Pak Sheung Chuen, Making Thousands of Suns, installation view, 2010.
Multimedia Art Asia Pacific Annual Report 2010
2010 Annual Report MAAP - Multimedia Art Asia Pacific Inc.
MAAP would like to thank all our sponsors for 2010
Light from Light is part of ‘Imagine Australia’ – The Year of Australian Culture in China 2010 – 2011. Light from Light has been supported by: the Queensland Government from art+place Queensland Public Art Fund; the Australia Council for the Arts; the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through the Australian International Cultural Council and the Australia China Council.
2010 Annual Report MAAP - Multimedia Art Asia Pacific Inc.
Table of Contents Director’s Foreword......................................................................................................... 6 Background................................................................................................................... 8 Executive Summary...................................................................................................... 10 2010 PROGRAM DESCRIPTION.................................................................................... 14
1. CORE BUSINESS....................................................................................... 16 Administrative support for exhibition and touring programs.......................................................16 Financial and Accounting System.............................................................................................16 MAAP Mentorship and Employment.........................................................................................16 Governance..............................................................................................................................18
1a. Strategic And Business Planning.............................................................. 20 2. MAAP MEDIA BANK................................................................................. 22 MAAP Media Bank Loans Value................................................................................................24 Funding & Support...................................................................................................................26
3. MAAP CURATORIAL PROGRAMS, EVENTS & PROJECTS...................... 28 3a. Exhibition Project: Light From Light.......................................................... 28 Project Overview......................................................................................................................28 Artists & Artworks.................................................................................................................... 30 Supplementary Programs & Activities.......................................................................................34 Key Partnerships......................................................................................................................38 Major benefits...........................................................................................................................42 Marketing, Communications and Media Coverage................................................................... 44 Future activities.........................................................................................................................48 Feedback.................................................................................................................................48
3b. MAAP Republic: Public Art Programs At South Bank............................... 50 Paul Brown: 4^15: Studies in Perception...................................................................................50 Major Public Art Infrastructure Proposal: Grey Street Video Lanterns........................................52 South Bank Public Art EOI: Manning & Plaisted Hoarding Project..............................................54
2010 Annual Report MAAP - Multimedia Art Asia Pacific Inc.
Collins Place exhibition: Gross Bodies of Light..........................................................................54 Other South Bank Shop-front Exhibitions..................................................................................56
4. MAAP RESEARCH.................................................................................... 58 4a. MAAP Website.......................................................................................... 58 www.maap.org.au....................................................................................................................58 www.maap.asia........................................................................................................................58 www.lightfromlight.net..............................................................................................................58 www.maapmediabank.org....................................................................................................... 60
4b. Light From Light Catalogue.......................................................................60 5. YOUTH MENTORSHIP & REGIONAL AGENTS PROGRAM....................... 62 Youth Mentorship.....................................................................................................................62 Regional Agents Program.........................................................................................................62
6. MAAP ARTIST DEVELOPMENT................................................................ 64 6a. Artists In Residence.................................................................................. 64 Janet Burchill & Jennifer McCamley......................................................................................... 64 Pak Sheung Chuen.................................................................................................................. 66 Eugene Carchesio................................................................................................................... 68
6b. Incubator Program.................................................................................... 70 Archie Moore............................................................................................................................70 Transmute Collective.................................................................................................................72 SPEC........................................................................................................................................72 Future Incubator projects: Brisbane ARIs.................................................................................. 74
7. REPORT CONCLUSION............................................................................ 76 APPENDIX 1. MAAP Media Bank Loans Summary & Value................................................ 79 APPENDIX 2. MAAP 2010 Audited Financials................................................................... 83
2010 Annual Report MAAP - Multimedia Art Asia Pacific Inc.
Audience members ascend the stairs at Collins Place to see Gross Bodies of Light 2010.
2010 Annual Report MAAP - Multimedia Art Asia Pacific Inc.
Director’s Foreword 2010 2010 was MAAP’s 14th year of operation. It was a year of project exhibition deliverables and the realisation of significant organisational change and growth. MAAP has operated previously as a Key Organisation with the Australia Council with annual funding until 2007 when the New Media Arts Board was dissolved along with Key Organisation Annual Funding Grant category. Arts Queensland commenced funding in 2008 in the S2M (small to medium arts organisations) and has continued on an annual basis until this year. 2010 saw MAAP achieve Key Organisation Triennial Funding Status, with Arts Queensland and continued efforts to cultivate Triennial Funding status from the Australia Council. Two years in development, MAAP’s major 2010 project Light from Light opened at the State Library of Queensland on 1st October and closely followed with the mirror exhibition installed at the Shanghai Library opening on the 3rd November. Light from Light was conceived as a public art project to be sited in and around the collection and reading spaces of libraries. This design reinforces MAAP’s exploration of cultural spaces in Australia and the Asia Pacific regions generating different opportunities to experience, engage with and contemplate for both artists and audiences. The major public artwork Light from Light by Janet Burchill and Jennifer McCamley was a challenging and steep learning curve that initiated MAAP into a new set of public art management skills that will inform future projects. After operating from the ‘Collins Place’ building at South Bank for just over 12 months, the effect on the MAAP organisation has become quite apparent. The building and South Bank location has increased MAAP’s capacity to support local public art projects, artists’ exhibitions, professional development, artist residencies and broader engagement with the public. It has resonated in the approach to exhibitions such as Light from Light where the project allows an extended development and tour moving over a three-year period. A summary publication with considered texts and documentation of the multiple installation sites will be a rich and full bodied catalogue blending many points of view. As director, it is with great satisfaction that I look at 2010 as a quality year where the energies of MAAP synthesised to create a highly productive year. This is only possible through the support and cooperation at all levels and to this end I’d like to begin by thanking all of the artists that are recognised and documented through this report. To those that are not so well documented but are supremely important to MAAP’s governance and accountability The Board: Zane Trow - Chair, Angela Reilly – Secretary, Hugo King –Treasurer, Jeffrey Sams and Paul O’Kane. I sincerely thank all members of the Board for their guidance, advice and generosity. Thanks also to MAAP key staff that has worked with commitment and professionalism to deliver and develop 2010 program: Madeleine King – Program and Development Manager and Paul Bai – China Project Manager. And finally to our supporters, sponsors and industry partners that are recognised at the beginning of this report. Thank you for the energies that your contributions have made. 2010 aligned a great collaborative team that was a rare privilege to work with.
Kim Machan Director of MAAP
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Light from Light opening reception, State Library of Queensland, 2010.
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Background MAAP is a platform for contemporary art development, presentation and critique. Our reputation has been built on a strong portfolio of international multimedia festivals (producing 7 since 1998, in Brisbane, Beijing and Singapore), locating Australian contemporary media arts within a plural international dialogue. MAAP is recognised for critical exhibition and research initiatives based in Australia and throughout the Asia Pacific region. MAAP operates internationally as a team of agents, researchers, artists and curators. In addition, MAAP supports a community of visual artists with Media Bank equipment loans, online resources including artist and curatorial networks. A Brisbane based not-for-profit organisation, MAAP is dedicated to linking practitioners, curators and organisations to resources, opportunities, and international audiences.
MAAP Board Zane Trow - Chairperson Angela Reilly - Secretary Hugo King – Treasurer Jeffrey Sams – member Paul O’Kane – member Kim Machan – staff representative, member MAAP Staff Kim Machan - Director Madeleine King – Research and Program Development Manager Paul Bai – China Project Manager
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Janet Burchill & Jennifer McCamley, Light from Light, installation view at SLQ, 2010.
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Executive Summary This Annual Report details the 2010 activities of MAAP – Multimedia Art Asia Pacific, discussed around a series of six concurrent program streams: MAAP Core Business, MAAP Media Bank, MAAP Curatorial Programs, Events & Projects, MAAP Research, Youth Mentorship & Regional Agents Program, and finally, MAAP Artist Development. In a major year of program delivery, MAAP developed and presented a significant touring exhibition Light from Light in Brisbane and Shanghai, launched a new exhibitions program stream, MAAP Republic, developed and launched two new project-specific websites, submitted two major proposals for South Bank public art infrastructure, supported three artist residencies and three Incubator projects, and finally, undertook research and development for a major publication. Light from Light was undoubtedly the year’s programming highlight, presenting two editions of eleven site-specific works (including two editions of a major public artwork), from renowned Chinese, Australian and European artists, along with a suite of complementary programs and bilingual resources for both Chinese and Australian audiences. The international content and profile of this exhibition was given local and national focus through the participation of Australian artists, arts-workers, venues and industry partners. The exhibition provided a strong bilateral Australian-Chinese platform for cultural exchange, awareness and recognition between participants, stakeholders and audiences and extended MAAP’s twelve-year cultural exchange with China. The MAAP Republic, MAAP Media Bank and Incubator Program made a significant contribution the development of artistic vibrancy in Queensland. MAAP contributed the value of $122,865 in equipment hire in-kind to the Queensland arts community, and supported young and emerging artists, particularly Brisbane’s growing base of Artist Run Initiatives, with additional advisory services through the MAAP Media Bank. MAAP’s industry partnership with the South Bank Corporation has enabled the organisation to develop a strong local base, providing office space, MAAP Media Bank storage, and temporary exhibitions and studio spaces in the Brisbane metropolitan regions. The tangible outcomes of MAAP’s local focus can be seen in the 2010 program, which evidences meaningful and relevant support to emerging and mid-career Brisbane artists in the development, presentation and promotion of new work.
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Section 1. Core Business relates to the housing of MAAP and the MAAP Media Bank, administrative support for exhibition and touring programs, MAAP’s financial and accounting System, MAAP Mentorship and Employment, and governance. Together, these activities provide the supporting architecture for the delivery of the 2010 MAAP program. This section also describes MAAP’s Strategic and Business Plan developed over the 2009-2010 period, which provides the program and organisational outlook for the next three years (2011-2013). Section 2. MAAP Media Bank pertains to the provision of services and equipment to artists through the MAAP Media Bank, and details the value of loans and the avenues of funding and support for the service. This section refers to additional data provided in APPENDIX 1. MAAP Media Bank Loans Summary & Value. Section 3. MAAP Curatorial Programs, Events & Projects outlines the major touring exhibition project, Light From Light (with details on artists, artworks, supplementary programs & activities, key partnerships, major benefits, marketing, communications & media coverage, future activities, and feedback) and the public art exhibitions and activities of MAAP Republic (namely, Paul Brown’s 4^15: Studies in Perception, MAAP’s major public art infrastructure proposal ‘Grey Street Video Lanterns’, public art expression of interest, ‘Manning & Plaisted Hoarding Project’, and the group exhibition, Gross Bodies of Light). Section 4. MAAP Research describes 2010 research activities undertaken for MAAP Websites (www.maap.org.au, www.maap.asia, www.lightfromlight. net, www.maapmediabank.org) and for the forthcoming Light From Light catalogue. Section 5. Youth Mentorship & Regional Agents Program describes the 2010 JUMP mentorship proposal submitted by MAAP and the nature of the Chinese Regional Agents’ (Li Zhenhua and Zhang Peili) support for the Light from Light exhibition. Section 6. MAAP Artist Development pertains to the 2010 Artists In Residence – Janet Burchill & Jennifer McCamley, Pak Sheung Chuen and Eugene Carchesio – and the participants of the Incubator Program – Archie Moore, Transmute Collective and Brisbane Artist Run Initiative, SPEC.
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2010 PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
1. MAAP Core Business
1a. Strategic and Business Planning
2. MAAP Media Bank 3. MAAP Curatorial Programs, Events & Projects
3a. Exhibition Project: Light From Light
3b. MAAP Republic Public Art Programs
4. MAAP Research
4a. MAAP Website
4b. Light from Light Catalogue
5. Youth Mentorship & Regional Agents Program 6. MAAP Artist Development
6a. Artists in Residence 6b. Incubator Program
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MAAP current board members, L–R, Zane Trow, Angela Reilly, Jeffery Sams, Hugo King, and Paul O’Kane.
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1. MAAP CORE BUSINESS The delivery of MAAP’s core business is underpinned by administration, financial and accounting systems, governance, mentorship and employment. This section will detail the nature of MAAP’s 2010 operations, including tenancy, administration of exhibition and touring programs, bookkeeping and accounting practices, and the volunteer, mentorship and employment programs engaged to deliver the 2010 program. MAAP has continued to occupy large office space in South Bank, Brisbane at Collins Place. The organisation took up residence at Collins Place in 2009 as part of a contra deal, whereby office space was supplied to MAAP in exchange for public space programming throughout South Bank. This program has continued to be delivered throughout 2010 (see Section 3b: MAAP Republic Public Art Programs at South Bank). The office houses both general operations and the MAAP Media Bank, which includes significant equipment storage. Administrative support for exhibition and touring programs 2010 has seen MAAP administer the development and execution of the major exhibition Light from Light and its associated artistic residencies and public programs, as well as regular public art programs at South Bank as part of MAAP Republic. These exhibitions are detailed in Section 3, MAAP Curatorial Programs, Events & Projects. Financial and Accounting System MAAP’s part-time bookkeeper, Yvonne Rojas from All Figured Out Bookkeeping Ltd has continued to keep the MYOB accounting system up to date. Accounts are managed with Brian Tucker Accounting. Budgets and financial forecasting are overseen and reported to the board by MAAP Director Kim Machan and MAAP treasurer, Hugo King. MAAP now operates quarterly GST reporting. MAAP Mentorship and Employment As part of its role as an organization fostering new work and talent in the Asia Pacific region, MAAP has a history of providing mentorship and work opportunities for emerging curators, producers and administrators. MAAP
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has a positive history as an employer, providing opportunities to staff for skills and knowledge exchange. New staff positions are typically created and defined by specific projects, meaning that specialist experience is best harnessed. In 2010, Madeleine King continued her position as Research and Program Development Manager and Paul Bai took up the dual role of China Project Manager and MAAP Media Bank officer. Former MAAP staff member, Rachel O’Reilly was contracted under a temporary arrangement in December 2010 for additional administrative support. MAAP was joined by a skilled team of enthusiastic volunteers in Brisbane in the lead up to the opening of Light from Light at the State Library of Queensland. The volunteers, Rebecca Finnigan, Melanie Simsun, Caitlin Franzmann, Leena Riethmuller, Melissa Ryke and Annie Kabamba, visual art students from the Queensland College of Art and the Queensland University of Technology, put in a tremendous effort to assist in many aspects of the installation and opening-night tasks. The volunteers worked in a hands-on manner to help construct Chinese artist Lin Tianmiao’s Private Reading Lamp and worked alongside Australian artists Joyce Hinterding and David Haines to mount an antenna on the roof of the State Library of Queensland as part of their project Sunvalley Radio. The volunteers reported great satisfaction with their experience working on these projects with the artists and the MAAP team, and enjoyed the opportunity to network with their university peers, mid-career Australian and Chinese artists, and industry professionals. Over 3 weeks in December, MAAP was joined by Karl Webber, who assisted primarily with administrative tasks and graphic design (assisting in the layout and preparing images for this annual report) as part of the Federal Government’s Bridge Works Training Placement. Governance The MAAP Board continue to be a unified, creative, visionary and supportive governance body. MAAP Board members are highly skilled and actively participate in risk management planning for international projects in our region. Over 2010, the board were kept in close contact with programme developments, staffing arrangements, budgets and other pressing issues via regular meetings and email ‘flying minutes’. In 2010 there were 5 meetings that met or exceeded quorum (4 members). Board member Jeff Sams, based in Mackay, has attended each meeting via SKYPE technology. There were 2 ‘Flying Minutes’ seeking the Board’s approval on specific issues. The Board’s ongoing evaluation of MAAP operations through ‘monitor-review-report’ strategy and
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‘appreciative inquiry’ applied at Board meetings, ensures improved business operations. As part of MAAP’s ongoing funding strategy the Board oversaw the administration of the organisation’s tax gift status and register of cultural organisations. The process to amend the constitution to meet these requirements was passed at the 2010 AGM.
1a. Strategic And Business Planning In 2010, MAAP completed a new Strategic and Business Plan that had been in development since 2009, thanks to the support of an Australia Council company development fund. The Business Plan was updated and submitted as part of MAAP’s application for triennial funding through the Arts Queensland, Small to Medium Organisation grant. The application was successful, and triennial funding commences in 2011. The Strategic and Business Plan details the period between 2011-2013, but is designed to be revised annually. Together the plans outline: • the organisation’s purpose and history; • the organisation’s current internal and external situation relating to performance, business capabilities, physical resources, knowledge & experience, regulators, financial resources, environment, economy, markets, society & culture, policy & law, competitors & suppliers; • goals, strategies, and key performance indicators relating to the organisation’s profile, generating artistic vibrancy, supporting artists, and strengthening the organisation; • 2011-2013 artistic plan & program; • self-regulation; • marketing plan; • financial plan, and management plans relating to the board, governance, succession planning, risk management, disability action plan, reconciliation action plan and green policy.
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The MAAP Media Bank storage room.
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2. MAAP MEDIA BANK The MAAP Media Bank re-purposes audio-visual equipment from its exhibition program, to help artists with creative projects. The MAAP Media Bank grew organically from MAAP’s existing resources that had accumulated from exhibitions. The program promotes the sharing and loan of MAAP’s used equipment as a strategy to support the visual art and new media art community, and encourage sustainable attitudes towards the consumption of technology. The MAAP Media Bank is available for local, national and international projects pending the meeting of the following criteria: • Compatibility with MAAP’s curatorial strategies (artistic merit of the project must be demonstrated) • Availability of requested equipment during proposed project times • Demonstrated safety and security of MAAP equipment during transportation and exhibition • Non-profit and artist-driven projects are a priority • Not available for student projects Successful project applications gain access to equipment free of charge, recognizing the considerable and often prohibitive costs associated with the production and exhibition of media art. Projects outside of the criteria may be available with the provision of a stipulate maintenance fee. The MAAP Media Bank has accumulated a vast range of equipment that includes: LCD & CRT Monitors; Data Projectors; Studio Monitor Speakers; Amplifiers; A/V Switchers; Professional Lighting System; HD & DV Cameras; Digital Still Cameras; Laptop & Desktop Computers; and a variety of associated cabling, headphones; mounting & rigging gear, etc. In-kind support by the MAAP Media Bank has facilitated many new media works and exhibitions that would not have otherwise been possible. Over 2010, the service has continued to work closely with Brisbane Artist Run Initiatives, providing equipment support for a total of 18 exhibitions, with a commercial hire value estimated at $44,810. Feedback from local artists, ascertained via formal feedback responses given through our surveys and information evenings, as well as informal face-to-face feedback, has confirmed the significant value and relevance of the MAAP Media Bank for the development and presentation of new work. The MAAP Media Bank remains the only service of its kind in Australia and provides support that many artists, especially young and emerging artists, simply do not receive from anywhere else.
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An information evening for Artist Run Initiatives that use the MAAP Media Bank was held at MAAP’s office, March 2010.
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One of the secondary benefits of the MAAP Media Bank is that it creates an important point of contact between MAAP and local artists and arts-workers. Loans often will involve a process of consultation with MAAP staff, drawing on our expertise in the production and installation of new media exhibitions. This exchange keeps us abreast of artists’ changing technical needs, and broader trends in contemporary art presentation. In order to document and promote the local exhibitions and artworks supported by the MAAP Media Bank, MAAP set up a new website: www. maapmediabank.org. This new website not only enables artists to share information about their work, and document the activities made possible by the MAAP Media Bank, but it also formalises the feedback process. An online survey form was created to gather information about how the equipment was used and what impact it had for the artist and their creative community. MAAP Media Bank Loans Value Between 2006 and 2010, the MAAP Media Bank has loaned the equivalent of $654,068 worth of commercial equipment hire to artists, supporting 146 exhibitions in-kind. In 2010 alone, the MAAP Media Bank supplied $122,865 worth of commercial equipment hire to artists. The full details of loan values for 2010 and prior are outlined in APPENDIX 1. MAAP Media Bank Loans Summary & Value. The loans figures calculated for 2010 show a decline compared to the previous year: 40 exhibitions were supported with $122,865 worth of equipment hire, compared to the 57 exhibitions at $404, 674 hire value supported over 2009. This reduction in loans is a result of three contributing factors. Firstly, MAAP’s major exhibition program, Light from Light, took away staff and resources from MAAP Media Bank both during and in the lead up to the events in Brisbane (October) and Shanghai (November). MAAP did not have sufficient funds to fill a MAAP Media Bank staff position full-time (the position was created as a dual role for MAAP China Manager Paul Bai, who was primarily occupied with Light from Light), so the MAAP Media Bank was unable to fulfil all equipment requests during critical periods of Light from Light. Secondly, MAAP did not have the funds over 2010 to replace broken equipment or increase the volume of high-demand equipment. To better support increased demand for the equipment, two funding applications were submitted over 2010 to the Jupiters Casino Community Gambling Benefit Fund – unfortunately both applications were unsuccessful. In light of this, MAAP was unable to supply all equipment requested. Finally, much of the equipment loaned to the Intimate Transactions touring program, which accounted for a significant proportion of loan values in 2009, was suspended from further outgoing loans in 2010
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whilst negotiations for a project follow-up were in progress. The Transmute Collective behind Intimate Transactions may purchase some of the equipment borrowed for the tour off MAAP once the work is acquired by the prestigious ZKM – Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie (see section 6b. Incubator Program for more details). Quantitative and qualitative data on the impact of the MAAP Media Bank, accrued through participant surveys over 2010, have regrettably been lost by an online survey company. Unfortunately, basic data shown in APPENDIX 1. MAAP Media Bank Loans Summary and Value does not indicate the number of artists who benefited from each loan (i.e. group shows can benefit as many as ten artists per loan). MAAP is working to recoup this data in 2011. Funding & Support In June 2010 MAAP received funding of $20,000 from the Brisbane City Council Community Grant specifically for the MAAP Media Bank, to develop management systems, increase artist’s access to the service, and through improved systems, increase the availability of high-demand equipment. The benefits of this funding boost will carry on into 2011, with the funded project due for completion in May 2011. In addition to this project-specific funding support, MAAP’s 2010 application for Arts Queensland S2M triennial funding was successful, meaning that the basic staffing and operations of the MAAP Media Bank is secured for 2011-2013. Significant in-kind support from the Australia Council was provided to the MAAP Media Bank in 2010. A sizable collection of high quality used audiovisual equipment was donated to the service as part of a special partnership with the Australia Council, whereby A/V equipment purchased by the Australia Council for Australian representatives at the Venice Biennale is donated to the MAAP Media Bank, in an effort to recirculate equipment to artists where it would otherwise go unused. In March 2010, an information evening regarding the supply of this newly acquired equipment was held especially for Brisbane Artist Run Initiatives.
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Shanghai Library
The State Library of Queensland
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3. MAAP CURATORIAL PROGRAMS, EVENTS & PROJECTS 2010 was a major event year in the MAAP programming cycle, and a significant year of programming achievement in the organisation’s history. MAAP’s major touring exhibition Light from Light, which had been in development since 2008, opened in Brisbane at the State Library of Queensland in October and in China at the Shanghai Library in November, and was accompanied by a range of supplementary programs that included two artist symposia and a series of artist residencies. The highly successful exhibition of artworks from China, Australia and Europe conceived around the idea of light attracted significant touring interest from other libraries in China, Australia and Singapore, and as a result, a tour of these regions is now planned for 2011 and 2012. Earlier in the year, MAAP launched its debut MAAP Republic program, dedicated to site-specific and public exhibitions in metropolitan Queensland. As part of the MAAP Republic program, the artwork 4^15: Studies in Perception (20062009) by seminal Australian new media artist Paul Brown was reconfigured for display in a South Bank shop window, and the site-specific group exhibition Gross Bodies of Light, curated by Brisbane Artist Run Initiative, SPEC, was launched at MAAP’s Collins Place residence. As part of MAAP Republic, and MAAP’s partnership commitment to developing public art programs in cooperation with the South Bank Corporation, MAAP put forward two major public art proposals for shopping districts and parkland areas of South Bank, involving Brisbane artists and artworkers. MAAP’s successful proposal for major public art infrastructure in the South Bank precinct, the Grey Street Video Lanterns project, is scheduled to be rolled out by the South Bank Corporation in 2011.
3a. Exhibition Project: Light From Light Project Overview Light from Light is an international touring exhibition of contemporary visual art and new media that was co-located at the State Library of Queensland on 2nd October 2010 (closing 2012) and at the Shanghai Library from November 3rd 2010 (closing February 2011). The project supported six artists from Australia, four artists from China and one artist from Europe to develop new works or adapt existing artworks for presentation in the two library environments. Participating artists and staff from the library venues were engaged in a supplementary program of cross-cultural exchange between Shanghai and Brisbane through project development, residencies, symposia, and on-site cooperation. The exhibition was themed around the metaphors and properties of light and explored the artistic possibilities for environmentally sustainable new technology, such as photovoltaic cells. Artists were encouraged and supported to produce work that responded to the situational context of a
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Janet Burchill and Jennifer McCamley, Light from Light, 2010. Image above: installation view at SLQ; Below: installation view in Shanghai Library.
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library (including collections and public spaces), through a variety of traditional and new media forms including installation, interactive & online media content, indoor sculpture and major outdoor public sculpture. Three residencies were held to aid the development of new artworks (Janet Burchill & Jennifer McCamley, Pak Sheung Chuen, and Eugene Carchesio), and other artists were provided on-site support at workshop spaces at the Edge (State Library of Queensland) and at the MAAP office. Exhibition design emphasised the idea of a ‘mirror’ exhibition, and illustrated the use of two sites (Brisbane and Shanghai) through a bilingual multimedia presentation. A new project-specific website was developed to provide information, display online and interactive artworks, and promote the exhibition, artists and major stakeholders. In addition to online material, a catalogue is currently being prepared for release after the tour is complete in 2012. The exhibition was curated by MAAP Director, Kim Machan.
Artists & Artworks The project supported the development, presentation and promotion of the following artworks: Archie Moore (QLD), East/West Bookcases 2010, Sculpture David Haines & Joyce Hinterding (NSW), Broadcast from the Ionosphere: Sunvalley Radio (Spherics and Fields 2010, Live Broadcast from the Ionosphere 2010) 2010, Sound Installation and Website Eugene Carchesio (QLD), Thief of Light 2010, Hand-made Book & Digital Book Installation; Space Light Transmission 2010, Audio Installation; Volume 2010, Audio-Visual Installation Janet Burchill & Jennifer McCamley (VIC), Light from Light 2010, Major Outdoor Public Artwork (Self-Powered Geodesic Dome) Josef Strau (AT), Theatre of the Lamps Talking in the Light of the Past 2010, Light & Audio Installation Lin Tianmiao (CN), Private Reading Lamp 2010, Sculpture Pak Sheung Chuen (HK), Making Thousands of Suns 2010, Window Sticker & Book Installation Wang Gong Xin (CN), Book Dream 2010, 3-Channel Video Installation Zhang Peili (CN), Standard Translation 2008-2010, LED Screen Installation The curatorial selection of artists and artworks were made on the basis of exhibition theme (the idea and medium of light, the situational context of the library), artistic merit (for artists to represent a high standard of contemporary art practice, and demonstrated ability to respond to curatorial premise and situational context), and balance of regional representation (emphasis
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Wang Gongxin, Book Dream, 2010. Top: installation view at the State Library of Queensland; Bottom: installation view at the Shanghai Library Joyce Hinterding & David Haines, Broadcast from the Ionosphere: Sunvalley Radio (Spherics and Fields 2010, Live Broadcast from the Ionosphere 2010), 2010. Top: installation view at the State Library of Queensland; Bottom: installation view at the Shanghai Library.
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on representation from MAAP’s home state, Queensland, and proportional representation of mainland China and Hong Kong). To ensure the highest standard of artistic outcomes MAAP encouraged and supported artistic experimentation and risk taking by providing expertise and guidance from external industry experts, technical and support staff at the State Library of Queensland, Shanghai Library and MAAP. A series of residencies provided selected artists with the opportunity to properly examine the exhibition sites and develop work in consultation with MAAP staff (for more detail, see section 6a. Artist In Residence). Each participating Light from Light artist responded thoughtfully and cleverly to the project brief – to create an artwork for a library space that considered the notion of light – and embraced the challenges the unorthodox exhibition environment posed. For example, Chinese artist, Wang Gong Xin was inspired to use the public access computing systems extant in the library spaces, and created a video of ‘sleeping books’ displayed on screen savers. Fascinated by the possibilities of the interlibrary loans system in Queensland, Hong Kong artist, Pak Sheung Chuen recruited regional libraries from around the state to contribute books that featured the sun on their covers as part of his installation. Chinese artist, Lin Tianmiao wanted to address the lack of privacy in the public context of the library, and so created her own cocoonlike private reading space. The support of risky or experimental works was also met with great success. For example, celebrated Brisbane artist, Eugene Carchesio, was able to work in an entirely new format (digital imagery) thanks to the equipment support and technical guidance from MAAP. Carchesio reported great satisfaction with the artistic outcome and audience responses to his new use of media and plans to continue working in this way. The production of two editions of a major out door public sculpture, Light from Light by Janet Burchill and Jennifer McCamley was a key success of the exhibition, in spite of some significant hurdles. It was initially intended that the photovoltaic geodesic dome would power the other artworks in the exhibition through on-grid solar power generation, however the requirements to make the system on-grid were technically and financially prohibitive, and as a successful compromise, operating as an ‘off-grid’ structure (not integrated with mains power), it was able to power the lights and LED/neon signage presented as part of the standalone sculpture. The need for off-grid technology, however, presented many challenges to the development, production and fabrication of the geodesic dome structure as sourcing triangular Built-In-Photo-Voltaic cells proved to be extremely difficult. The limited supply of the customised photovoltaics (only three companies in the world supply them) meant that the artists couldn’t work ‘hands-on’ with a single contractor in a situated residency in China, but rather, a series of separate contractors were needed to manufacture the dome structure and photovoltaics.
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Light from Light Artist Symposia
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Top: Artist Symposia at the China Art Academy, Hangzou Centre: Artist Symposia at The Edge, State LIbrary of Queensland
2010Talk Annual Report MAAP Right: Pak Sheung Chuen’s Artist at State Library of Queensland
Multimedia Art Asia Pacific Inc.
An additional hurdle was presented in Brisbane when it came to locating a suitable site for the dome at the State Library of Queensland, as issues of access, disruption to electrics and telecommunications underground, load-bearing, amongst other practicalities, severely diminished options for presentation. In fact, only one site was deemed appropriate, and demanded significant alterations to the original plan, as a 2.4 metre platform had to be built to make the dome ‘unclimbable’ in accordance with work place health and safety requirements. This created a significant and unforseen cost and regrettably, it caused the premature closure (2 weeks) of an extant temporary public art work. Fortunately, the second edition of Burchill & McCamley’s Light from Light could be realised according to its original plan in the Shanghai site. Despite these serious challenges in each development, production and display, the artists were ultimately pleased with the result and the public artwork elicited highly favourable responses from staff, audiences and peers in both venues. MAAP industry partner Kisun Renewable Energy reported that the artwork’s innovative use of photovoltaics, particular the way the off-grid system was achieved, created great interest amongst its solar energy peer group in China and abroad.
Supplementary Programs & Activities Artist symposia Two artist symposia, held at the State Library of Queensland in Brisbane (October 2nd 2010) and at the China Art Academy in Hangzhou (November 2nd 2010), saw participating artists and curator, Kim Machan, discuss their experiences of cultural exchange between China and Australia during the project, as well as elaborate on their approaches to the situational context of the Chinese and Australian libraries. Janet Burchill, Jennifer McCamley, Archie Moore, David Haines, Joyce Hinterding, Zhang Peili and Josef Strau presented to an audience at the Edge (State Library of Queensland, Brisbane). In Hangzhou, Light from Light artist and head of the New Media Art Department at the China Art Academy, Zhang Peili (hailed as the progenitor of video art in China), hosted the artist symposium at his university. Janet Burchill, Archie Moore, David Haines, Joyce Hinterding, Wang Gong Xin, Josef Strau and Eugene Carchesio discussed their work and experiences in front of approximately two hundred attentive Chinese art students, who engaged enthusiastically with the exhibition’s themes and the artists’ practices thanks to some quality translation provided by the university. After the presentations there was over 90 minutes of exchange during question time. The presence of both Chinese and Australian artists was especially well received, as they provided many points of comparison and contrast to discuss within the broader framework of international contemporary art.
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Above: The Director of Shanghai Library Dr. Wu Jianzhong, MAAP director Ms. Kim Machan and the State Librarian of Queensland, Ms. Lea Giles-Peter at the ribbon cutting ceremony of Light from Light exhibition opening in Shanghai. Right: Chinese Consul General Mr. Ren Gongping opening Light from Light at the State Library of Queensland, 2010.
Left: State Library of Queensland staff assist Joyce Hinterding to install a hand made antenna on the SLQ roof for Sunvalley Radio. Right: State Library of Queensland staff assist Chinese artist Zhang Peili to set up his LED rolling-text screen.
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Interlibrary Exchange The development, presentation and promotion of Light from Light formed the basis of a staff exchange between the State Library of Queensland and Shanghai Library. David Allen, Manager of Operations, Information and Communication Technology Services at the State Library of Queensland, was engaged in an exchange with the Shanghai Library while MAAP was setting up the exhibition Shanghai (28th October – 3rd November). Mr Allen had a special hands-on role in the Shanghai exhibition installation, providing much appreciated technical support to the artists, MAAP and also to the Shanghai Library staff, who had not previously worked on an exhibition within library collections spaces. As part of his exchange, Mr Allen delivered a formal presentation to the Information Technology Services department of the Shanghai Library (essentially his Chinese counterparts), which was an excellent outcome of the interlibrary project for both libraries. The existing relationship between the State Library of Queensland and the Shanghai Library added to the depth and richness to the project’s cultural exchange component. The libraries were both genuinely grateful to have a shared project on which to collaborate meaningfully. To commemorate the exchange, the exhibition was opened in Shanghai by State Librarian, Lea-Giles Peters (SLQ) with the Director of the Shanghai Library, Dr Wu Jianzhong and Kim Machan, with additional State Library of Queensland staff, Tory Jones and David Allen, in attendance. MAAP is particularly pleased with the Shanghai Library’s positive response to the exhibition, given that it had never produced anything of this kind. Staff from the IT and electrical departments engaged enthusiastically to cooperate to enable the artists’ work on site. Shanghai staff at ease working with their Australian counterparts even when language was an immediate barrier, and undoubtedly the broader acceptance of the project was enhanced by having a Chinese speaking member on the MAAP staff (MAAP China Manager, Paul Bai). Bilingual Exhibition Resources MAAP created a bilingual multimedia presentation to accompany the exhibition, which explained the exhibition’s themes, ideas and format to Mandarin- and English-speaking audiences. Through photographs that showed the artworks in situ in Shanghai and Brisbane, the presentation created the effect of a ‘portal’ between the State Library of Queensland and the Shanghai Library. Stimulated by this digital tool, audiences were encouraged to consider the relationship between Australia and China when viewing the artworks on home ground. A bilingual catalogue was distributed to a target audience in the lead up to the exhibition to explain the exhibition concept, and promote the artists and stakeholders. Details of the artworks and their location in both sites
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Left: Screen-shot of the Light from Light bilingual didactic presentation. Translations provided by Paul Bai. Centre: Chinese version of the Light from Light hand-out containing details and locations of each artwork. Translations provided by Paul Bai. Below: The digital edition of Eugene Carchesio’s Thief of Light book showing Chinese translations. Translations provided by Macquarie University.
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were provided to audiences via a bilingual paper guide at the State Library of Queensland and the Shanghai Library. Additional bilingual resources, including downloadable artworks and biographical information on artists, were made available of the project website www.lightfromlight.net, which is described in section 4a. MAAP Website. All artworks containing English text were translated into Chinese; Josef Strau’s Theatre of the Lamps Talking in the Light of the Past and Joyce Hinterding & David Haines’ Sunvalley Radio website were translated by the Macquarie University, while MAAP China Manager Paul Bai translated Archie Moore’s East/West Bookcases and Eugene Carchesio’s hard-copy and digital editions of Thief of Light.
Artist In Residence For details on the residencies that supported Janet Burchill, Jennifer McCamley, Pak Sheung Chuen and Eugene Carchesio to create new work for Light from Light see section 6a. Artists in Residence. For details on how Archie Moore was supported by the Incubator Program to make new work for Light from Light, see section 6b. Incubator Program.
Key Partnerships Light from Light is part of ‘Imagine Australia’ – The Year of Australian Culture in China 2010 – 2011. Light from Light has been supported by: the Queensland Government from art+place Queensland Public Art Fund; the Australia Council for the Arts; the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through the Australian International Cultural Council and the Australia China Council. Light from Light has also been supported by project partners: State Library Queensland, Shanghai Library, Griffith University Queensland College of the Arts, China Academy of Art, Urban Art Projects, Rapid Concept Designs, South Bank Corporation, Integrated Fine Arts Solutions, Kisun Renewable Energy Distribution and Macquarie University. State Library of Queensland SLQ enthusiastically expanded their involvement in the project, from what had been outlined in the initial partnership agreement with MAAP, by extending the exhibition dates to 2012, and tripled the amount of financial support originally pledged (providing $64,565) to meet the cost blow-out of the supporting infrastructure required in Brisbane to present Burchill & McCamley’s photovoltaic geodesic dome in accordance with health and safety requirements. While a staff exchange was anticipated in the initial partnership agreement, SLQ extended the nature of David Allen’s Shanghai Library exchange trip to provide technical support to MAAP and the Shanghai 2010 Annual Report MAAP - Multimedia Art Asia Pacific Inc.
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39 Custom built photovoltaic panelAnnual producedReport for Janet Burchill and McCamley’s commissioned 2010 MAAP - Jennifer Multimedia Art Asia Pacificsculpture Inc. Light from Light, 2010.
Library during the period of the exhibition installation in Shanghai. Shanghai Library Shanghai Library facilitated the development and presentation of the exhibition as a major venue in Shanghai. This included installation support, printing of banners, brochures, hand-outs, artwork posters, publicity and press, opening event support and hospitality, and awareness seminars for staff. Urban Art Projects After a promising developing partnership with Chinese photovoltaic company Suntech, engaged to construct Burchill & McCamley’s photovoltaic geodesic dome in its entirety, collapsed due to unprecedented production demand in the rare Built-In-Photo-Voltaic panels, combined with the global financial crisis, MAAP engaged Urban Art Projects to step in and oversee the fabrication and production of the dome structure. UAP sponsored engineering drawings and assisted in sourcing some sub-contractors, including Rapid Concept Design, a Brisbane based company who produced technical drawings of the dome. With offices in both Brisbane and Shanghai, UAP was able to provide on-site management and support for the assemblage and mounting of the dome at both the State Library of Queensland and the Shanghai Library. UAP’s experience in large scale public art was invaluable to the project. KISUN Renewable Energy MAAP made a partnership with Shanghai based solar-energy company KISUN to source the production of the rare Built-In-Photo-Voltaics (BIPV) for Burchill & McCamley’s photovoltaic geodesic dome. The company, headed by Dricus De Rooij, also organised the freight of the BIPV panels, and provided a team of solar technicians to assemble and connect the BIPV panels on site in Shanghai. In Brisbane, MAAP subcontracted another group of solar technicians (Watthaus) to install and connect the panels. Australian Embassy, Beijing The Australian Embassy in Beijing and the Department of Foreign Affairs provided on-the-ground support, guidance and vital information for the development and realisation of the project in China. Both the embassy and DFAT are currently assisting with tour preparations.
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Clockwise from left: Josef Strau’s poster for Theatre of the Lamps Talking in the Light of the Past was translated by Macquarie University; Strau’s lamps at the State Library of Queensland recited their ‘memoirs’ in English; Lamp memoirs were recorded in Chinese using the voices of Shanghai Library staff members.
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Macquarie University Volunteer students from the Translating and Interpreting programs at Macquarie University (http://www.ling.mq.edu.au/postgraduate/coursework/ tip.htm) provided the Chinese translations for the seven ‘Lamp Memoirs’ in Josef Strau’s artwork Theatre of the Lamps Talking in the Light of the Past. The translations formed the basis of an accompanying poster at the Shanghai Library, and recorded readings of the texts by Shanghai Library staff constituted the audio component of Strau’s installation in Shanghai. The students also translated Joyce Hinterding & David Haines’ Sunvalley Radio website and in 2011 they will translate a text based video work by Grant Stevens for inclusion in the ongoing tour. Queensland College of the Arts, Griffith University Griffith University sponsored Pak Sheung Chuen’s Brisbane residency, byproviding accommodation directly opposite the MAAP office on Grey St, and allowing curator, Kim Machan to speak to undergraduate students of the QCA studio program about Pak’s practice and involvement exhibition. Machan’s talk helped compel QCA students to become involved in the project.
Major benefits Benefits to MAAP The project benefited MAAP in a number of key ways: firstly by achieving new audiences (including arts & non-arts patrons) in both Shanghai and Brisbane; secondly by developing positive and productive relationships with artists, artworkers and stakeholders; thirdly, by improving the organisation’s international profile by having a continued presence in China, building on existing cultural networks; and finally, by enabling MAAP to develop an ongoing tour in China. Through the project, MAAP was able to both leverage and build on its cultural networks in China, which have developed over the past twelve years primarily through China-hosted exhibition projects like MAAP in Beijing (2002) and Synthetic Times (2008). Benefits to our community Light from Light conferred a number of benefits on MAAP’s community, which ranges from the local Brisbane community of artists and artworkers to the broader Australian cultural network. The participation and representation of local artists (two Brisbane-based and four from wider Australia) in this high profile international event was in itself of benefit to Australia’s cultural
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Light from Light promotional banner at the State Library of Queensland.
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community, demonstrating that art produced at our doorstep is on par with the wider standard of international contemporary art. The exchange of local artists and artworkers with those from China and Europe value-added to the Australian artists’ experience of showing work to Chinese audiences. A group of volunteers, art students sourced from Brisbane universities, also reaped benefit from the project, by working directly and meaningfully with established artists of international repute. Arts students also constituted a great majority of our audience for the Light from Light symposia in Brisbane and Shanghai, and were treated with candid and thoughtful reflections on contemporary arts practice by the participating artists and curator. The project also strengthened the relationship and collaborative capacity of Shanghai Library and State Library of Queensland, and as a result, there may be opportunity for further Australia/China projects of a similar nature. Benefits to the public The public enjoyed a number of benefits from this project. Primarily it presented our Chinese and Australian audiences (both art-lovers and ordinary librarygoers) the opportunity to see new and high quality contemporary artworks from Australia, China and Europe in a dynamic and unexpected context. The exhibition also served to stimulate the public’s imagination about Australia’s bi-lateral relationship with China, and enrich ties between the two countries. The exhibition capitalised on international audiences in Shanghai for the World Expo.
Marketing, Communications and Media Coverage Marketing Marketing for Light from Light targeted Chinese and Australian library patrons and the international library industry, the international contemporary art market, Chinese and Australian contemporary art patrons, the Australian government (international relations), the broader Chinese and Australian arts sector, officials of the Chinese and Australian governments, and the general Chinese and Australian public. The marketing plan that MAAP developed in cooperation with the State Library of Queensland was rolled out by SLQ marketing staff as follows: SLQ and Edge social media channels (reaching an audience of approx 1500 each across Facebook and Twitter), stories of Light from Light featured in two SLQ magazines (reaching an audience of 10,500 subscribers per issue, with 10,000 distributed to cafés etc), SLQ enewsletter (reaching an audience of 1,500 people), Edge enews (reaching an audience of 844 people), event listing in the Unlimited design festival publication, a large promotional banner at SLQ, targeted invitations (mail and e-vites), and a targeted brochure mail-drop. Strategic partnerships with universities and arts organisations also increased the profile of the event throughout targeted
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Audiences, Shanghai Library staff and the media tour the Light from Light artworks at the Shanghai Library
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networks in Australia. Online publicity was conducted through the State Library of Queensland and the Shanghai Library’s respective websites, as well as through MAAP’s own online and social media presence (project website: www.lightfromlight.net; host website: www.maap.org.au) Communications The project met the following communications objectives: • To encourage arts patrons to engage with the exhibition and attend associated events. • To encourage the general public to engage with the exhibition and discover its many different facets. • To engage with the science, clean energy, environmental planning and sustainable design sectors including government, not-for-profit, industry, education and research organisations. • To educate State Library staff about the project and encourage their ownership of the project. • To engage the library sector around Australia and China in the project. • To document the project over its life through:
− webcasts packaged as podcasts
− social media for events
− web/pod casting and photographing bump-ins, installation processes, staff briefings, opening event, and public events.
Media Coverage The project was covered by some major print and broadcast networks in Australia and China, including by a national television station in China (CCTV), and The Australian newspaper. MAAP has counted 11 feature articles that discuss Light from Light (print and online) to date, along with countless other online news and event listings. In China the online reportage was extensive including photos and articles posted on the Chinese Governments Foreign Affairs website (please see press clippings and URL links – 16 are included but there were many other minor listings). Interestingly, there was a Chinese commercial hardware lighting equipment web sites that referred to the exhibition – the article talked about the new encounters in the Shanghai Library, particularly discussing ‘the lamps that tell stories’, and the audiences positive feedback. A Chinese university lecturer quoted in Chinese online media coverage reported that “the artworks refreshes the visitor’s mind, and offered unexpected enlightenment”.
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Archie Moore, East/West Bookcases 2010 Above: Installation view at the Shanghai Library Below: Installation view at the State Library of Queensland
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Future activities The project plans to tour to four other destinations in China and Singapore in 2011: National Library of China (April – June), National Art Museum of China (April – June), Hangzhou Library (June – August), National Library of Singapore (November 2011 – February 2012). In addition, a major publication is planned to document the entire project, detailing how the exhibition was presented in each venue. It will feature both international reviews and local critical responses from each participating venue.
Feedback The Shanghai Library provided formal feedback that reported that the exhibition served to “update the library image from a boring ‘book warehouse’ to an exciting playground for artistic adventure” and that they “received numerous call from art lovers and publishers concerned for information and felt boosted with this new interactive experience”. They also acknowledged issues of educating patrons about the exhibition that they felt could have addressed better. Happy with MAAP’s cooperation, the Shanghai Library closed in saying it would be a “blessing” to “join hands with SLQ and MAAP in the short future for another program”. Dennie Lee, project manager at the Shanghai Library was asked to talk to staff about the exhibition. She said that having to take the responsibility of telling other staff about the art works was a challenge but that she thought it was very helpful for the staff to better understand what these art works were about and personally rewarding. She also said she enjoyed being part of the art work by Josef Strau where he asked 5 staff members to read his stories to be electronically incorporated into his art work. Other positive comments were received relating to how the normal atmosphere in the library was altered by the presence of the ‘strange’ art works. The support of risky or experimental works was met with great feedback from participating artists. All artists spoke at the China Art Academy in Hangzhou and were very pleased with the level of interest that students and staff showed toward their presentations and work. Eugene Carchesio (LFL artist) gave a live performance using a projection of his text work – he said he was very pleased to present without being asked to speak and therefore transcending the need of translation. Some artists were not fully satisfied with the limitations of the library environment and the format of the exhibition, while other artists were extremely pleased with how their work responded to the framework set by the exhibition. The curator Kim Machan commented that the cultural exchange between artists did not particulary extend past the formal parameters of the program. Audience attendance and response in both Australia and China was extremely positive, as was the reception by the passive audience of library-goers.
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Paul Brown, 4^15: Studies in Perception 2006-2009. Installation view, South Bank
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3b. MAAP Republic: Public Art Programs At South Bank In 2010 MAAP raised $52,000 in public art consultancy to South Bank Corporation to match the commercial rent of Collins Place ($1000/week or $52,000/annum). This consultancy is designed to activate and light-up public spaces around South Bank, and simultaneously enables MAAP establish a more public local profile and support artists to develop new works for highexposure public sites.
Paul Brown: 4^15: Studies in Perception Paul Brown’s 4^15: Studies in Perception (2006-2009) is a generative computational artwork, meaning that rather than being constructed or designed, as the artist describes the work ‘evolves’ without repetition and without need for human intervention. While appearing to the viewer initially as a static pattern, the geometric forms and colours of 4^15 morph very slowly, so that changes are often imperceptible at first glance. This subtle optical effect genuinely captivates and transfixes viewers, rewarded with the realisation that what they thought was a single luminescent image is in fact a self-evolving animation. 4^15 was the first artwork to be shown as part of the MAAP Republic shop-front series at South Bank. For the project, MAAP constructed a 9m x 1.5m projection space on the front window of a shop in the ABI Group Building South Bank, so that a rear-projection housed in the shop could face the popular Stanley Street Plaza in the Parklands. MAAP adapted Brown’s original artwork to the space by lining up four projections side-by-side to create a wide-screen effect that enveloped the length of the shop. Developed over a successful 40-year career, Brown’s practice evidences a deep knowledge of each art, science and technology, and a sustained curiosity in how the fields interact. Brown is renowned for his use of Cellular Automata systems, which are historically intertwined with the origins of Artificial Life (or ‘A-life’). He has applied such systems to time-based artworks, prints on paper and large-scale public artworks, referencing a mathematical aesthetic revealed in both tiling and patterns of symmetry. Brown describes works such as 4^15 as ‘kinetic painting’, with influences in European kinetic, conceptual and systems art. 4^15: Studies in Perception was on display at South Bank from 5pm to 1pm every evening between January and April 2010.
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Major Public Art Infrastructure Proposal: Grey Street Video Lanterns MAAP was engaged by South Bank Corporation in February 2010 to assess the viability of installing temporary or permanent infrastructure for the display of moving image digital content at designated sites of Grey St as a strategy to activate public spaces in the South Bank precinct. Following an initial assessment, MAAP developed a project brief called ‘Grey St Video Lanterns’ and invited expressions of interest from a short-list of contractors. MAAP presented South Bank Corporation with the resulting expressions of interest on Friday 18th June, and provided advice for the selection process MAAP assessed the project to be of high complexity, with the contractor requiring a specialised combination of creative design expertise, high-level of experience with new technologies (including outdoor projection, LED display, wireless data transmission, and media scheduling systems), good supplier networks, project management skills, and ability to construct and install outdoor display housing, data cabling and electrics. The short-list comprised of contractors who had previous experience with projects of a similar nature and demonstrated ability to deliver the project within the proposed timeframe and budget. Amongst the shortlisted contractors were some highly skilled Brisbane-based creative practitioners. MAAP provided project information to the short-listed contractors to develop their expressions of interest, including written material (comprehensive project brief with visual impressions and site plans), as well as face-to-face and phone consultation. MAAP and South Bank Corporation assessed the expressions of interest against the desired selection criteria, which included contractor’s past experience (including demonstrated creative design expertise and experience with proposed technologies), comprehension of project brief, commitment to project, suitability to budget, ability to meet timeframes and ability to coordinate with additional suppliers, contractors and the South Bank team. The project was thereafter developed directly between South Bank Corporation and their preferred contractor, however in the wake of the Brisbane flooding of January 2011, MAAP expects necessary reparations to the South Bank precinct will take priority and may present delays for the scheduled 2011 roll-out of the Grey St Lantern project.
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Gross Bodies of Light 2010 at Collins Place.
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Top to Bottom: Ross Manning uses the moire effect; Annie Robertson evokes an African sunset; Sky Needle performs DIY instruments
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South Bank Public Art EOI: Manning & Plaisted Hoarding Project MAAP was invited to put forward an Expression of Interest for a temporary public art installation that would respond to South Bank Corporation’s Project ABC, Project Boardwalk Redevelopment and Stormwater Harvesting Project. The key aim of the project was to create artworks that would attract visitors to various parts of the South Bank precinct in order to overcome disruptions caused by a number of construction projects in the area. MAAP worked with Brisbane artists Ross Manning and Tim Plaisted to develop public art concepts to rejuvenate areas of the South Bank precinct that had been overtaken by construction works and unsightly hoarding fencing, and engage the visiting public through interactive artworks that would subsequently help pedestrian traffic move between the sites. Manning proposed two innovative visual concepts for the hoarding fences that incorporated moving, changing optical moiré and anamorphic effects. Plaisted proposed an interactive game that would connect the physical experience of South Bank to an online game environment accessed via QR codes and mobile phones. Although South Bank Corporation reported that they were highly impressed with MAAP’s proposal and expressed interest in working with the artists in future, the project proposed in the EOI was unfortunately unsuccessful.
Collins Place Exhibition: Gross Bodies of Light Gross Bodies of Light was a one-night only exhibition of ‘ephemeral’ artworks comprised of light, sound and moving image adapted for the heritage building site of Collins Place (MAAP’s residence) and curated by Brisbane Artist Run Initiative SPEC. On the 30th of July, artworks and performances by Brisbane artists rubbed up against the idiosyncratic colonial features of the building, such as the generous balcony spaces, the expansive windows and the cavernous central hallway. A number of artists projected handmade 16mm film and over-head transparencies on the surface of the windows (backed with semi-transparent architectural paper), to animate the entire ground floor of the building, which was visible from the popular restaurant and culture district of Grey street, South Bank. In the Collins Place car park that backs onto the South Bank train-station, performers intrigued and entertained Queensland Rail passengers with a variety of home-made and improvised instruments. The unassuming office space by day was made luminous at night. The curators, Alex Cuffe and Helen Rogers, described the artworks as follows:
“Patrick King confronted the audience with his intricate installation of eight-channel 72 8ohm, 0.25 watt speakers which produced a narcotic sound that was unnerving and disorientating. In a little room to the side, the viewer is overwhelmed with the sublime colours of Annie Robertson’s work, recreating the blinding colours of the African sunset, witnessed and documented from
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Gross Bodies of Light 2010 at Collins Place. Above: Patrick King’s audio installation; Below: Jason Fitzgerald’s hand-made film.
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her recent journey to Africa. Opposite Robertson’s work is the cool, yet mind-bending work of Ross Manning, whose work explored the ‘Moire Effect’, an interference pattern created when two grids are overlaid. On the balcony of ‘Collins Place’, was Stephen Russell’s rotating architecture – a domestic-like house that stained the retina with a strobe light flashing images of home. Among the artists occupying the windows of the building is Jason Fitzgerald, whose artwork explores expanded cinema. A part of the show, Fitzgerald had two of his hand made films, which were printed with an Inkjet printer onto transparencies, cut out and taped together. Chloe Cogle also projected onto the existing windows. Cogle performs with experimental films and slide projection that explores the history/mythology of cemeteries in Brisbane, using performance and heat distortion. Another artist who projected onto the windows was Danni Zuvela, whose colourful, interchanging landscapes lit up the balconies. Zuvela uses film and chemical manipulation techniques from the 1960s, to create psychedelic chemical landscapes. Nicole Gillard’s overhead projections also occupied a window space, exploring memory and place using photographs from her childhood. Sky Needle performs live with their home made instruments, playing a shanty town of sounds to the break ground of the South Bank train station”
The two-hour exhibition attracted over 200 visitors, along with a sizable group of passersby who looked on from the train-station and Grey St. SPEC reported that they considered the exhibition broadly to be a “success” and a “dream come true” and that working with MAAP had been a “fantastic experience”.
Other South Bank Shop-front Exhibitions In 2010 MAAP submitted two additional proposals for exhibitions in South Bank shop-fronts that were approved in principal, but which could not be accommodated due to the timeframes of space availability. MAAP expects to reschedule the exhibitions for 2011.
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Light from Light website: www.lighfromlight.net Above: Screen-capture of the homepage; Below: Screen-capture of the live webcam stream of Light from Light.
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4. MAAP RESEARCH Research over 2010 was primarily framed around the development of MAAP’s major international exhibition, Light from Light. Given the nature of the exhibition, research was focused on the context of contemporary Chinese art practice and exhibition, and the practices of participating Light from Light artists, especially those from China: Zhang Peili, Wang Gong Xin, Lin Tianmiao and Pak Sheung Chuen. The outcomes of 2010 research manifested in the development of online and print exhibition resources, and the development of the exhibition catalogue, to be published at the end of the tour in 2012.
4a. MAAP Website www.maap.org.au MAAP’s primary website consolidates a significant body of research developed by the organization since 1997. The MAAP website archives previous project specific websites, many of which have been developed as part of artist’s work for past festivals. The organization has amassed a significant network list of artists and curators that have been involved in MAAP projects, made available to the public via online profiles, biographical information, and hyperlinks.
www.maap.asia This project development website is a digital aid to project-manage MAAP exhibitions. It allows MAAP and participants to upload resources, timelines, research, documentation and notices to support other traditional projectmanagement systems. Currently it is used by Light from Light partners and participants, but is not for general public use.
www.lightfromlight.net In 2010, MAAP set up a separate website for Light from Light as the central public online identity for the exhibition, featuring information on the venues, artists, and exhibition themes, whilst taking pressure off the organisation’s main website during periods of peak use. It is linked from MAAP’s and host venues’ websites, using a click-through banner ad. The website features live web-cam streaming of Burchill & McCamley’s Light from Light geodesic photovoltaic dome filmed at the State Library of Queensland to create a sense of connectivity between audiences in China and Australia. Additional web resources include downloadable artworks – Josef Strau’s Theatre of the Lamps Talking in the Light of the Past poster – and links to a live audio stream
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MAAP Media Bank website: www.maapmediabank.org Screen-capture of the homepage
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of the sound of the solar winds interacting with the earth’s atmosphere produced as part of David Haines and Joyce Hinterding’s Sunvalley Radio.
www.maapmediabank.org MAAP created a new separate online identity for the MAAP Media Bank, to document the creative outcomes of this service. The artists and organisations that use the MAAP Media Bank are encouraged to share images and stories relating to the exhibitions and projects made possible with the assistance of MAAP Media Bank equipment, to promote the activities and create a collegial dialogue between the creative community of Brisbane. Those who use the MAAP Media Bank service are also asked to contribute feedback through an online questionnaire that is integrated with MAAP’s online data systems.
4b. Light From Light Catalogue MAAP has refocused the scope of the 2009-2012 ‘Media Art in Asia’ research project – originally slated as a series of commissioned writings on the history of media art activity in Asia, Australia and the Pacific – to create a substantial and critical catalogue for Light from Light. Much of the research and development towards ‘Media Art in Asia’ has now formed the contextual framework for a discussion of the exhibited artwork within the landscape of Asia-Pacific media art. In light of this changed scope, research over 2010 focused on the critical context of media art in China and the participating Light from Light artists. The catalogue is scheduled for completion in late 2012 (after the Light from Light tour is finished) and will contain documentation and commentary on each site the exhibition tours to. The Light from Light catalogue will form a major publication outcome under MAAP’s research strategy. The catalogue serves to both document the Light from Light exhibition in a number of its touring sites, as well as expand on the conceptual themes that underpin both the artworks and curatorial rationale. The publication culminates as insights from participating artists, libraries, academics and art critics in the form of interviews, essays and creative texts. This publication will be bi-lingual (English and Mandarin) and produced post exhibition to include site-specific documentation of the major library installations. In the meantime, other print material, such as location maps and artwork guides, will be developed to circulate during the exhibitions in 2011 to contextualise the project in specific libraries. DVD and online resources produced for the exhibition will complement print material and increase access and awareness.
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5. YOUTH MENTORSHIP & REGIONAL AGENTS PROGRAM Youth Mentorship MAAP made a submission to Youth Arts Queensland and the Australia Council to engage a mentorship with emerging Brisbane artist Stephen Russell pending support from the JUMP National Mentorship Program for Young and Emerging Artists. Unfortunately the funding for this program was unsuccessful, and as such, this particular mentorship was unviable. Nonetheless, MAAP anticipates that further JUMP projects may arise in the future, and could become a promising opportunity to develop and expand MAAP’s own Youth Mentorship program Details of other mentoring projects with young and emerging artists are detailed in section 6b. Incubator Program.
Regional Agents Program MAAP’s Regional Agents Program for 2010 follows on from 2009, which was designed around the development of the 2010 major touring exhibition Light from Light. The project’s relationship with China has determined a need for close regional contacts, with a wealth of expertise, networks, and a demonstrated ability to work with the organisation. MAAP would like to thank Zhang Peili for his contribution to the Light from Light program. Additionally, Li Zhenhua has been very supportive throughout the exhibition’s development. Zhang Peili is the head of the New Media Department at the China Academy of Fine Arts, and is also a first generation Chinese video artist, who is internationally recognised for his contributions to Chinese Contemporary Art. Peili hosted an artist symposium at the China Academy of Fine Arts for Light from Light. He will also contribute to MAAP’s forthcoming Light from Light catalogue. Peili’s involvement in both the publication and Light from Light exhibition is very important in giving both projects artistic authority and in assisting negotiations with other participating Chinese artists. Li Zhenhua is a Chinese curator and producer. Zhenhua first worked with MAAP in ‘MAAP in Beijing’ in 2002. He has continued his relationship with MAAP via information exchange and in the international collaborative exhibition Synthetic Times (curated by Zhang Ga and presented in China in 2008) in his role as Producer. Zhenhua included a MAAP catalogue essay in the 2008 Shanghai eARTS Publication.
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Janet Burchill and Jennifer McCamley, Light from Light, 2010 Above: Installation at the Shanghai Library Below (clockwise from left): Dome is lifted in place by a crane at the State Library of Queensland; Burchill and McCamley on site at SLQ; Light from Light neon sign is installed
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6. MAAP ARTIST DEVELOPMENT 6a. Artists In Residence The three Artists In Residence of 2010 were framed around supporting artists to develop new work for MAAP’s exhibition Light from Light. In addition to MAAP’s support provided through materials, equipment, infrastructure, consultation and administration, the artists were linked with industry partners for technical assistance on a range of complex productions: Janet Burchill & Jennifer McCamley were assisted by a team comprised of architects, engineers, designers and solar technicians; Pak Sheung Chuen was provided with State Library of Queensland support to connect with the network of public libraries in Queensland; and finally, Eugene Carchesio was supported by State Library of Queensland conservation staff to create a bound book.
Janet Burchill & Jennifer McCamley Following a residency in 2009 that focused on conceptual development, Melbourne-based artists Janet Burchill and Jennifer McCamley returned to Brisbane on two occasions in 2010 (19/1/2010–4/2/2010 and 23/6/2010– 25/6/2010), and joined MAAP in Shanghai mid-year (14/5/2010–24/5/2010) to develop and execute two major outdoor sculptures called Light from Light for the eponymous exhibitions in Shanghai and Brisbane. Burchill and McCamley worked in cooperation with MAAP, and a team of designers, engineers, solar technicians, and fabricators that included Urban Art Projects, Rapid Design Concepts, Canadian Solar and Kisun Renewable Energy. The artists made a number of site visits in both Shanghai and Brisbane to consider placement, design and construction of the work, taking into account the specificities of each site. Outside of the on-site periods of the residency, the artists conducted face-to-face and phone/email correspondence with MAAP and the extended team to develop plans, fabrication and manufacture of their identical geodesic solar domes. In Brisbane, the artists were joined by architect Angela Reilly (also a MAAP board member) who assisted with practical issues around the placement and installation of the dome at the State Library of Queensland. Despite the scale and complexity of the project, the two domes were successfully constructed, mounted and powered-up in Australia and China in October and November respectively. The artists’ interest in solar technologies has seen them previously undertake artist residencies at the International Art Space Kellerberrin Australia (IASKA) and the University of Woolongong to develop art and research in this area. Since 1985, Burchill and McCamley have been frequent collaborators and have had numerous individual and collaborative solo exhibitions both in Australia and internationally. Their art practice interlaces feminist, psychoanalytic, filmic, semiotic and spatial concerns, with language, and the language of art,
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Pak Sheung Chuen, Making Thousands of Suns 2010 Top: Staff at Queensland Public Libraries with their selected books Bottom: Books from the Queensland Public Libraries at the State Library of Queensland
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film and popular culture central to their work. A major survey of their collaborative works, Tip of the Iceberg: Selected works 1985-2001, was held in 2001 at the University Art Museum, University of Queensland, and at the Ian Potter Museum of Art, University of Melbourne. Recent solo projects include Neon 2005, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, and All That Rises Must Converge, Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne. Recent group exhibitions include 21st Century Modern, 2006 Adelaide Biennial, Art Gallery of South Australia. Burchill and McCamley have both been awarded a number of international residencies including the Australia Council Studio, Paris, and the Kunstlerhaus Bethanien Studio, Berlin, to Burchill; and the University of Sydney Power Studio, Paris, and the Australia Council Studio, Tokyo, to McCamley. They lived from 1992 until 1996 in Berlin, where they were jointly awarded the Berlin Senate Art Scholarship in 1995.
Pak Sheung Chuen Hong Kong based artist Pak Sheung Chuen visited Brisbane for a residency between the 15th and 30th of June to develop a new artwork for Light from Light. The artist often works in response to ideas of place and systems, and during his time in Brisbane he developed a particular interest in the State Library of Queensland’s interlibrary loans system, which provides access to over 300 public library collections in Queensland. During his stay, Pak conducted research and devised a concept for an artwork that would incorporate the interlibrary loans system: Making Thousands of Suns. While in Brisbane, Pak also identified a site for his work – the Red Box room – at the State Library of Queensland, and developed a series of images as a basis for the artwork. As a secondary outcome of his residency, Pak gave a one-hour presentation (including question and answer time) about his practice and plans for his new artwork to be included in Light from Light at the State Library of Queensland and the Shanghai Library. Following his return to Hong Kong, MAAP assisted the artist to put a call out to public libraries in Queensland and with the cooperation of the State Library, facilitated the interlibrary loan of 18 books from around the state. The artwork featured both the borrowed books and an online component (http://lightfromlight.net/making-thousandsof-suns/) that presented pictures of public library staff, those who helped him create his work, holding their selected book for the artworks. His stay was made possible with the generous support of Griffith University. Pak has made artworks for library environments previously: his permanent solo exhibition at New York’s 58th Street Branch Library, Page 22 (Half Folded Library) was created by folding the 22nd page of every second book in the library’s collection. This Chinese conceptual artist has also been recognised through significant exhibitions in China, Italy, New York and London. Pak’s work comprises a series of small, yet insightful, gestures in response to his immediate environment and to broader social and political issues, prompting the labels ‘philosophical’, ‘poetic’, ‘witty’, ‘profound’, and ‘sensitive’ from
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Eugene Carchesio, Thief of Light 2010 Clockwise from top left: Carchesio working on Thief of Light at the State Library of Queensland Conservation Unit; title embossed in gold foil; the completed book; Shane Bell binding the book.
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international commentators. In the past, many of Pak’s works have documented performances dictated by the artist’s own simple instructions. His 2006 work, Breathing in a House saw the artist fill a rented apartment with his own breath (collected in plastic bags over ten days), until he could no longer fit in the space. For Alternative Tokyo Travel Project 2: Valley’s Trip (2007), the artist travelled from southern to northern Tokyo, but walking only in the areas corresponding to the middle folds of his map. In 2006, he received the Lee Hysan Foundation Fellowship in 2006 from the Asian Cultural Council supporting him to work in New York. His work has been shown in numerous international exhibitions such as the 3rd Yokohama Triennial (2008) and the 3rd Guangzhou Triennial (2008), and the 6th Busan Biennale (2006). His solo exhibition Making (Perfect) World represented Hong Kong at the 53rd Venice Biennale in 2009.
Eugene Carchesio As part of Light from Light MAAP set up a residency for Brisbane-based artist Eugene Carchesio at the State Library of Queensland’s Conservation Laboratory, with the assistance of Executive Manager of Collection Preservation, Grant Collins, to create four editions of the artist’s hand-made book Thief of Light. Carchesio hand-painted each individual page of the four books in watercolour, in-situ at the Conservation Laboratory, on special archival paper stock. A book binder at the State Library of Queensland Conservation Unit, Shane Bell, then covered and bound the four editions of Carchesio’s book to the artist’s specifications – covered with light-green buckram with san serif lettering in gold and silver foil. One copy of Carchesio’s Thief of Light book was later donated by the artist to the State Library of Queensland’s permanent collection of artists’ books. Bell described Carchesio’s residency as a “most fulfilling collaboration between artist and book binder”. A much-respected and renowned Brisbane artist, Eugene Carchesio has produced innumerable works on paper over the span of his career, and Thief of Light follows on from a suite of the artist’s published books. Carchesio’s work is held in major museums and collections throughout Australia. He has held solo exhibitions in the 10th Indian Triennale of Art in New Delhi, India in 2001; MUSIK BERLIN in 1997, and his work has travelled to the Australian National Gallery, Canberra in 1992 and Museum of Contemporary art, Seoul, Korea, 1992. A major retrospective of Carchesio’s work was recently shown at the Queensland Art Gallery, Australia.
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Archie Moore (L) installing East/West Bookcases at the State LIbrary of Queensland.
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6b. Incubator Program MAAP’s Incubator Program began in 2009 as an informal studio support program for practicing Brisbane artists, prompted by feedback from artists using the MAAP Media Bank that studio space was a pressing need in order to test work (especially long-throw projections) prior to exhibition. Where possible, MAAP has tried to locate appropriate spaces for artists to test work in conjunction with MAAP Media Bank equipment support, particularly as our relationship with the South Bank Corporation has given us greater access to potential short-term studio spaces, (such as temporarily vacated shop fronts throughout the precinct). However with shop-fronts in short supply in 2010, MAAP had to look to alternative spaces for the Incubator Program. MAAP hopes that more temporary studio spaces will become available in the future to continue this kind of support.
Archie Moore The Incubator Program supported Light from Light artist Archie Moore with temporary studio space and MAAP Media Bank equipment to assist the development of a major new artwork. MAAP provided the artist with two studio spaces two support the two phases of the artwork development: first was to test the capabilities of electronic equipment in a large, private area at the MAAP office, and second was to construct the work in workshop space provided the The Edge, as part of a partnership with MAAP. In this way, the Incubator Program enabled Moore to test a number of ideas, approaches and media in an unrestricted manner, and then supported him production of the final work in a professional, private and secure space. With the artist’s own access to adequate space and equipment being limited, the support of the Incubator Program made a genuine contribution to the artist’s process and the development of the resulting high-profile artworks East/West Bookcases that will remain on display until 2012 at the State Library of Queensland and on a tour of China and Singapore. Brisbane artist Archie Moore typically works in a variety of media to explore the constructs of language and history, particularly as they relate to Aboriginal experience in Australia. He was awarded the Millennial Anne & Gordon Samstag International Visual Arts in 2001, and subsequently studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Prague, Czech Republic. In addition to exhibiting extensively in Australia and internationally, he has had a number of public art commissions, most recently on the new Kurilpa Bridge in Brisbane.
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Transmute Collective, Intimate Transactions 2003-2008
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Transmute Collective Following MAAP’s tour of the Transmute Collective’s major interactive artwork Intimate Transactions over 2008-2009, the Incubator Program provided safe and secure space for the artists to store and access their work on a long-term basis. The artists had developed plans to exhibit the work after the tour period, however due to the scale of the work (which condensed into four large road cases and one large wooden crate), storing the work in an accessible location was extremely challenging, and yet crucial to their ability to negotiate future exhibitions. In addition to providing the storage, MAAP assisted Transmute Collective by providing ongoing advice and guidance for the work’s future exhibition or museum acquisition. The assistance provided by the Incubator Program contributed to the successful bid to have Intimate Transactions permanently archived at ZKM (Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie), the prestigious and internationally renowned centre for art and media in Karlsruhe that specialises in the preservation, archival and exhibition of new media artworks. Both MAAP and the artists are extremely pleased with this outcome. The Transmute Collective was formed in 1998 and is based in Queensland, Australia. The three core members are Keith Armstrong – artistic director/new media visual design, Lisa O’Neill – performance director, and Guy Webster – sound director. Transmute has developed and presented numerous ambitious, large-scale new media projects that have been shown widely throughout Australia and overseas, having also pioneered international dual-site performances and installation works between Brisbane and the UK. To achieve this, they have worked with many different collaborators including engineers, ecological scientists, human movement scientists, furniture designers, and software designers. Their major work, Intimate Transactions, was awarded an honorary mention in the 2005 Prix Ars Electronica and featured in the CyberArts 2005 exhibition as part of the Ars Electronica Festival 2005 (Austria).
SPEC Over 2010, the Incubator Program provided support and mentorship to the Brisbane Artist Run Initiative, SPEC to develop a series of exhibition and workshop programs in partnership with MAAP. As a 2010 outcome of this Incubator project, MAAP supported SPEC to develop and produce the exhibition Gross Bodies of Light at MAAP’s Collins Place residence (detailed in section 3b. MAAP Republic: Public Art Programs At SouthBank), providing access to MAAP Media Bank equipment and extensive on-site guidance and support in the lead up to the exhibition. 2011 will see further outcomes from SPEC’s Incubator project in the form of workshops and exhibitions to be held in South Bank.
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Founded in 2008, SPEC is a Brisbane ARI specializing in one-night-only and short-term exhibitions promoting experimental sounds and emerging artists. SPEC events typically include gigs, performances and exhibitions. Members include founding Co-Director Alex Cuffe and Co-Director Helen Rogers.
Future Incubator projects: Brisbane ARIs In March 2010, MAAP hosted an information session specifically for Artist Run Initiatives (ARIs) in Brisbane, to promote the kind of support and opportunities offered by the MAAP Incubator Program and the MAAP Media Bank. Two of the ARIs followed up on the opportunity with proposals for Incubator projects however, for many reasons including that adequate spaces have been in short supply, MAAP unable to support the projects in 2010. MAAP’s relationship with the South Bank Corporation is ongoing in 2011, and as part of this partnership we hope that over this year more spaces will become available around the South Bank for the Incubator Program. MAAP is optimistic and enthusiastic to develop project that can be situated at South Bank and other locations. In 2010, MAAP also provided support and guidance to the Vegas Spray ARI with the view to a potential Incubator program with this group in 2011.
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7. REPORT CONCLUSION As a major year of program delivery, 2010 has been both a challenging and momentous one for MAAP – Multimedia Art Asia Pacific. The significant work achieved over 2009 in planning, development and programming has seen a considerable pay-off in the delivery of one major touring exhibition in one national and one international location, two editions of a major public artwork in one national and one international location, the launch of the MAAP Republic program with two exhibitions of site-specific works, two major proposals for South Bank public art infrastructure, the launch of two new project-specfic websites, three artist residencies, three Incubator projects, as well as research and development for a major publication. In addition to this impressive suite of programs, MAAP contributed the value of $122,865 in equipment hire in-kind to the Queensland arts community, and supported young and emerging artists, particularly Brisbane’s growing base of Artist Run Initiatives, with additional advisory services. 2010 has seen a smooth transition for MAAP’s former programming structure of biannual major events to ongoing and simultaneous programming. In 2010, the Light from Light touring exhibition served to grow national and international recognition for the exceptional contemporary media art of our focus regions (Australia and China) and for MAAP as an organisation. The major exhibition project leveraged international and national exhibition platforms (the high profile State Library of Queensland and Shanghai Library venues) and major international and national partnerships within and beyond the arts sector. MAAP’s continued tenancy at Collins Place in South Bank, and highly productive relationship with the South Bank Corporation has helped grow MAAP’s local base. As a result, MAAP was in good stead to focus attention on Queensland’s own artistic vibrancy through the launch of MAAP Republic in the Brisbane metropolitan region, the development of the Incubator Program in local spaces, and through the continued support of local artist and ARIs through the MAAP Media Bank. Our core business continues to be to link practitioners, curators and organisations to resources, opportunities, and international audiences through: •
Multimedia exhibitions and events – online and touring.
•
Research
•
Artist and curatorial networks – Asia Pacific region
•
Media Bank – equipment loans
•
Residency and mentorship programs
•
Advisory and consultation services and online resources
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MAAP’s office at Collins Place, South Bank
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The programming of 2010 makes significant headway towards MAAP’s objectives for its three year strategic outlook.
MAAP has: -
assisted the development of new work
-
engaged emerging curators and artists in the programs
-
established local audiences for national and international content
-
brought new international audiences to Australian content. 


MAAP generated: - hands-on approaches to presentation outcomes (collaboration with artists and curators to present work in the best manner possible through access to equipment and exhibition design) - promotion of media art in QLD and internationally, which has engaged new audiences and fed critical discourse - a contribution to media art culture nationally/internationally feeding artistic vibrancy and support of media art growth in Queensland.
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APPENDIX 1. MAAP Media Bank Loans Summary and Value MAAP Media Bank Loans Summary: 2006-2010 Total Value of MAAP Media Bank Loans
$654,068
Total Number of Exhibitions Supported
146
BRISBANE ONLY Total Value of MAAP Media Bank Loans
$350,140
Total Number of Exhibitions Supported
135
Yearly Loans Breakdown 2006 Total Value of Loans BRISBANE ONLY Total Value of Loans Total Exhibitions Supported BRISBANE ONLY Total Exhibitions Supported
$8,000 $8,000 2 2
2007 Total Value of Loans BRISBANE ONLY Total Value of Loans Total Exhibitions Supported BRISBANE ONLY Total Exhibitions Supported
$43,320 $25,240 13 10
2008 Total Value of Loans BRISBANE ONLY Total Value of Loans Total Exhibitions Supported BRISBANE ONLY Total Exhibitions Supported
$75,209 $62,769 34 32
2009 Total Value of Loans BRISBANE ONLY Total Value of Loans Total Exhibitions Supported BRISBANE ONLY Total Exhibitions Supported
$404,674 $133,006 57 52
2010 Total Value of Loans BRISBANE ONLY Total Value of Loans Total Exhibitions Supported BRISBANE ONLY Total Exhibitions Supported
$122,865 $120,945 40 39
The following pages detail the MAAP Media Bank loans made in 2010.
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2010 MAAP Media Bank Loans
1/3
Artist Name
Exhibition
BNE (Y/N)
Venue
Date
Equipment
Duration
Value
Trish Noran
Tour de France
Y
Artisan
18/1/201010/2/2010
2 x NEC Projectors, 1 x VHS Player, 1 x Ceiling Mount, Cables
22 Days
$3,420
Paul Brown
4^15: Studies in Perception
Y
South Bank
14/1/201030/4/2010
4 x Data Projector, 2 x Mac Mini, 4 x Projector Stand
15 Weeks
$19,800
David Nixon
Passage
Y
TCB, Fortitude Valley
16/2/2010– 6/3/2010
1 x NEC Projector
20 Days
$1,695
Melody Woodnutt
EIPOC
Y
Gasworks
3/3/2010– 10/3/2010
1 x Sony Headphone
7 Days
$35
Melody Woodnutt
EIPOC
Y
Gasworks
18/2/2010– 10/3/2010
1 x DSE Home Theatre System, 5 x Speakers
21Days
$120
Channon Goodwin
?
Y
Metro Arts
10-Mar
1 x Data Projector
1 Day
$125
Liam Key
Mapping for Lightspace
Y
Josh Levi Gallery
7-Apr
1 x 5000 NEC Data Projector
1 Day
$250
Liam Key
Mapping for Lightspace
Y
Josh Levi Gallery
21/4/2010– 28/4/2010
1 x 5000 NEC Data Projector
7 Days
$650
Tim Plaisted
Extra Fins
Y
Boxcopy
17/4/2010– 15/5/2010
1 x Sony Bravia LCD Monitor
28 Days
$1,200
Virginia Rigney
Flying Colours
Y
Gold Coast Art Center
3/4/2010– 30/5/2010
3 x Sony Bravia 32” LCD Monitor, 2 x Telehook Wall Mounts, 3 x DSE DVD Players, cables
57 Days
$8,320
Claire Robertson
Level Launch
Y
Level ARI
30/4/20107/6/2010
2 x Data Projectors, 2x Mac Mini, 2 Ceiling Mount
38 Days
$7,300
Alice Lang
Level Launch
Y
Level ARI
7/5/2010– 28/5/2010
1 x Data Projector, 1 x DVD Player, 1 x ceiling Mount, 1 x Sony LCD Monitor
21 Days
$3,345
Luke Roberts
AlphaStationAlphaville
Y
Alpha Rockhampton
28/4/2010– 20/5/2010
1x Panasonic video cam; 1x tripod
21 Days
$2,130
Brent Wilson
Hanyman
Y
Old Space
8/5/2010– 10/5/2010
2 xNEC Projector, 2xKettle Cord, 2x remote control
2 days
$480
David Pestorius
Punk Super8 in Brisbane
Y
University of Melbourne
6/5/201013/5/2010
1 x sony digital Camrecorder
1 week
$740
Vivian Ziherl
The First working Restrospective of the Fauxist Intl.
Y
Metro Arts
1/6/201021/6/2010
4 x BenQ LCD Monitor, 5 x DVD Player, 4 x RCA Cable
3 weeks
$3,000
Chris Bennie
Stones Corner Street Festival
Y
MSSR Mobile Gallery
10/6/2010– 18/6/2010
1x NEC 2500Projector
1 week
$600
Anna Zammit
Objectophilia
Y
Spencer St Brisbane CBD
18/6/201019/6/2010
3 x NEC 2000 Projectors, 1 x NEC 2500 Projector, 2 x Hicon TV Monitor, 8 x Newman Headphone
1 day
$950
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2010 MAAP Media Bank Loans
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Artist Name
Exhibition
BNE (Y/N)
Venue
Date
Equipment
Duration
Value
Chris Bennie
A Wee Sunset
Y
Lindin Contemporary Art Center
26/6/2010– 13/8/2010
1 x NEC 2500 Projector, 1 x projector support, 1 x Dell Computer Speaker, 1 x DVD Player
6 weeks
$4,180
Beh Wattenberg
Glow 32
Y
Burnett Lane, Brisbane City
1/06/10
1 x NEC 5000 Projector, 1 x Sanyo 3000Projector, 1 x 10m VGA cord, 1 x 5m VGA cord, 2 x projection screens
1 day
$600
Paul Bai
Studio editing
Y
Brisbane
26/6/2010– 5/7/2010
1 x Panasonic HD Camrecorder
3 weeks
$4,200
Christine Murray
Glow 32
Y
Burnett Lane, Brisbane City
2/7/2010– 12/7/2010
2 x Sony HD 3000 Projector, 1 x 10m VGA cord, 1 x 5m VGA cord, 2 x projection screens
10 days
$6,000
Travis Dewan
Eastcoasters
Y
Bleeding Heart Gallery
7/7/201015/7/2010
2 x NEC 2000projector, 1 x ARRI lamp stand, 2 x Sony Bravia 32” monitor
1 week
$2,080
Kathryn Sawyer
Open House
Y
3/78 street, Norman Park
11/07/10
2 x NEC 1500 Projector, 3 x DVD Player, 3 x Hicon TV Monitor
1 day
$640
Vivian Ziherl
Island in the Stream
Y
Brisbane Powerhouse
12/7/2010– 2/8/2010
3 x NEC 2000Projector, 2 x Projector Ceiling Mount, 4 x Sony Headphone, 1 x DSE Home Theater System
3 weeks
$5,700
David M Thomas
Studio Editing
Y
Brisbane
15/7/2010– 5/8/2010
1 x VHS Recorder/ Player
3 weeks
$120
David Pestorius
Paul Bai
Y
Pestorius Sweeney House
31/7/2010– 28/8/2010
3 x NEC Projector 1500, 4 x DSE DVD Player, 1 x Hicon Monitor, 4 x RCA Cables
4 weeks
$8,000
Sebastian Moody
QPAC Tunel Project
Y
Artist studio
20/8/2010– 27/8/2010
1x NEC2000 Projector
1 week
$565
Daneale Scandrett
String Lines
Y
The Tidy
7/8/2010– 28/8/2010
5 x BenQ LCD Monitor, 1x DVD Player
3 weeks
$3,140
Rin Healy
4zzz Bleeding Heart Exhibition
Y
Bleeding Heart Gallery
11/8/2010– 2/8/2010
1 x NEC Projector, 2 x Dvd Player, 6 x Newman Headphone, 1x DSE Home Theatre system
11 days
$1,520
David Creed
Room With a View
Y
Wandering Room
26/8/2010– 8/10/2010
3x Hicon Monitors
43days
$1,080
Louise Tahiraj
Mood in Progress
Y
Box Copy
1/9/2010– 29/9/2010
1xNEC Projector 2500, 1xMac Mini, 1xProjector Ceiling Mount, 1x VGA Cable
28days
$2,960
Group show
Art Bash
Y
Wooloongabba Gallery
2/12/10
1 x NEC1500 Projector, 5 meter VGA Cable, 1x Remote
1day
$125
Gemma
Crawl2: Three Moves
Y
Box Copy
21/10/2010– 11/12/2010
1x Plasma Screen, 1x LCD monitor, 1x HDMI cable
50 days
$3,920
Christine Peacock
Transformanative1
Y
Jagera Arts Hall
31/10/10
1xNEC projector1500, 1x speaker, 1xDVD player
1day
$145
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2010 MAAP Media Bank Loans
3/3
Artist Name
Exhibition
BNE (Y/N)
Venue
Date
Equipment
Duration
Value
Gavin Bannerman
Biking Brisbane
Y
Bleeding Heart Gallery
20/10/2010– 26/10/2010
1xHicon monitor, 1x DVD player
1week
$100
Alice lang
I am Ok, you are OK
Y
Level ARI
27/8/2010– 17/9/2010
2xNEC Projector, 1x DVD player
3weeks
$3,510
Luke Roberts
Alpha Station/ Alphaville
Y
IMA
23/11/2010– 31/12/2010
1 x sony digial video camera
5 weeks
$3,500
Josef Strau, David Haines, Joyce Hinterding, Zhang Peili
Light from Light
Y
SLQ
1/10/201031/12/2010
2 x Mac Mini, 1 x Motu Switcher, 1 x BenQ Monitor, 1 x Hi-res LED Monitor
14weeks
$14,700
Josef Strau
Light from Light
N
Shanghai Library, China
1/11/201031/12/2010
6 x MP3 Player
8 weeks
$1,920
TOTAL 2010 LOANS BRISBANE ONLY
No. Exhibitions: 39
$120,945
TOTAL 2010 LOANS
No. Exhibitions: 40
$122,865
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