring live painting, music, art and more. The whole evening will be orchestrated and directed by the artists following 3 days of workshops where they will work together to create art specifically for use in the event. For full details on this and all other pilot events visit our Events section, or go straight to the Live Showcase details.
You can download the podcast directly from our RSS feed (and while you’re there why not subscribe?), or below. You can also view it on our Youtube and Vimeo pages, and it will shortly be available on our iTunes feed.
Once more the video was edited by The Slow Breakfast.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Original Cultures ‘09 – Visual Artists
Original Cultures focuses on two specific strands of modern performing arts: music and visual arts. Within these two strands Original Cultures works with both established and upcoming artists from the UK, Italy and Japan.
The 4 artists chosen to represent the visual arts strand for the first year of Original Cultures activities (2009) are:
- Will Barras (UK) – click to view bio
- DEM (IT) – click to view bio
- Erica il Cane (IT) – click to view bio
- Hiraki Sawa (JP) – bio coming soon
Together these 4 artists will take part in events in the UK, Italy and Japan throughout 2009 and 2010: Original Cultures Bologna 09 (June 2009), Original Cultures London ‘10 (March 2010) and Original Cultures Tokyo ‘10 (TBC).
During each event the artists will work together to create collaborative works inspired by the cultural exchange and interaction fostered by Original Cultures. This work will take place mainly during private workshops where the artists are given a brief to create new art, or in some cases given a free hand to come up with their own brief. The resulting works are then used as part of various activities such as public workshops, seminars, showcases and exhibitions.
You can view examples of the collaborative works created during Original Cultures Bologna 09 on the Original Cultures Art channel on Vimeo and our Flickr archive.
Original Cultures ‘09 – Musicians
Original Cultures focuses on two specific strands of modern performing arts: music and visual arts. Within these two strands Original Cultures works with both established and upcoming artists from the UK, Italy and Japan.
The 3 artists chosen to represent the music strand for the first year of Original Cultures activities (2009) are:
- 2tall / Om Unit (UK) – click to view bio and discog
- Tatsuki (JP) – click to view bio and discog
- Tayone (IT) – click to view bio and discog
Together these 3 artists will take part in events in the UK, Italy and Japan throughout 2009 and 2010: Original Cultures Bologna 09 (June 2009), Original Cultures London ‘10 (March 2010) and Original Cultures Tokyo ‘10 (TBC).
During each event the artists will work together to create collaborative works inspired by the cultural exchange and interaction fostered by Original Cultures. This work will take place mainly during private workshops where the artists are given a brief to create new art, or in some cases given a free hand to come up with their own brief. The resulting works are then used as part of various activities such as public workshops, seminars, showcases and exhibitions.
All 3 artists come from a similar background, having had a hand in the development and evolution of the turntablist scene in their respective countries, and have followed similar evolutions, moving away from the world of scratching towards music production and live shows.
You can listen to examples of the music created by the 3 during Original Cultures Bologna 09 on our Soundcloud page and our documentaries page. You can also view footage from the workshops on our Vimeo channel.
Original Cultures pilot – CEP activities
The Original Cultures pilot will test all the main activities from the project’s Cultural Exchange Program (CEP). These activities will be spread across 4 days and involve all of the pilot’s artists as well as the general public and students from local art universities/institutions in Bologna.
Below is a list of the activities that will take place during the pilot:
- Workshops: The workshops will take place in three different locations and are split between the two main strands of modern performing arts represented during the pilot, music and visual arts. For both strands the workshops will further be split into 3 “elements.”
- Seminar: The seminar takes place in the evening of the last day of the workshops and acts as a conclusion to the workshop process. It will take place at the Modo Info Shop bookshop and be open to the public. By setting the seminar in a new space, we can involve new participants as well as make use of a space that is already dedicated to such events and has a reputation in the city.
- Final showcase: The last day of the pilot will be dedicated entirely to the preparation and execution of the final showcase which will act as the conclusion for the event. The theater space which will hold the showcase, in itself new and unique in Bologna, will be used to create a showcase that is also new and unique. The showcase will make use of the collaborative works created during the workshops and allow for new interaction between the two art strands as well as between the public and the art.
- Documentation: The workshops, seminars and live showcase will be documented in audio, video and text formats. The content thus created will be made available on the Original Cultures website during and following the pilot in order to create a free, interactive and always available documentary of the cultural exchange that has taken place.
- Original Cultures remixed : The last activity will take place via the website following the pilot. Selected elements of the collaborative works (both audio and visual) will be made available on the site for selected artists in the UK, Italy and Japan to use in the creation of new works. In addition, short video edits of footage from the pilot will also be made available to soundtrack. Original Cultures remixed furthers the cultural exchange process and allows it to continue once the event is finished, working in parallel with the release of various documental media content. In the months following the pilot, remixes created through this activity will be made publicly available online for people to view, listen to and download.
For full details of what will be involved in each activity you can download the Original Cultures Pilot pdf document, just right click and save as on the picture below:
In addition Original Cultures is also working on conducting an event in the UK in October 2009 to follow on from the pilot and which will feature a physical showcase of the remixes produced during the Original Cultures remixed activity.
Original Cultures activities
Original Cultures’ CEP involves a process of “visits” whereby artists from European countries go to Japan and Japanese artists come to European countries (at different times) to participate in a series of activities that stimulate and promote cultural exchange through the performing arts.
The CEP’s core activities are:
- Cultural events: artists will take part in existing and/or newly created, cultural events where they will showcase their own work as well as work created live within the scope of the CEP. These events can take the form of festivals, live showcases in public or private venues and exhibitions in art galleries or similar cultural spaces.
- Workshops and collaborative works: workshops will be set up in the host countries and focus on 3 main elements. The first element will be the creation of unique collaborative works of art between artists within each art strand. The second element will focus on allowing the public to witness the creative process behind the creation of the collaborative works. The third element will involve setting up practical workshop sessions where invited members of the public can learn from the artists within each art strand in a hands on, focused format. Following the workshops, the collaborative works will be used across other CEP activities.
- Seminar: complimenting the workshops, seminars open to the public will be held where the collaborative works will be showcased and where artists can further interact with each other and the audience to discuss, explain and reflect on the different aspects of the cultural exchange.
- Remix project: following the workshops, selected elements of the collaborative works (both audio and visual) will be made available online for artists in the countries participating in the CEP to use in the creation of new works. In addition, short video edits of footage from the events will also be made available to soundtrack. The remixes thus created will then be released via the website. This activity furthers the cultural exchange process and allows it to continue once the physical elements of the CEP are finished, working in parallel with the release of various documental media content. In addition, it allows for non-participating artists in the respective countries to be involved with the cultural exchange.
- Documentation: by recording and documenting every aspect of the CEP using audio, video and text media and making it available online, Original Cultures plans to create a free, interactive and always available documentary of the cultural exchange process. In addition to the website, the documentation will be released and spread virally through social media sites (facebook, myspace, twitter, youtube, etc…), podcast feeds (linked to the website and branded) and additional new media channels alongside traditional media outlets such as print (magazines, newspapers) and radio. The documentation also opens up the possibility for monetization and the release of physical products such as a DVD.
In addition to these core activities, Original Cultures is looking at developing and implementing additional activities:
- Artist promotion: Original Cultures will make a variety of additional promotion channels available to artists during their stay in each country to allow them to further promote themselves, their work and their culture in the country outside of the project’s scope. This may include meetings with local music labels, radio stations, magazines, art galleries, promotion agencies and promoters etc…
- Cultural Network: to facilitate the entire cultural exchange program as well as to give it longevity and reach beyond those involved in any one event, Original Cultures aims to create and foster the growth and development of an international network of artists, labels, organisations and cultural entities in Europe and Japan. Among other things, the network will facilitate communication between all involved in the cultural exchange program, thus allowing for the actual exchange between artists and their representatives to continue once everyone has returned to their respective countries and helping the continuation of activities, works and mutual interests.
The goal is to develop additional activities and variations in the future to allow the cultural exchange program to grow as well as to provide both the public and artists with additional incentives for involvement.
