Arts Council England
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Arts Council England premiere art and culture programme at SXSW

Arts Council England and British Underground announce that Future Art and Culture, their large-scale immersive art programme has been selected for the official 2018 SXSW program in Austin, Texas.

SXSW is the leading interactive media, film and music conference and this year the schedule will showcase new work from England that crosses the boundaries of the arts and technology and feature panel discussions on digital innovation in the arts, live performances, and large-scale installations.

Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair of Arts Council England said, “England is a world-leader in art, theatre, music and tech, and Arts Council support helps drive talent and innovation across the creative industries – a huge growth sector for the U.K. We are excited to be showcasing some of our best talent at SXSW, the largest creative gathering of its kind. The festival creates a unique opportunity for emerging talent and established artists, to make creative connections. At SXSW careers are launched and new international collaborations are sparked.”

Highlights of the programme includes virtual reality installations and panels including:

  • A Colossal Wave! Creative studio Marshmallow Laser Feast will take over two floors of the Austin Convention Center with a giant virtual wave that crashes over you, creating a mixed reality experience exploring the human impact on the natural world.
  • Virtual Cinema: Beethoven’s Fifth: In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the launch of NASA’s Voyager probes, there will be a projection of a 360 virtual reality film with ambisonic audio of the Philharmonia Orchestraperforming Beethoven’s Fifth, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. Directed by Jessica Brillhart and created in partnership with NASA, Google, Igloo Vision and Mixed Immersion.
  • Brave New World: The Future of Theatre & Tech: The Royal Shakespeare Company will take part in a panel discussion on the emergence of virtual and augmented reality in theatre and what this means for producers and audiences.
  • The Oracles: A Future Facing Approach to Learning Presented as a Case Study: Punchdrunk will host a presentation exploring how cross-platform creative-learning can have high quality learning outcomes – even when it comes to the maths curriculum.
  • Exploring Music Through the Lens of Neurodiversity: London musicians The Fish Police and leading arts and neurodiversity specialist Heart n Soul will lead a discussion on the positive role neurodiversity is playing in the arts, culture and creative industries

Crispin Parry, British Underground (BU) CEO, adds, “With the pace of digital change affecting every industry, BU is excited to be emerging out of the SXSW Music festival and embracing the SXSW Interactive stream, bringing with it large-scale art installations and some of the UK’s most respected cultural institutions. Given the great quality of the participants supported by Arts Council England in our Future Art and Culture program I’m confident they will all do great business and achieve amazing things.”

“During the last three to four years, a small team of people at SXSW have quietly been developing the SXSW Art Program,” says Mirko Whitfield, SXSW EMEA & Asia. “The emphasis has been on offering artists a platform at SXSW where they can connect with other creative and business leaders from the fields of music, film, and technology by showcasing innovative projects and hosting discussions during SXSW. Arts Council England’s program is a fantastic addition to this year’s program, and is an important aspect in further promoting British creativity to the rest of the world.”

Media Contacts
Maria Bergh – Giant Noise
512-585-2708 / maria@giantnoise.com

Doug Hall – Future Art and Culture
doug@ddigitalpr.co.uk

Alison Millar – Arts Council England
0207 268 9648 /  Alison.Millar@artscouncil.org.uk

Notes to editors

The complete ‘Future Art and Culture’ programme is as follows:

Interactive Virtual Reality InstallationsThese large-scale virtual reality installations are official selections of SXSW and were selected “on the basis of their ability to enhance the landscape of the SXSW Conferences and Festivals and bring meaningful inspiration, joy, and discovery to attendees.”  This is the first large-scale international programme focusing on art and culture at SXSW.

  • Virtual Cinema: Beethoven’s Fifth

When: March 13-15
Where: JW Marriott (Virtual Cinema)

Description: Journey into interstellar space with a performance of Beethoven’s Fifth, First Movement by the Philharmonia Orchestra, London – featuring Principal Conductor, Esa-Pekka Salonen. This experience is inspired by content on Voyager’s Golden Record and is a collaboration between Daydream, the Philharmonia Orchestra, NASA, and NASA JPL.

The Philharmonia Orchestra has released its second exclusive piece of Virtual Reality content, Beethoven’s Fifth. Commissioned by Daydream and directed by Jessica Brillhart, the film was conceived in partnership with Google and NASA to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the launch of the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft, and the Golden Records that they each carried.  This SXSW presentation was created in partnership with Igloo Vision and Mixed Immersion.

  • A Colossal Wave

When: March 9-17
Where: Austin Convention Center, Third Floor Palazzo

Description: Plunge into a sub-aquatic virtual world that reacts to your every action. Sing unique marine “voicefruits” into life. Witness an explosion of colour under VR umbrellas as the giant virtual wave crashes over you. Merging slapstick with immersive technologies, A Colossal Wave! is a mixed reality experience exploring human impact on the natural world. Taking Newton’s third law as its inspiration, A Colossal Wave! serves as a timely reminder that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

A Marshmallow Laser Feast collaboration with Canadian artists Presstube, Dpt., and Headspace Studio. Originally co-commissioned by the British Council, Hull UK City of Culture 2017 and Quartier des Spectacles Partnership, with additional support from the GREAT Britain campaign.

Panels

Programming for the showcase includes panels designed to explore the impact technology is having on traditional art mediums, learning, and overall culture.

  • The Oracles: A Future Facing Approach to Learning Presented as a Case Study

When: March 7, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Where: Austin Convention Center, Room 17B
Link: https://schedule.sxswedu.com/2018/events/PP80849

Description: Punchdrunk in conversation on the framework and impact of The Oracles, a pioneering new cross-platform learning project. The Oracles starts in a kingdom in a computer game and unfolds across the real life village of Fallow Cross through a series of episodes developed to address the maths curriculum. The team will reveal and reflect on this creative-led methodology to producing high quality learning outcomes exploring how alternative learning approaches might lead to greater impact.

Participants: Rebecca Dawson (Punchdrunk) and Pete Higgin (Punchdrunk)

  • Brave New World: The Future of Theatre & Tech

When: March 13, 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Where: JW Marriott, Salon 1-2
Link: https://schedule.sxsw.com/2018/events/PP80541

Description: Theatre has been working in its own virtual reality for centuries and has been at the forefront of new technologies in entertainment from electric light to projection mapping. This panel will focus on the emergence of VR and AR in theatre and what this means for producers and audiences. The panel will also explore some of the new partnerships developing with the tech industry and how theatre is responding to and shaping the rapidly changing landscape of our digital future.

Participants: Sarah Ellis (Royal Shakespeare Company), Felix Barrett (Punchdrunk), David Gochfeld (HamletVR), Simon Mellor – Moderator (Arts Council England)

  • Exploring Music Through the Lens of Neurodiversity

When: March 14, 12:30-1:30 pm
Where: Austin Convention Center, Room 11AB
Link: https://schedule.sxsw.com/2018/events/PP76105

Description: This session featuring members of SXSW showcasing act The Fish Police comprises artists and musicians with lived experience of autism and neurodiversity alongside non-disabled musicians with whom they collaborate. We’ll give practical examples of the kinds of musical universes they inhabit and discuss how creatively using different perspectives and ways of seeing the world and music is a rich and fertile space to explore. This session has been brought together by Heart n Soul, the internationally acclaimed creative organization based in London.

Participants: Dean Rodney (The Fish Police), Robyn Steward (Heart n Soul), Charles Stuart (Musician/Producer), Mark Williams – Moderator (Heart n Soul)

Future Art and Culture Live Music Performances

Following the neurodiversity panel, The Fish Police will make their SXSW debut with two live performances. The Fish Police are like nothing you have ever seen and heard. Combining the unique imagination of front man Dean Rodney Jr. with glitchy beats, deep bass, and guitars, they have fashioned their own blend of cut-and-paste electro pop, which The Guardian says is: “some of the catchiest and most uplifting left-field pop music you will hear.” Composed of Dean Rodney Jr. (singer, rapper, songwriter), Matthew Howe (guitar), Charles Stuart (bass, co-songwriter, background vocals) and Andrew Mclean (live drums), they mix their love of computer games, cartoons, fast food, and Japanese culture to create fresh sounds and lyrical ideas that set them apart on the UK urban and DIY music scene. The group formed in 2010 when Charles taught Dean and Matthew, both with autism, at Arts Council England funded London music charity, Heart n Soul. Outside of The Fish Police, Charles and Andrew are the respected rhythm section for Grace Jones’ global touring band. The Fish Police have performed at some of the world’s most iconic music venues, including New York’s Lincoln Center, London’s Royal Festival Hall, and Tate Modern. They will be joined on stage by session guitarist Felipe Pagani.

  • The Fish Police Play the Flatstock Stage

When: March 15, 2:30-3:10 p.m
Where: Austin Convention Center

  • The Fish Police Official Showcase

When: March 15, – Venue/Time TBC

About Arts Council England

Arts Council England champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people’s lives. As the national development agency for the arts in England, we support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to digital art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. We invest public money from government and the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk

About British Underground

In 2018 British Underground celebrates 16 years curating and producing SXSW music showcases that have helped hundreds of UK music-makers break into international markets.  Using our international export knowledge we are currently evolving our work to embrace the space where art and digital converge, supporting and showcasing art, culture and tech at SXSW 2018.  Outside our showcase productions we make new music radio shows for British Airways in-flight entertainment system.  We are funded by Arts Council England and our offices are in the Musicians’ Union HQ in Oval, London.

Channel website: http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/

Original article link: http://press.artscouncil.org.uk/press_releases/arts-council-england-premiere-art-and-culture-programme-at-sxsw/

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