Parallax Venice 2010

“ Parallax was a locus for temporarily displaced art professionals [who worked as Invigilators in Venice during the Venice Biennale 2009 ] and even though it was a temporary displacement, our roles at the Biennale allowed for a prolonged engagement and a substantial outcome that might not have come to fruition without the type of (dis)placement allowed by a 6 month long event.” (Steven Anderson ) www.parallaxvenice.com

Who we are?
History
PARALLAX has been created at Venice Biennale 2009 by and for Invigilators as a platform for innovative dialogue, creative conversations and international collaborations.
Each pavilion and exhibition at the Venice Biennale has a team of invigilators who were most often practicing artists or curators who have recently graduated or are still in education.
The concept of forming a professional collective of Invigilators working at the Venice Biennale arose through invigilators meeting and discussing their work and practice.
The project was initiated by: Steven Anderson – Artist in residence at Scotland and Venice ’09; James Ó Haodha – Artist and invigilator at Ireland Venice ’09; Connie Bree – Curator and invigilator at Northern Ireland Venice ’09; Oonagh Murphy – Curator and invigilator at Northern Ireland Venice ’09

Aims and Objectives
Providing a platform for organic exchange of skills and knowledge transfer. To support continuing professional development, lifelong learning across boundaries.
To support and develop equality in the access to the global exchange of art professionals and art ideas - to challenge exclusiveness of the art world - provide a new/revised model of social and professional interaction.
Encourage international collaborations by providing a platform for creative encounters with artistic peers across geographical, political and professional boundaries and creating unique professional development and networking events on an international stage utilizing new media and online networking to ensure that collective members can participate in person or digitally.

To expand and strengthen the Parallax network by organising a continuum of events in the resident cities/locations of Parallax members – events including exhibitions, temporal art events, discussion events and presentations.
To carry forward the work of Parallax into an exhibition and social events at the Venice Biennale 2011 as a platform to ensure propagation and continuation of Parallax in the hands of the next generation of participants in Venice; providing them with support, tools and a model for this.
The work produced at/ selected for offsite events will be in some way keyed-in to the processes and concerns of the event/org, e.g. addressing place, connection, collaboration, identities… references to the event - as a reflective, discursive process either through work being made or structured dialogue.

Past Projects – Venice
On the 13th September the Scottish pavilion hosted WEB building. Each participant selected his or her own webbing material and together they proceeded to spin a multi-dimensional drawing. They began by incorporating the objects already in the space and ended when they found themselves unwittingly trapped in a cocoon of their own making.
WEB building was attended by: France, Ireland, N Ireland, Singapore, Wales, Britain, Israel and Italy.

On 30th of August the Northern Irish Pavilion hosted a Show and Tell with fellow invigilators. It was an informal way of learning about the practice of our Biennale colleagues, building new connections and talking through a few ideas. It was an easy going evening and even those who had not prepared to speak talked about their work by the end of the night.

Venice Experiment s
On the 28th August 2009, we held our second parallax event. After creating a clear working space, removing furniture and wall hangings and using basic and found materials, an exhibition was put together in the domestic setting of our apartment off Campo San Stefano.
Invigilators and visitors to the Biennale worked with the word ‘Venice’ and using materials as diverse as human hair, film reel and clothespegs, created an evocative installation. Individual pieces and collaborative efforts adorned the walls. It was an energetic and colourful evening, a vibrant exploration of our experiences in Venice to date .
The Scottish invigilators, Jess, Kezia and Amy were the instigators of the first intervention in San Marco Square on Thursday 20th August 2009.
Working on the brief of making and bringing instruments or soundmakers to the event, the group collected and recreated the sounds of the city; glasses clinking, homemade bells, knives and forks, water, cymbals, constructed wind instruments , lyric singing, camera clicking.
Attended by the Scottish, Irish, Northern Irish and Welsh pavilions and also Hayward Curator Vanessa North and working to simple cues with sounds, tempos and vocal harmonies the collective soon attracted attention and a crowd of spectators to rival the exclusive cafes of San Marco.

Parallax Offsite – Milton Keynes What: When: 23-15 July 2010 Where: Milton Keynes At Venice Biennale Parallax presented a series of events and performances, opening up a creative dialogue between the international pavilions. Parallax members aim to consolidate this work by presenting a series of Offsite events and encouraging new members to join their network. One of them is going to take place in Milton Keynes. Aims: • To develop MK as an “incubator” for the exchange of ideas and knowledge between art professionals and aspirants across disciplines and geographical borders. Objectives: International artists in a 3 day residence in MK to exchange ideas and experience between international (Parallax members and associates + ) and local art professionals. Presentation by Shu-fang Huang

Outcome:
Sustained collaboration between local and international art professionals.
• Local engagement with international contemporary art and its development
• Publication of results of residency and symposium (internet and/or print)
• Encourage an artistic and intellectual understanding between local residents, and local and international art professionals
• Facilitate an exchange of ideas and knowledge between art professionals across disciplines and borders, promote young artists internationally
Appreciation and understanding of art in MK
“ I really liked suggestion that we might have the chance to make some site-responsive work in Milton Keynes, sounds like such a great place to host the first event, considering its planning process.” (James Ó Haodha )

Current outline of the MK event
Day 1 Opening event (includes: Presentation of Parallax to date (slide show) and the exhibition/presentation of works by Parallax members
Day 2 Tour of MK
Symposium & Performances at MKG /Networking event
Day 3 Talk and See Session
Exhibition of works by Laura Desai and Sarah Emily Parsons

SYMPOSIUM
Aim : To generate a debate on the situation of art professionals in the global (post-national?) world
Taking the Venice Biennale (a context and the catalyst for the birth of the Parallax) as a starting point presentations are invited to consider:
The impact of geographical and cultural displacement on art professionals and communities and on art making processes. Readdress the vital importance of social/physical exchange of artists and art professionals
Motives and causes of displacement or relocation amongst art professionals.
Reevaluating established hierarchies in the fields of art production, presentation and acquisition.
Inclusion, exclusion and access in a global and contemporary art context.
Expanded roles, constraints and opportunities of art professionals working at biennales and art fairs
The cause and effect of Biennale displacement on the wide community of international art professionals
The importance of cultural displacement and the role of the invigilator
The 'prolonged engagement' allowed by the duration of biennales and other similar large events and its impact on the artist’s work
Reexamining national representation in a post-national context
The effect of parallactic situations on artists and art professional
Presention by Bryan Duffy with Deo Nkueno Matundu

Performances by James O hAodha, Steven Anderson and Kathryn Ashill

Future plans
Building on the already established website www.parallaxvenice.com and broader web presence on networks like Facebook, Parallax is planning to expand online networking and activities over the coming months. Intermediate-term aims include the creation of specific online and globally accessible art events, the potential for members to host web-specific projects and the further development of the forum and skill-sharing areas. We hope that these efforts will expand and strengthen Parallax as a transnational network platform for informal and non-formal education.
Creation of a collaborative ‘post it’ work of art by the Parallax members with documentation on Flickr and Facebook

AIR Programme Research
The aim of the programme is to further collaboration between artists, curators, arts venues, educators and other art professionals on the international level, to create and present art; facilitate discussion, exchange of ideas and skill sharing by organising lectures, seminars, workshops and other forms of enlightenment and instruction; promote international and cultural exchange and dialogue.
The programme will advance art education creating opportunities for audiences to experience, enjoy and engage with [contemporary] art; providing support to emerging artists and art professionals; promoting, maintaining, advancing and improving the education and training of artists and art professionals;

Parallax attendance at Re-Tooling Residencies Conference (Poland) opened the door to collaboration with the members of ResArtis and TransArtists and brought about invitations to Balmoral Residence Centre (Germany) www.balmoral.de , and Centre D'Art de Marnay Arts Centre (France) www.camac.org

Parallax invited by Manifesta 8

Parallax presence at 54th Venice Biennale
An important long-term goal for Parallax is to create a presence at the next Venice Biennale of Art in 2011. This will ensure Parallax’s continuing activity as a unique platform created by invigilators and resident artists, providing a dynamic structure for the next generation of art practitioners working in peripheral roles to network, create new Onsite events and to further develop the association for coming years.

Parallax Venice 2010

by Dobrochna Futro

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