90
Performances, 30 Installations, 172 Artists, 65 Premieres, 26 Nationalities
AMPLIFY
RETURNS TO SPOTLIGHT A COHORT OF 28 WOMEN IN DIGITAL ARTS AND ELECTRONIC MUSIC
FROM ACROSS THE HEMISPHERES
EXHIBITION:
IMAGINING OUR DIGITAL FUTURES
DIGI LAB: FREE DAYTIME DISCURSIVE PROGRAM, GEAR SHOWROOM SONIC CIRCUITS, AND WORKSHOPS
A flicker
of light in 2000, Montr al’s MUTEK festival has grown into a steady glow over
its two decades—a vital showcase for the on-going evolution, vibrancy and craft
of live electronic music and audiovisual performance. A singular presence in
Canada, MUTEK has established itself as a nexus for international artistry and
an incubator of home-grown talents.
Stretching over 6 days and nights, the festival has wrapped its deliberations and is ready to reveal the full scope of its momentous 20th edition. With 20 world, 22 North American and 23 Canadian premieres the festival delivers a significant number of exclusive and unique experiences to festival-goers, underlining its mandate to provide a context for contemporary artistry and serve as a vehicle for discovery. The full and complete schedule of performances and programs is now online!
A Free Way
In
The perfect
way to sample MUTEK for free is during the Exp rience series on the outdoor
stage of the Esplanade de la Place des Arts. From Wednesday 5pm until
Sunday at 11pm, lineups are packed with a multiplicity of angles on live
electronic music genres, and styles from all over the world—capped off each
night with DJ sets from seasoned selectors—with Nicola Cruz and John
Tejada, along with RAMZi as dj FATi recently added. Under the late
August sky, the always friendly environment of this locale, with its hangout
spaces, an array of street food, refreshments, and a rebranded MUTEK brew by
Harricana offers a generous entry point into the festival.
Lights,
Videography, Stage Design
The visual
presentation at MUTEK always highlights visionary VJs, pairing them in the
performance program, and this year we are thrilled to present a cast of
luminous artists. Additionally, running throughout the week, the scenography at
MTelus and 7 Fingers Studios was designed for MUTEK by Cadie Desbiens (Push 1
stop) and Arnaud Belley-Ferris. Keep your eyes peeled for their ocular
delights.
Visuals and
scenographies by:
Arnaud
Belley-Ferris CA-QC Baya CA-QC BUN BUN CA-QC Cafrine
+ Yanneek CA-QC Diagraf CA-QC Joaquina
Salgado AR Myriam Boucher CA-QC Prifma
AR Push 1 stop CA-QC
New
Commission and Screening for ISM Hexadome
MUTEK is
proud to present two special additions to the ISM Hexadome audiovisual
installation at the MAC: a new commission by local audiokinetic sculptor Herman
Kolgen, which explores the way traces of light are encoded in our
memory—and an exclusive screening of Darren Aronofsky’s controversial
environmental parable MOTHER! adapted for the ISM Hexadome by Little Cinema.
Details, tickets and times here.
Satosph re
For
audiences into the full 360-degree immersive experience, the SAT has programmed
5 evenings of audiovisual performance during the festival. MUTEK passholders
are eligible for a preferred rate on tickets for these limited capacity
performances inside the dome of Satosph re. Each project is presented twice,
with the first show at 8pm and a second at 10pm.
More info here.
Tuesday:
Robot Koch & Michael Legoff — SphereDE+FR / Wednesday:
Peter Kutin & Patrik Lechner — RotorAT / Thursday:
Merovee & Blindsp0t — Fields FR / Friday:
Line Katcho — InsurrectionCA-QC / Saturday:
Alex Guevara — Transient PE-DE
Amplify
In 2018
MUTEK Montr al achieved gender parity in its program for the first time.
Building on this accomplishment the festival remains committed to opening space
for women, non-binary and diverse artists—providing opportunities for
performance, exhibition, career building, workshops and networking. The British
Council initiative Amplify returns this edition, connecting an active network
of women-identified artists and curators working in the digital arts, sound and
immersive storytelling sectors in Latin America, Canada and the UK. This
year’s cohort convenes a core of artists from Peru, Argentina, the UK and
Canada, expanding for this Montr al edition to regroup more local artists
and include women from Japan and Mexico. Project details here.
Akiko
Nakayama JP Analucia Roeder PE Chloe
Alexandra Thompson CA + US CLON x
NWRMTC ES / UK CMDCA-QC Desert
Bloom CA-QC Dora Bartilotti MX Flora
Yin-Wong UK France Jobin & Richard Chartier CA-QC + US Gene
Tellem CA-QC Giselle Angeles PE Joaquina
Salgado AR Kaleema AR Kathy
Hinde UK Libby Heaney UK Nelly-Eve
Rajotte CA-QC OBUXUM CA-QC Ouri CA-QC PRIFMA AR DJ FATi
(Ramzi) CA-QC rkss DE / UK Stephanie
Castonguay CA-QC Tamayug CA-QC The
Quark Model IR + CA-QC Joni Void & Sonya Stefan FR+CA-QC
Exhibition:
Imagining Our Digital Futures at SAT, 7 Fingers Studios and Salle
d’exposition de l’Espace culturel Georges- mile Lapalme
MUTEK
launches an exhibition to complement Forum IMG. Imagining Our Digital
Futures gathers 12 audiovisual installations and 8 VR experiences in
three different locales, offering a diverse experience of digital and analogue
artworks that consider the way technologies reflect our ideas about where we
might be headed.
Audiovisual installations by:
Giselle Angeles PE Samuel David CA-QC
Peter Flemming & Stephen Kelly CA-QC+NS Olivia
McGilchrist FR-JA-QC Vincent Morisset CA-QC Cinzia
Campolese IT-QC Robert Henke DE
Alice Jarry CA-QC Lawrence Lek UK Anna Ridler
UK Joanie Lemercier FR-BE Allison
Moore CA-BC
Virtual
Reality works by:
Ayahuasca –
Kosmik Journey by Jan Kounen FR Claude
Monet – The Water Lily Obsession by Nicolas Th pot FR Experiencia
by Joaquina Salgado AR Fantasma
de Cristal by Analucia Roeder PE Free
Fall by Dana Gingras CA-QC Gymnasia
by Chris Lavis & Maciek Szczerbowski CA-QC Manic
by Kalina Bertin CA-QC Museum of Symmetry by
Paloma Dawkins CA-QC
Venues,
vernissage and opening hours here.
A Rich
Rendezvous for Professionals
More than
100 professionals from around the world, representing a wide range of
disciplines and interests join the festival this year as participants in public
presentations and a variety of networking activities.
Focussed on
a range of arts and industry intersecting with technologies and the ways they
affect social, political and lived experiences, the complete program of Forum
IMG is now online—including a series of limited capacity
masterclasses, and a special session highlighting the research-creation of
professors and student artists involved with Montr al’s Hexagram network.
Details and
tickets here.
Digi Lab:
Free Daytime Discussions, Presentations, Q&As and Gear Showroom
The various
free panels, presentations and artist Q&As of Digi Lab, the festival’s
familiar daytime program, cover contemporary issues related to music, art,
technology and cultural issues in our milieu. Topics include: music industry,
career development, discoverability, press coverage, women in digital arts and
electronic music, artificial intelligence in Japan, and forward-thinking arts
organizations and festivals.
Full
schedule of activities here.
Digi Lab
expands to a new locale with a free gear showroom called Sonic Circuits, taking
place on Saturday and Sunday, August 24 and 25 at the multidisciplinary art
space Never Apart. Featuring a cornucopia of synths and pedals, demonstrations,
talks and performances, manufacturers are also on site to explain and sell
their wares.
More details here.
Workshops
and Masterclasses Friday and Saturday
This
edition also features a series of practical and educational workshops and
masterclasses priced at $15. For audiovisual enthusiasts, there’s Expanded
Cinema: Mapping and Immersive Installation with Nelly-Eve Rajotte; new
media curator and producer Juliette Bibasse leads a session on realizing A/V
projects, and Jean-Ambroise Vesac leads a module on participatory projects in
augmented reality. For musicians, Sebastian Mullaert and band mates from Circle
of Live pull back the curtain on the philosophy and practice behind their
improvised music and life. Ana Serrano Chief Digital Officer of the Canadian
Film Centre and Founder of the CFC Media Lab provides deep insight into the business
and project ecosystem for artists and “art-preneurs.”
Schedule
and tickets here.
