Antimatter 2019: 11 Days of International Media Art & Experimental Cinema
Antimatter [media art]
October 16 to 26, 2019
Various Locations, Victoria BC Canada
antimatter.ca
The 22nd annual Antimatter festival offers residents of the Capital Region 11 days and nights of screenings, installations and performances of world-class international media art. Long dismissing the notion of a divide between the art world and experimental film and video, Antimatter has been at the vanguard for more than two decades—presenting the work of over 3,000 artists from around the world.
Dedicated to the exhibition and nurturing of diverse forms of media art, Antimatter is one of the premier showcases of experimentation in film, video, audio and emerging time-based forms. Encompassing screenings, installations, performances and media hybrids, Antimatter offers local, regional and international artists a noncompetitive festival setting committed to diversity and inclusivity, free from commercial and industry agendas. Since 1998, the quality and creativity of its programming, dedication to audience development, resolute internationalism and respect for artists and their work have made Antimatter one of the most important media arts events in Canada.
This year, an expanded public installation component features works at Deluge Contemporary Art, Legacy Art Gallery, Ministry of Casual Living, Empty Gallery and in partnership with Victoria Arts Council at regional public libraries, Victoria International Airport and the VAC Gallery. Deluge will host three installation works including Uruguayan-Belgian filmmaker Isabelle Carbonell’s The Camel Race—a verité-style look into camel racing culture—a world of modern bedouins, robot jockeys and the dark roots of Qatar’s heritage. Visitors to the VAC Gallery can experience Acoustic Turbulence by Victoria’s Colton Hash. The interactive digital application presents visualizations of underwater noise pollution from ocean vessels using ocean data and hydrophone recordings of the passage of ships through the Salish Sea.
Antimatter opens on Wednesday, October 16 with the screening program Algo-Rhythm, featuring the film of the same name. Shot in Dakar with the participation of leading Senegalese musicians, poets and graffiti artists, the film probes the insidious but comprehensive threats to human rights and agency posed by the rise of the quantification and algorithmic management of daily life. On Saturday, October 19, California artists and performers Rob Fatal and DJ Bianca Oblivion remix audio and video into a feature-length experimental film performed live in front of an audience in the Canadian premiere of TechnoTihuacan. Thursday, October 24 sees the world premiere of Barry Doupe’s durational animated opus Distracted Blueberry and Friday, October 25 the expanded cinema and musical performance Le vent sur ton visage doré n’atteindra pas le sommet de ta noirceur by Montreal’s Guillaume Vallée and Hazy Montagne Mystique.
More than 120 artists from 30+ countries will be exhibited and screened during Antimatter 2019, with 60% of the work made by women. The festival offers 19 curated screening programs in addition to performances, public installations, workshops and artists salons. Fully two-thirds of the films showing at the festival are world, North American or Canadian premieres, with all being new to Victoria audiences.
Installations/exhibitions are free and screenings and performances are pay-what-you-can (suggested donation $5–$8). Participating artists from around the world attend Antimatter and audiences are invited to engage and dialogue with them and festival producers at afternoon Media Salons as well as pre- and post-screening artist talks and Q&As.
We acknowledge the financial assistance of the Canada Council for the Arts, Government of Canada, Province of British Columbia, British Columbia Arts Council and CRD Arts Commission through the Arts & Culture Support Service.
Deluge Contemporary Art
636 Yates Street
Victoria, BC V8W 1L3
Complete Antimatter 2019 program guide is available now throughout greater Victoria and online at antimatter.ca
Event details
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