Report: ICAS / Mutek 2012

From May 22 until June 3, the thirteenth edition of MUTEK took place in Montreal. TodaysArt was involved in the symposium Tools for an Unknown Future, an initiative by International Cities of Advanced Sound and related arts (ICAS) network and MUTEK_Lab.

The 3-day symposium at PHI Centre featured a mix of keynotes, panels, case studies and presentations aimed at elaborating on a cohesive view of the current trends within groundbreaking artistic mediums and the international arts and culture sector. The symposium covered themes such as ‘Cultural festivals and Events as Laboratories’, ‘Bridging Cultural Sectors and Different Media and Enabling Citizen Innovation’, ‘Ubiquitous Art and Music’, ‘The Future of Culture’, ‘The Rise of Creative Cities’ and ‘Connecting Cities – Visions of an Urban Identity’. TodaysArt’s artistic director Olof van Winden participated in the panels ‘Vanishing Boundaries and New Beginnings’ and ‘Defining the Creative Economy’.

Furthermore, the North American festival of the ICAS co-production CineChamber by Recombinant Media Labs debut took place at MUTEK 2012, a 10-screen installation lab site for trailblazing panoramic performance. This curated, nomadic intermodal platform is made possible by the artistic direction of Naut Humon plus tech-operations directors Vance Galloway and Barry Threw. The presentation consisted of PANORAMA modules with screenings captured from live artist residencies or concerts of recent years and LIVE modules consisting of live performances by artists who navigate the space as an audio optical instrument or as music instrumentalists in analog or digital real time formations.