Spotlight on “Question Bridge: Black Males,” Innovent’s Transmedia Partner at the Sundance Festival 2012

Blessings come in threes. The artist-producers behind “Question Bridge: Black Males,” an immersive art installation turned educational transmedia project, are still spinning from the events at Sundance Institute’s New Frontier Story Lab in Utah. The Story Lab provides creative storytelling support to artists contributing to the emerging field of multi-layered, multi-formatted, immersive narratives. Question Bridge creators Chris Johnson, Hank Willis Thomas, Bayete Ross Smith, and Kamal Sinclair couldn’t be more thankful for the honor of taking part in this inaugural Story Labs. But now they have another humbling blessing - Question Bridge is now on the roster of the Sundance Film Festival’s New Frontier exhibition line up for January 2012.

Maybe blessings come in threes. Prior to being chosen to take part in Sundance’s Story Lab, Question Bridge, partnering with transmedia firm Innovent, has secured exhibit partners in Brooklyn and Oakland. The Question Bridge art installation is scheduled to open at the Brooklyn Museum and at the Oakland Museum also this January.

“Talk about multiple entry and exposure points,” said Innovent CEO Antonio Kaplan. “We’ve always been developing transmedia strategies with the Question Bridge team on enriching the project’s outreach platforms - via online presence, mobile app, art installations, street teams, and as an educational curriculum. What a better way to kick off the transmedia campaign then at the Sundance film festival.”

The New Frontier Story Lab is founded on the Sundance Institute Lab model, which offers intensive, residential retreat focused on creative support. These include daily keynotes, case-studies, group sessions, and the scenic, invigorating mountainous outdoors of Sundance Resort in Utah.

“It was really amazing to be in the room with such legends of storytelling and masters of technology all figuring out how to tell a compelling story or create spaces for compelling stories to manifest in a transmedia world,” said Kamal Sinclair, collaborator and media lead for Question Bridge. “This must have been what it was like to be one of the early filmmakers experimenting with how to tell a story through ‘moving pictures,’ only we are dealing with smart phones, tablets, computers, interactive objects of all kinds and our audience isn’t sitting still in a theatre, they are constantly moving through multiple environments in real time. It is exciting to be part of a paradigm shift.”

Creative Advisors for the New Frontier Story Lab includes, among many others, Michael Goldenberg (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Contact), Richard Lagravenese (The Fisher King, Water for Elephants), Aaron Koblin (Johnny Cash Project, Google Data Arts Team), Wesley Strick (Cape Fear), David Gale (MTVX), Takaaki Okada (Condition ONE), Susan Bonds (42 Entertainment), Nick Fortugno (Playmatics), Laura Poitras (My Country, My Country), Noland Walker (Citizen King), and Lance Weiler (Pandemic, The WorkBook Project).

“We’ve been completely inspired by the Sundance Lab and mentors,” said Kamal. “Nick Fortugo gave a brilliant presentation on storytelling in gaming. Susan Bonds is a guru of Alternate Reality games. Lance Weiler walked us through his massive thoughts on transmedia. We’d shout paragraphs on Twitter if we could. There’s so little space to convey all that warmth and gratitude.”

Innovent’s co-founders have now partnered in several of Sundance’s transmedia firsts. Pandemic 1.0 (Sundance January 2011 selection), market the first time the lab supported a feature film / transmedia project. As for another first, Question Bridge took part in the first ever New Frontier Story Lab in Utah and will now set a precedent in cross-nation dialogue via art installations.

Six artist teams and projects were chosen for the 2011 Sundance New Frontier Story Labs - “Follow Back,” “Kill Shakespeare,” “The Last Hijack,” “Rome,” “Question Bridge: Black Males,” and “18 Days in Egypt.” The last two have partnered with Innovent in pulling out a transmedia engagement plan - from sketches to actual implementations.

“18 Days in Egypt” is a collaborative, crowd-sourced interactive documentary and worked with Innovent to design an interactive web portal that covers the last 18 days of the Egyptian Revolution. The project features thousands of videos, photos, emails, tweets supplied by eye witnesses and participants. 18 Days is also a recipient of the first-ever Tribeca Film Institute New Media Fund, having been awarded a 100,000 USD grant.

“We’re happy to work with such innovative teams,” said Innovent CCO Elise Baugh. “We seem to be drawn to projects that vehemently push the envelope. They dream up the twistedly engaging and the poignantly arresting.”

“Question Bridge: Black Males” and “18 Days in Egypt” question the fabric of the status quo using new media alternatives, and in the process unweave them. Innovent is a transmedia company that takes on projects that aim for social change.

ART TORONTO 2011, CANADA’S ONLY MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY

INTERNATIONAL ART FAIR, RETURNS TO TORONTO OCTOBER 28 TO 31

Toronto, September 12, 2011 — Collectors, curators and art enthusiasts will converge on Toronto at the end of October to experience the twelfth edition of Art Toronto - a four-day fair which showcases exhibits by 109 leading and emerging international galleries from 13 countries. Art Toronto 2011 runs from October 28 to 31, and features alternative spaces curated by The Drake Hotel, Canadian Art magazine, the Art Gallery of York University and the Art Dealers Association of Canada. Other highlights of the fair include solo exhibitions, installations and curated projects by renowned artists such as Andy Warhol, Kent Monkman, Edward Burtynsky, Chuck Close and many more. An Opening Night Preview to benefit the Art Gallery of Ontario will launch the fair on October 27. Media are invited to a special preview tour of the fair on October 27, before it opens to the public.

“Art Toronto is more than a place to buy and sell art, it’s also about opportunity: opportunities for galleries to meet artists, fellow dealers and curators,” said Linel Rebenchuk, of Art Toronto.  “It also allows visitors to see the best of what the art world has to offer, and gives attendees the opportunity to learn and take part in forums, interviews, performances and panel discussions.”

Special to Art Toronto 2011

Art Toronto 2011 Media Preview Tour – Thursday October 27^th at 10am and Friday October 28^th at 10am

Join us for breakfast and be among the first to experience Art Toronto 2011, hear about the special programming and witness the unveiling of the BMW art car. This preview tour will feature the work of Kent Monkman, Edward Burtynsky and other hidden gems and exhibits you won’t want to miss. Please RSVP to tkuld@artscom.ca.

Opening Night Preview

On Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011, Art Toronto will host a celebratory launch of the fair and a benefit for the Art Gallery of Ontario. At this special ticketed event, guests can preview and purchase works of art before the fair opens to the public, while enjoying cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, and socializing with some of today’s leading artists whose work is featured at Art Toronto. Visit http://www.ago.net/art-toronto-2011 for details and to purchase tickets.

The Art Game - Commissioned Flagship Project by Kent Monkman

Curated by Steven Loft, The Art Game is a life-size maze, constructed from booth walls identical to the Art Fair itself, which takes the audience through an art world “funhouse”. The meandering corridors are made more confusing with the use of double-sided mirrors, trick windows, and fake doors, forcing the audience into a challenging experience of disorientation and multiple choice – not unlike the real art world. Dispersed throughout the maze are four “dioramas”, in the form of four small rooms, each one presenting the four key players in the Art Game: artist, curator/museum director, gallerist, and collector.

Art Toronto 2011 MOCCA Benefit Edition

With the support of Art Toronto, the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art is pleased to announce Edward Burtynsky as the Art Toronto 2011 MOCCA Benefit Edition Artist. For more information go to www.mocca.ca or visit their booth during Art Toronto 2011.

The BMW Art Car

As the official vehicle of Art Toronto 2011, BMW Canada is proud to present iconic artist Andy Warhol’s 1979 Art Car – the BMW M1. Since 1975, artists from around the world have turned BMW automobiles into art, signifying a particular period through the Art Car program. The name Andy Warhol is the quintessence of pop art. He began his artistic career as a commercial artist and was successful in holding his own exhibitions in New York as early as 1952. BMW Canada is extremely proud to bring Warhol’s Art Car to Toronto as a means of sharing one of the company’s many cultural initiatives with Canadians.

RBC Canadian Painting Competition

Established in 1999, with the support of the Canadian Art Foundation, the RBC Canadian Painting Competition is a tribute to Canada’s artistic talent. The goal of the competition is to support and nurture emerging Canadian visual artists by providing them with a forum to display their artistic talent to the country and hopefully open doors to future opportunities. Selected works from previous year’s semi-finalists are on exhibit at Art Toronto 2011 or see the paintings of all 15 semi-finalists by visiting www.rbc.com/paintingcompetition.

Curatorial Program

Entitled Place, this initiative is curated by William Huffman and explores the notion of navigation as a unifying theme – ultimately moving people through the fair and activating existing elements with a four artist, intervention-based mechanisms. This initiative is a presentation partnership between Toronto Arts Foundation (TAF), Art Dealers Association of Canada (ADAC) and Art Toronto.

Foodservices with Jon Sasaki: This commission initiative will be available exclusively through food services at Art Toronto. Sasaki will create artist multiples for take-away by altering cocktail napkins and paper plates in an effort to connect with the Art Toronto visitor and make unique, the banal consumables expected to be part of conventional hospitality service.

Mapping an Exhibition with William Huffman: This project is intended to highlight individual artworks already on display in the various booths by creating an exhibition that links the works physically and conceptually through route instructions. This component will be activated by a take-away map and instruction kit, which guides visitors through the fair occasionally highlighting works of particular interest at various gallery booths. Along with the map device, signage will identify the featured pieces and provide didactic or narrative information. The selection of works may change daily, thereby telling a different story and, incorporating as many galleries/artists as possible.

Daily Lectures, Tours and Special Presentations

Download the Art Toronto Show Guide at www.arttoronto.ca/show_guide/ for a complete list of daily programming.

Art Toronto 2011 could not happen without the support of our presenting sponsor, RBC Wealth Management, BMW – the Official Vehicle of Art Toronto, and AXA Art Insurance– the Official Art Insurer of Art Toronto.

About Art Toronto 2011

Join this gathering of some of the world’s best galleries and artists. Lectures and on-site events are free with admission tickets. General admission $18 (available online for $16); Groups/Students/Seniors $14; Four-day pass $44; Children under 10 are free. Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) North Building, 255 Front Street, 1-800-663-4173, www.arttoronto.ca, info@arttoronto.ca  Opening Night Preview will be held on Thursday October 27, 2011 - visit http://www.ago.net/art-toronto-2011 for details or call 416.979.6628 to purchase tickets.

To request media credentials for Art Toronto 2011 please visit http://www.arttoronto.ca/accred_form/

To RSVP for the media preview tour or for more information about Art Toronto, hi-res photos or to arrange an interview with one of our spokespeople, please contact:

Talvi Kuld – Account Director

Arts & Communications

tkuld@artscom.ca

(416) 966-3421 x 204

Thursday September 8 - October 1, 2011
Curated by Andréa Picard
16mm anamorphic film, 45 minutes
Slow Action will be screened every hour at 12:00 | 1:00 | 2:00 | 3:00 | 4:00 pm

Presented in collaboration with the Future Projections program of the Toronto International Film Festival.

Note special hours for this exhibition during the film festival only: open every day, September 8 –18, 2011 from 12:00 - 5:00 pm.

A heady mix of lingering beauty and offbeat humour, Ben Rivers’ four-part, 16mm film, Slow Action extends the artist’s interest in hermetic, rural existence by investigating four parallel worlds in an ostensibly utopian, post-apocalyptic universe.

Media Contact
Kim Simon
Curator

Press Release for You First

You First at the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, October 1 through October 29. Opening night reception 5:00 p.m. Performances begin at 7:00 p.m. For more information visit www.occca.org and www.uforafest.com. OCCCA is open Thursdays and Sundays from noon to 5:00 p.m and until 9:00 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays. Located at 117 N. Sycamore, Santa Ana, California, in the Santa Ana Artists’ Village. Contact: Rob Mintz or Dalibor Polivka , Email:uforafest@yahoo.com   Ph: 714.667.1517 

Artists Rob Mintz and Dalibor Polivka present You First, an exhibit arriving with more than fifty attractions! Dive into the think tank if you dare! Featuring young partisans of the real from the nation’s top schools —-  plus a cadre of international art luminaries* —- You First presents authentic & genuine Relational Aesthetics: art in the here and now! See it, feel it, think it through! The great dream belongs to everyone! Glimpse the new paradigm. It’s no longer business as usual. (Exhibit may contain language not suitable for children under eighteen years of age.) See poets, slaves, soap-sellers, lovers, inmates, outcasts, scientists, city planners, a guy reading a newspaper, a woman in a tree! See artists, documentarians and photojournalists at the height of their game. Art is more than just another facet of life: it’s the name of a hope, reaffirming the social bond.  During the opening, choreographer Sheron Wray and her dance troupe will improvise interactively with the audience. On the same night, You First will present Zoe Gruni’s performance piece, Urban Jackalope, first seen at the Biennale di Venezia, plus the dance stylings of Derek Fleming of Soul Train fame. Milan Kovac, the Consulate General of the Slovak Republic, will present documentation of  Slovakia’s humanitarian aid in troubled regions of the world.  You First has received the kind endorsement of the French critic and curator Nicolas Bourriaud who coined the term, “relational aesthetics.”Another true art luminary, Alfredo Cramerotti, a UK-based artist, author and curator, represents himself with a collaborative blog and videos about the radical European art fair Manifesta. Best-selling social visionaries Michiel Schwarz & Joost Elffers’ will reveal new symbols for a sustainable future. NYC’s favorite rock and roll fashionista, Jordan Betten, will demonstrate how to dress for the party. Marc Pally, a high-power hyphenate, is both the artistic director of Glow (an all night event held in Santa Monica) and an LA-based artist showing sensitive, stylized drawings of a human face, wry, melancholy and somehow heroic. Max Presneill, mercurial director of the Torrance Art Museum, exhibits brooding, painterly explorations of cognition and experience. Arie Galles, a professor at Soka University, artist and gallery director, bears witness to the Holocaust in a series of large-scale drawings of maps and aerial photographs from military archives. Art collectives are a fascinating phenomenon —- and there is none more elusive than Finishing School, masters of street-smart provocation.  The artists in You First are graduates of the most prestigious art programs in the nation, among them Art Center, Art Institute of Chicago, Cal Arts, California College of the Arts, Cornell, Cranbrook, Harvard, Mills College, MIT, New York Academy of Art, Otis, Rhode Island School of Design, Rutgers, San Francisco Academy of Art, and Yale. The participants in You First come from the United States, Italy, France, England, Sweden, and Slovakia, nomadic citizens of the planet Art. A complete exposition about You First, the ideas and personalities that shaped it —- and the Ufora project in general —- will be unpacked in a forthcoming book by the curators.

* The art luminaries include: Base Design, Jordan Betten, Nicolas Bourriaud, Finishing School, Derek Fleming, Arie Galles, Zoe Gruni, Milos Koptak, Marc Pally, Max Presneill, Michiel Schwarz & Joost Elffers, Karen Smith & Ida Hledikova,  Stealthart,  Wolfgang Steahle, Ta Tu, and Sheron Wray.