VIBE: Video in the Built Environment
Manchester:UK 2005

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION: FEBRUARY 21st DEADLINE

VIBE is an international curatorial project that aims to present video art that responds to the conditions of site specificity and a public viewer-ship. Urban planners and architects are used to shaping cities by means of infrastructure, zoning and buildings. However, other modes of intervention exist that are capable of influencing the development of a city. Communicative media interventions can transform public spaces.

VIBE Manchester will be shown on the Big Screen, a 25 square meter video screen, located in Exchange Square. VIBE Manchester will be presented in association with iDMAa, the International Digital Media and Arts Association. The screenings will occur during the iDMAa conference [March 16th-18th] in Orlando, Florida, USA. In addition, there will be a panel discussion about the VIBE project and panel participants will be located at the conference as well as in Manchester, UK interacting through video conferencing technology.

VIBE Manchester will have a companion DVD developed for publication and purchase.

Contact:
Mat Rappaport
1511 North Astor St
Milwaukee, WI USA 53202
mat@meme01.com

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION: FEBRUARY 21st DEADLINE

VIBE: Video in the Built Environment

VIBE is an international curatorial project that aims to present video art that responds to the conditions of site specificity and a public viewer-ship.

Urban planners and architects are used to shaping cities by means of infrastructure, zoning and buildings. However, other modes of intervention exist that are capable of influencing the development of a city. Communicative media interventions can transform public spaces. VIBE 05 is a new opportunity to present artists' work from either side of the Atlantic that deals with notions of the built environment and public and private space in an urban context.

Video screens have become increasingly prevalent within our private lives and we interact on an intimate scale in the form of televisions, pc computers, ATM machines, kiosks and store checkout counters. The ubiquity of these screens and the service they perform makes their influence on our lives and social interaction an expected part of our information arena. Ironically, they are as omnipresent as to be virtually invisible; the object and surface are ignored. The rise in the use of projection and video board technologies in public spaces creates a shift in scale from private-intimate to public-communal.

Large-scale public screens draw and hold the attention of a group. They become a catalyst for collective interaction because of the open public space that is re-shaped by the public watching. Unlike a group going to a museum, gallery or the movies, this public has an open set of expectations. For them the venue, a combination of the built environment and the ephemeral screen, is unpredictable and serendipitous.

Manchester, UK EXHIBITION DETAILS:

VIBE Manchester will be shown on the Big Screen located in Exchange Square. The Big Screen is a 25 square meter video screen erected by the BBC, in partnership with Philips, Manchester City Council and Milligan’s (owners of the Triangle shopping centre). The Big Screen primarily broadcasts BBC news; however, another organization, Bigger Picture, managed by Cornerhouse gallery, screens art-based content.

VIBE Manchester will be presented in association with iDMAa, the International Digital Media and Arts Association. The screenings will occur during the iDMAa conference [March 16th-18th] in Orlando, Florida, USA. In addition, there will be a panel discussion about the VIBE project and panel participants will be located at the conference as well as in Manchester, UK interacting through video conferencing technology.

VIBE Manchester will have a companion DVD developed for publication and purchase. The DVD will include the works shown on the Big Screen as well as an essay that describes the curatorial intent and an essay that contextualizes VIBE in contemporary architectural as well as art practice.

SELECTION:

Work will be solicited from iDMAa members and member organizations whose work focuses on the relationship and power of video to understand or change the perception of the built environment. Work must be no longer than 5 minutes in duration including any titling or credits.

1. Technical Specification
The work is screened from Mini-DV or DVCAM formats. Work should therefore be submitted on miniDV tape, DVCAM tape or on CD as a Quicktime using the DV format.

Work must be of a sufficient technical standard, as any imperfections are magnified when broadcast large on the Big Screen. Be aware that abundant handheld camerawork can cause audience nausea, and work using strobe effects will not be accepted.

2. Rights Clearance
All work submitted must have full clearances for rights including music and other talent rights covered. We will need evidence that that there will be no liability for payments to artists/contributors/authors/directors, etc. by showing the work on the screen. This will be part of a letter of agreement which must be signed and returned if you are selected to participate.

3. Taste and commercial placement.
In a public place the audience cannot turn the screen off, and we must be sensitive to the fact that people of any age group and disposition could be watching. Where content includes elements of sex, violence, drug use, or subversion, the selection panel will refer to the BBC guidelines to which all work must adhere.

Product placement and sponsorship logos are not allowed in any explicit manner. Work cannot serve any commercial purpose.

SUBMISSION:

Please send the media with this application form. You must send a self addressed and stamped envelope to have your work returned. Work chosen for the exhibition will also be shown on a VIBE website archive.

** You must submit a separate application form for each work you plan to submit for selection.

**Submissions need not have title sequences as VIBE will be creating consistent inter-titles for the program.

Complete and sign the application form attached and send it in along with the work in the specified format to:

VIBE05-iDMAa
c/o Mat Rappaport
1511 North Astor St
Milwaukee, WI USA 53202
mat@meme01.com

CALENDAR:
December 30 – Call goes out
February 21 – Deadline to receive work in Milwaukee, WI
February 28 – Notification to participants
March 16-18th – Screening in Manchester, UK
March 18th – iDMAa Conference Panel
April 15th – DVD available