Member Article

Countdown To UK's Largest Int'l AV Festival

In March 2006, the North East will play host to the UK’s largest international festival of digital culture, electronic art and new media.

Taking place in venues across NewcastleGateshead, Sunderland and Middlesbrough, the AV Festival 06 draws together works and events from renowned international artists, filmmakers and musicians, as well as emerging new artists. Building on the ‘Life Like’ theme, the Festival features art work which shows how technological creations can mimic, impersonate and simulate life, as well as showing how biological life itself has been manufactured and mutated inside laboratories.

The large-scale launch will see outdoor projections lighting-up some of the region’s landmark buildings including Newcastle Civic Centre and the National Glass Centre in Sunderland with world premieres by leading digital artists, including Gina Czarnecki, Claire Davies and Marius Watz. Further highlights of the 10-day festival include an exciting Opening Gala at the stunning Sage Gateshead, as well as the world premiere of Critical Art Ensemble’s new film The Marching Plague at the Tyneside cinema.

In addition to visual and audio visual art, the Tyneside and other venues around the region will be showing a dynamic film programme that shows how cinema has delivered us a vision of lifelike technology through perennial classics like Blade Runner, and The Stepford Wives and dazzling new wave films from Asia such as Casshern. AV will also feature films that show how genetic science can be manipulated to alter or control society, as seen in Gattaca, Able Edwards, and the genetic romance, Code 46.

For more information see www.avfest.co.uk which will be constantly updated with new additions to the programme. Or email info@avfest.co.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .