Microwave International Media Arts Festival is one of the pioneering festivals of this kind both in Asia and internationally. Through the well-established festival, we bring cutting edge technology to Hong Kong in the form of media-arts. Since 2006, we have begun a grand re-branding with strengthened curatorial direction and new attempts in professional collaboration to engage the city in appreciating media art and facilitating individual artists to develop new works through our curated programmes.
While environment becomes a topical subject recently, our Festival 2009 “Nature Transformer” successfully arouse the interest of general public and extend our reach to various audience groups. We have also marked unprecedented success on our festival programmes with the support of different local and foreign companies and organizations. The collaboration with Untitled Entertainment on the first-ever Microwave opening concert VISUAL MUSIC, featuring famous international media jam group – the Light Surgeons (UK) was a big success, over 800 audiences participated; the public screening at I/O (Input/Output) at Central and the outreach screening programme at the Centre of the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups all help to bring Microwave into the City, and serve as a great step to the new media art reception in Hong Kong. Over 20,000 visitors visited the festival, making a well-visited and participated festival.
In view of such encouraging scenes, we marched on to the next round of festival 2010 with confidence and re-vitalized energy. Approaching our 14th anniversary, the theme this year is to arouse the public with the idea of emerging technology immersed in our environment, the development of screen culture has been totally influenced our life-style. We would like to take an attempt in re-defining our understanding towards SCREEN.
The Festival includes three exhibitions (main exhibition at Hong Kong City Hall, project room exhibition at Hong Kong Film Archive, ALiVE OPEN LAB special at Hong Kong Science Park), a keynote conference, a city-hack performance, a series of artist workshops/seminars and screening programmes. Foreign and local established artists are invited to present their works and share their creative experience with the audience.
Main Exhibition
Date: 27/11 - 5/12/2010
Time: 1200-2000
Venue:Exhibition Hall, Low Block, Hong Kong City Hall
6 Artists from different countries will exhibit at Main Exhibition of the Festival.
Project Room
Date : 27/11 - 5/12/2010 (closed on Thu)
Time : 1100-2000
Venue: Exhibition Hall, Hong Kong Film Archive
Microwave Project Room is an experimental space for providing a platform to explore a new angle to echo the general curatorial concept of the main exhibition. Emerging artists and curators will be invited to participate in the show. This year, Project Room will be transformed into a Hacking Street Exhibition, with collaborating with the Vooruit Arts Centre and SMAK museum for contemporary art in Ghent, producing a parallel show of Ghent and Hong Kong with the idea of Hacking Public Space. Series of street performance and hacking space artworks are going to be shown in various formats (e.g. documentation, objects, photography etc.)
Microwave City Attack Special:
‘as if it were the last time’ – a subtlemob Duncan Speakman (UK)
4/12/2010 ; 6:30-7pm ; Tsuen Wan Secret Location
A Live Cinema Show directed by Everyone; act on the street, watch a movie in the street.
Audiences were invited to download an MP3 and turn up at a secret location to listen to the track at a specified time. On the soundtrack the audience would hear the composed soundtrack along with narration and instructions. Two MP3 files were made available, so the audiences were divided into half; while one group was instructed to perform a simple scene, then the other group heard this described as if it were a film scene, but they could actually see it happening around them. Throughout the piece these roles of watcher/performer alternated between the groups, ever in- creasing in place until by the end they are all performing/watching simultaneously. The work was a snapshot image of contemporary Britain, allowing the audience to watch it, reflect on it, and live it. It explored ideas of how mobile technology can create social disconnection inshared public spaces. It also looked for new ways to create connections between strangers and friends, to savor the moment and the temporary space that was created during the performance.
Microwave International New Media Arts Festival 2010 will be hold during 26 November 2010 to 12 December 2010. Please find the timetable of the major programmes at the website.
Microwave International New Media Arts Festival is sponsored by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and supported by Hong Kong Arts Development Council.
