ANNUAL REPORT 2015

1 / ANNUAL REPORT 2015 CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 3

1. SONIC ACTS ACTIVITIES IN 2015 4

1.1 SONIC ACTS FESTIVAL: THE GEOLOGIC IMAGINATION 4 The Programme 4 Interviews 6 Commissioned Works and Installations 6 Performances 8

1.2 DARK ECOLOGY 10

1.3 COMMISSIONS & CO-PRODUCTIONS 13 Long Wave Synthesis 13 Barents (Mare Incognitum) 14 The Crossing 14 Nikel Materiality 14 A Script for Machine Synthesis 15 LYSN: Murmansk Spaceport 15 unearthed 15 Albedo 16 Living Land – Below as Above 16 The Proliferation of the Sun 17 Unknown 18 Objecthood #4 18 IsoScope 18 Dolmen 19 Pasvikdalen 19

1.4 DISTRIBUTION 20 Vertical Cinema 20 Other Distributed Works 22

1.5 WORKSHOPS AND MASTERCLASSES 23

1.6 OTHER ACTIVITIES 26

1.7 PUBLISHING 29 The Geologic Imagination 29 Research Series 30 Dark Ecology Field Notes 30 Vimeo 31 Festival livestream 31

2. COMMUNICATION AND PUBLICITY 32

3. SONIC ACTS TEAM, PARTNERS & FUNDERS IN 2015 33

3.1 SONIC ACTS 33

3.2 DARK ECOLOGY 33

4. SONIC ACTS 2015 IN NUMBERS 35 Photo cover: Vertical Cinema, Glasgow Short Film Festival, 11 Mach 2015, The Briggait, Glasgow. 11 Festival, Short Cinema, Glasgow Film Briggait, Vertical The Glasgow. Photo cover: Mach 2015, courtesy Film. Glasgow Carey, Eoin Photo by

2 / ANNUAL REPORT 2015 INTRODUCTION

With this annual report Sonic Acts presents the results from 2015 – an intense and fruitful year for Sonic Acts, packed with activities both in the Netherlands and abroad.

The activities in the first few months were largely dominated by the theme of the “Sonic Acts has been a rich biannual Sonic Acts festival edition The Geologic Imagination. This edition was very well source for intense reflection attended, with an international four-day conference, plenty of performances and concerts, workshops and masterclasses, and multiple presentations of newly commissioned works and extreme experiences. that were often connected to our Dark Ecology programme or realised in collaboration During its most recent with international partners. The topical programme featured many internationally acclaimed artists and theorists, who reflected on the challenges of the Anthropocene. editions, Sonic Acts has increased the scientific Throughout the year we also worked on our international research and commissioning programme Dark Ecology. The interest shown by international artists, curators and input and reinforced art’s theorists in participating in the (second) research journey in November 2015 was connections to society.” overwhelming. The programme in Kirkenes, Nikel and Murmansk featured a series of commissioned works, lectures, presentations and conceptual tours. – Rutger Wolfson, former director IFFR, 2015 We also organised a multitude of workshops, masterclasses and presentations throughout 2015 that contributed to the talent development of artists, makers, designers, writers and other cultural professionals. Successful collaborations include the masterclass by Graham Harman at BAK Utrecht, and the Critical Writing Workshop in collaboration with The Wire and Gonzo (Circus), which took place concurrent with the festival.

The international distribution of our Vertical Cinema programme, which was initiated in 2013, continued with sold-out and critically acclaimed presentations at SXSW (US), Melbourne International Film Festival (AU), Glasgow Short Film Festival (UK), Baltā Nakts Riga (LV), and the STRP Biennial in the Netherlands. In many cases the programme was accompanied by lectures, masterclasses or workshops. In addition to this we also distributed other commissioned works internationally.

Our international activities were reinforced by new collaborations with international cultural partners, among others through the European Commission funded collaborative project Changing Weathers, which aims to respond to Europe’s changing cultural landscape.

The book The Geologic Imagination, which was published at the beginning of 2015, sold out quickly. Throughout the year we published many more dossiers online through our digital Research Series, consisting of interviews, essays, videos and other research- related materials.

Judging from the interest, the enthusiasm and the engagement of the involved artists, participants, theorists, scientists, the audience, as well as journalists and the media attention, it seems we have struck very fertile ground with the themes ‘The Geologic Imagination’ and ‘Dark Ecology’.

Sonic Acts also used 2015 to further professionalise on an organisational level, and to progress as a platform for research, commissioning, talent development and the curation of events at the intersections of art, science and technology, with a strong focus on some of the most urgent topics of our time.

3 / ANNUAL REPORT 2015 1. SONIC ACTS ACTIVITIES IN 2015

Sonic Acts aims to cover the entire cultural spectrum with its activities: from artistic and theoretical research, experimentation and talent development to production, and from presentation, the organisation of festivals and programmes and (international) distribution to critical reflection.Research activities include essential research, international exploration and residencies. Talent development and educational activities consist of masterclasses, workshops and symposiums in addition to lectures and presentations. Sonic Acts’ producing activities are aimed at realising new works of art, often through “The line-up at this year’s residencies, by young talents as well as renowned artists and often in co-production Sonic Acts is almost too good with partners from Amsterdam and (inter)national partners. Public activities comprise a Festival and an Academy, alternating biannually, where research and new works are to be true” presented. Through the small-scale series of programmes, local and international talents - Joseph Grima, Architect, writer and are presented together with established names. Printed and online publications offer reflection and deepening, and, through its international network, Sonic Acts exports and curator, 2015 distributes new works and projects abroad.

1.1 SONIC ACTS FESTIVAL: THE GEOLOGIC IMAGINATION

26 February – 1 March, Amsterdam

In 2015, the sixteenth edition of the Sonic Acts Festival, The Geologic Imagination, took place in Amsterdam from Thursday 26 February, to Sunday 1 March (with an extended programme from 23 February to 12 March). Inspired by geoscience, The Geologic Imagination programme focused on Planet Earth. The fundamental basis for this was the hypothesis that we are living in the Anthropocene, a new geological epoch in which humankind has become a geological force. This edition was a great success, and attracted almost 9.300 visitors. The programme consisted of performances, installations, lectures, presentations, film screenings, master classes, workshops, commissions and a book.

The large number of enthusiastic reactions from speakers, artists, public and press stress Espen Sommer Eide, A Tuned Chord is like the relevance of the festival’s theme. The festival also drew extensive media attention a Scientific Instrument Probing the Universe, before, during and after it took place, in print as well as online. A substantial part of the opening Sonic Acts Festival The Geologic programme consisted of premieres and works commissioned by Sonic Acts. Imagination, 26 February 2015, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Photo by Pieter Kers THE PROGRAMME Sonic Acts Festival 2015 was staged at different locations in Amsterdam. For this edition the daytime conference was held in Paradiso instead of de Balie (our previous conference venue) because of its larger capacity. The evening programme was at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, OT301, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, Paradiso and the Vondelkerk; the masterclasses were held in the Stedelijk Museum, Rijksakademie, A-Lab/Kulter and BAK in Utrecht (in cooperation with the exhibition The Anthropocene Observatory).

Opening at Stedelijk 26 February part wild horses mane on both sides, Kith, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam Schist; slowing down the time experience, opening Sonic Acts Festival The Geologic As in 2013, the opening of the festival took place in the Stedelijk Museum. The extensive Imagination, 26 February 2015, Stedelijk programme was very well attended. It included two performances of the new work Museum Amsterdam. Photo by Pieter Kers

4 / ANNUAL REPORT 2015 SONIC ACTS ACTIVITIES IN 2015

A Script for Machine Synthesis by Florian Hecker and the Iranian philosopher Reza Negarestani. To satisfy the great public interest, more performances were held on the following days. Additionally, Negarestani gave a Skype lecture, and Kurt Hentschläger’s new work Measure could be viewed. Bas van Koolwijk and Gert-Jan Prins presented new improvisational work with a laptop and drums, there were performances by Espen Sommer Eide in the entrance hall where masterpieces by Mondrian and Malevich – amongst others – were on display, and the enigmatic duo part wild horses mane on both sides were surrounded by Barnett Newman’s works including Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue during their performance.

Sonic Acts at OT301 26 February OT301, Amsterdam

The opening programme continued in OT301 with a packed line up of progressive electronic underground music. Compiled in collaboration with Viral Radio, this event included music and performances by Vessel, TCF, Minor Science, Killing Sound, Pedro Maia, M.E.S.H. and Karen Gwyer.

Conference at Paradiso 26 February to 1 March Paradiso, Amsterdam

Over a four-day period a large number of lectures and presentations were given by internationally acclaimed theorists, scientists, philosophers and artists, interspersed with discussions, interviews and film screenings. Relocating the conference from de Balie to Mark Williams, The Human Impact from a Paradiso was a good move: the hall was packed from the very first session on Thursday Geological ‘Anthroposcene’ Perspective, morning. conference Sonic Acts Festival The Geologic Imagination, 26 February 2015, The first half of the programme on Thursday was of a theoretical nature, with lectures Paradiso Amsterdam. Photo by Pieter Kers by geologist Mark Williams who has the Anthropocene as one of his primary research themes, and the popular American philosopher Graham Harman, who spoke about the fragility of the human species in the Anthropocene. Next were talks by media historian Douglas Kahn, about ‘natural electricity’, and Timothy Morton, the theorist who coined the terms ‘dark ecology’ and ‘hyperobject’. We invited Kahn back after a previous collaboration. Harman, too, had given a masterclass before, and we had already worked closely with Timothy Morton for our Dark Ecology project. The panel closed with a lively round-table discussion between the first four speakers. The day concluded with a screening of two films byLukas Marxt and a presentation of Kurt Hentschläger’s Measure, which offered yet another perspective on the sublimity of nature and on human intervention.

Highlights in Friday’s conference programme were the lectures by Paul Bogard on the disappearance of darkness, by Noam Elcott on the invention of darkness in media history, and by John Tresch, who tentatively constructed a ‘cosmogram’ of our time. Emptyset, Martin Howse and Karl Lemieux illustrated their approaches to electromagnetic phenomena in their artistic work, while Jana Winderen and Espen Sommer Eide offered insights into their procedures and their artistic approaches to natural phenomena. Liam Young evoked a stunning fictional narrative of our media culture.

On Saturday, Michael Welland, geologist and sand specialist, and landscape architect Rob Holmes, demonstrated how humans have fundamentally altered the landscape. Jananne Al-Ani screened two of her films, and fiction authorJeff Vandermeer speculated about fiction for the Anthropocene.Benjamin Bratton, Ben Woodard and Jamie Kruse also gave talks. Lastly, Ele Carpenter discussed nuclear technology and the related time scales that surpass human comprehension.

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Raviv Ganchrow, Long Wave Synthesis, Field Trip Sonic Acts Festival The Geologic After three very busy days the single panel session on Sunday was followed by a field Imagination, 1 March 2015, Australiehaven trip. The panel discussed infrasound, establishing the context for the field trip toRaviv Amsterdam. Photo by Pieter Kers Ganchrow’s new work Long Wave Synthesis, in the harbour of Amsterdam. During the panel, Ganchrow outlined some of the background to his work, Jon Hagstrum presented his intriguing research on the ‘perception’ of infrasound by birds of passage “The most telling synthesis and doves, and Hillel Schwartz concluded the session with a recital on ‘waves’ in Western art and culture from the nineteenth century. Visitors then boarded buses for of The Geologic Imagination the Westelijk Havengebied where they experienced Ganchrow’s work. was, perhaps, a land- art installation by Raviv INTERVIEWS Menno Grootveld (Leesmagazijn publisher), Liesbeth Koot, Julian Ross (Bomb Ganchrow. […] The result is a Magazine), Klaas Kuitenbrouwer and Arjen Mulder (Het Nieuwe Instituut), Oleg monumental half-industrial Khardatsev and Zhanna Guzenko (Fridaymilk) interviewed many speakers and artists. These interviews, most of which were also filmed, appeared as Research Series on the and half-minimalist website. sculpture that vibrates COMMISSIONED WORKS AND INSTALLATIONS forcefully; a landscape Several new, commissioned works were presented and performed at The Geologic that becomes the source Imagination. In cooperation with its partners, Sonic Acts commissioned new works from Raviv Ganchrow (Long Wave Synthesis), Jana Winderen (Pasvikdalen), BJ Nilsen & Karl of sound while the sound Lemieux (unearthed), Mario de Vega (Dolmen), Florian Hecker (A Script for Machine itself becomes a form of Synthesis), and Murcof (Albedo). The first three works resulted from the international Dark Ecology project, cooperation was sought with the donaufestival in Austria for landscape. […] A captivated Dolmen, and Florian Hecker’s work was co-commissioned in collaboration with the crowd gathered around Stedelijk Museum. Murcof’s Albedo was also developed especially for Sonic Acts. Murcof worked on it at STEIM. Pasvikdalen and unearthed were premiered at Sonic Acts, Dolmen containers vibrating on the was premiered in the public area of the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ (until 12 March), after muddy grass: this is geologic which it was shown at the donaufestival in Austria. A prototype of Long Wave Synthesis imagination.” had already been presented during Dark Ecology in October 2014, but the first full iteration of this infrasonic installation could only be experienced during Sonic Acts’ - Nicola Bozzi, Domusweb.it 6 / ANNUAL REPORT 2015 Jana Winderen, Pasvikdalen, Sonic Acts The Geologic Imagination, 28 February 2015, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, Amsterdam. Photo by Pieter Kers 7 / ANNUAL REPORT 2015 SONIC ACTS ACTIVITIES IN 2015

“The main hall of the field trip. In addition to these works,Michael Snow’s classic film installationLa Région Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ Centrale was presented in Paradiso’s small hall, as was Kurt Hentschläger’s Measure in the Stedelijk Museum, both for the duration of the festival. changes into an omniverse in which the universe’s PERFORMANCES 27 February to 1 March immeasurability is reduced Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, Paradiso & Vondelkerk, Amsterdam to microscopic geology in The intensive and ambitious programme for the festival evenings in the Muziekgebouw vision and sound.” aan ‘t IJ, Paradiso and the Vondelkerk consisted of performances, concerts, expanded - Robert van Gijssel, Volkskrant cinema, audiovisual works and DJ sets. For the first time, a full evening programme with several premieres had been prepared for the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ. This was a challenging task, not least because the Muziekgebouw’s hall can seat considerably more people than Paradiso’s. The evening was very successful: a large and interested crowd attended.

Particularly special was the re-creation and performance of The Proliferation of the Sun, a key work by the German artist Otto Piene, who died in 2014. Consisting of hundreds of colourful slides projected onto a spatial construction, Sonic Acts collaborated with Kunsthalle Bremen and ZERO Foundation to restore this performative work in an expanded version.

The programme also included premieres of commissioned works from Jana Winderen, BJ Nilsen & Karl Lemieux and Murcof.

The programme for Paradiso was compiled in cooperation with Rewire and began with the ‘classic’ ensemble Jacaszek & Kwartludium and then gradually transformed into an experimental audiovisual club night, with Shapednoise, Logos, Mumdance, The Sprawl, Jaki Liebezeit, Burnt Friedman, Visionist, Shackleton, and others. Considering the experimental and very diverse character of the programme, the big number of visitors far exceeded expectations. The Sunday programme in the Vondelkerk was of a high standard, very concentrated and impressive, with the new ensemble Tonaliens, and a Tonaliens, Live Set, Sonic Acts Festival The Geologic Imagination, 1 March 2015, work by Gabriel Paiuk, performed by Ekkehard Windrich. The Vondelkerk was also filled Vondelkerk Amsterdam. Photo by Pieter to capacity. Kers

8 / ANNUAL REPORT 2015 Walking through Nikel, Dark Ecology Journey 2015. Photo by Rosa Menkman 9 / ANNUAL REPORT 2015 SONIC ACTS ACTIVITIES IN 2015

1.2 DARK ECOLOGY

25 to 30 November Kirkenes (NO), Murmansk, Zapolyarny and Nikel (RU)

In 2014 Sonic Acts initiated the three-year international Dark Ecology project, in the North of Norway and Northwest Russia, which focused on research, transnational cooperation and the creation of new artworks. This project is part of the Changing Weathers project that is supported by the European Commission.

The second Dark Ecology Journey took place from Thursday 25 November to Sunday 30 November 2015. A group of more than 55 artists, researchers, curators and theorists travelled from Kirkenes to Murmansk and back, and visited commissioned artworks in Nikel and Zapolyarny en route. The programme comprised lectures, discussions, guided walks, concerts, a soundwalk and visits to site-specific installations.

In the week prior to the journey several texts were published on the Dark Ecology web platform, to prepare the participants (and online followers of the project) for the trip. Among others, these included a reading list and texts that provided philosophical context to the theme of ‘Making Things Speak’, with references to the work of Philippe Descola, Bruno Latour, Noortje Marres, Eduaro Viveriros de Castro, Isabelle Stengers, Graham Harman, and others.

An inaugural dinner was organised on Wednesday evening in the clubhouse of Kirkenes’ small boat harbour for participants who had arrived that evening from Norway, Europe or the rest of the world.

DAY 1, KIRKENES AREA (NO) The actual programme began on Thursday with an extended lecture by the American philosopher Graham Harman, one of the most outspoken proponents of Speculative Realism and Object-Oriented Ontology (OOO). He introduced some of the ideas of OOO and referred to Timothy Morton’s keynote lecture that kicked off the first Dark Ecology Journey in 2014. He focused on the paradox of the Anthropocene (transformations of the Earth on a geological scale caused by humans, which show that humankind is not in control), Timothy Morton’s notion of hyperobjects, and Bruno Latour’s view on politics. “The combination of thinking about a subject and For reasons of topicality an additional presentation was inserted about the local political and economic situation in Kirkenes. Kirkenes might be located on the edge of the physically experiencing it continent, seemingly far from the news, but since the summer of 2015 it turned into one was absolutely unique. We of the places where refugees tried to enter Europe, and the mass media had reported extensively about this. The border between Kirkenes and Nikel was closed to refugees experienced the unknown just after the last day of our programme, and the week before this the iron ore mine in border territories on all Kirkenes, on which at least 30% of Kirkenes’s workforce is directly dependent, was finally declared bankrupt. Since the summer the economic boycott of Russia had brought levels: political, cultural, Norwegian trade with its Eastern neighbour – economically very important for Kirkenes ecological and emotional. It – to a virtual standstill. There was only one Russian ship in the harbour compared to the usual twenty or so the year before. In other words, while in 2012 the dominant story was truly was an unforgettable that Kirkenes was heading towards a glorious economic future due to global warming experience for body and (which would make the exploitation of the oil and gas fields in the Barents Sea feasible), the prospects had completely reversed in 2015 due to the crisis with Russia, falling oil and mind.” iron ore prices, and the influx of refugees from the Middle East. This gave an extra edge - Tatjana Gorbachewskaja, to the Dark Ecology programme and the discussions during the journey. commissioned artist for Dark Ecology 2015 The journey was scheduled for the end of November, because at that time the sun no longer rises above the horizon in Kirkenes. This was the beginning of the polar night and of ‘slow time’ (in Sámi culture). ‘Light’ and the lack of it turned out to be very important for

10 / ANNUAL REPORT 2015 SONIC ACTS ACTIVITIES IN 2015

Margrethe Pettersen, Living Land – Below as Above, Commissioned for Dark Ecology many participants, especially those who had never experienced polar nights before. The Journey 2015, Kirkenes Norway. Photo by four hours of bluish dusk each day and the darkness early in the afternoon, resonated Michael Miller with the theme of Dark Ecology and gave an immediate sense of being on a planet, of belonging to Planet Earth.

“Working with context- On Thursday afternoon the group visited two commissioned works that were developed specific issues around in the months leading up to the journey. Dutch artist Joris Strijbos installed a kinetic sound-and-light sculpture on top of a hill that overlooks Kirkenes harbour. Isoscope changing ideas on concepts consists of multiple robotic wind objects – there was no external electricity source – that of ‘nature’, the Dark Ecology interact with each other and with the landscape to perform a generative composition. The audience could wander through the rotating lights and constantly changing sonic Journey informed my artistic cloud. Next to IsoScope, at the foot of the hill, was the small lake where Margrethe practice in its complex Pettersen’s soundwalk Living Land - Below as Above took place. The audience wandered across a frozen lake, the route marked by small lights, while listening to a half-hour relation to the Earth itself. composition in English or Norwegian, both also incorporating storytelling in Sámi. Fuelled by the Darkness, Inspired by the 1979 documentary The Secret Life of Plants, Pettersen imagined the communication between species beneath the silent snow carpet, capturing a cosmology the group in snow mobile of the plants. Walking on the snow and ice in the dark, with a full moon in an almost clear suits in an expedition bus in sky, listening to Living Land was a powerful experience. an outer-space landscape, Both their works were on show until the end of the weekend, and many locals came to I have never felt so close have a look, their curiosity triggered by Joris Strijbos’ strange, futuristic ‘wind machines’. to Post World before. And DAY 2, KIRKENES (NO) & MURMANSK (RU) ironically all of it felt really The next day the group travelled to Murmansk, a more than six-hour coach trip (including beautiful.” the border crossing at Storskog). The timing was perfect: crossing through the most beautiful part (the Pasvik valley) during the blue hours, and seeing the moonrise behind - Katrin Hornek, participant of the the smokestacks in Nikel. Dark Ecology Journey 2015 The long bus trip was shortened by a special selection of podcasts that related in various ways to our theme, from the brand new Radio Web MACBA OBJECTHOOD #4 podcast featuring the Kola Superdeep Borehole near Zapolyarny and Arsenic poisoning

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to works commissioned for Dark Ecology 2014 by artists such as BJ Nilsen ans Franz Pomassl, as well as several radio documentaries about the Arctic.

The group arrived in Murmansk at the end of the afternoon. The evening programme was hosted by Fridaymilk, and featured presentations by and interviews with some of the commissioned artists: Joris Strijbos, Margrethe Pettersen (in dialogue with Britt Kramvig), Hilary Jeffrey, and Tatjana Gorbachewskaja, followed by a discussion with the participants.

Fridaymilk Talkshow, Dark Ecology Journey DAY 3, MURMANSK (RU) 2015, Murmansk Russia. Photo by Lucas van On Saturday Susan Schuppli explored what she calls ‘material witnesses’ in her lecture der Velden ‘Bearing Material Witness to Climate Change’. Material witnesses are non-human entities and mechanic ecologies that archive complex interactions with the world. Within the context of the Dark Ecology lecture she focused on how industrial pollutants and global warming are creating new material witnesses out of the chemistry of sunlight, ice and snow, and how these operate as evidential agents that can testify to contested events.

The afternoon and evening were reserved for the performances of Hilary Jeffery’s new “Dark Ecology created an commissioned composition LYSN: Murmansk Spaceport for which he worked closely extraordinary experience, together with a group of local Russian and Norwegian musicians in a new formation of LYSN at the Roxy in Murmansk, one of the last remaining subcultural venues in the town. which I am very thankful They played two concerts, one before dinner, one after, which attracted a significant I was a part of.The focus local audience (the venue was full). It was an impressive experience; the music was like a spaceship that took the audience on a voyage to another planet. Sonic Acts plans to and how you guided us into release recordings of the concerts later in 2016. the unknown just made it DAY 4, MURMANSK, NIKEL & ZAPOLYARNY (RU) a fruitful and unforgettable On Sunday morning several local experts (artists, curators and designers) showed experience, which anyone participants their perspective on Murmansk by exploring the city on foot. who is interested in these On Sunday afternoon the group returned to Nickel and Zapolyarny to visit two topics should definitely not commissioned works by Norwegian artist HC Gilje. In Nikel, Gilje’s filmBarents (Mare Incognitum) was installed outdoors, in the football stadium. The screening was miss.” opened by the alderman of Nikel, and attracted a large crowd. The film shows a slowly - Lukas Marxt, participant of the Dark rotating view of the Barents Sea: up becomes down, East becomes West. HC Gilje Ecology Journey 2015 shot the footage for the film in the border zone between Norway and Russia, facing the North Pole. His second commission, The Crossing, was located on the outskirts of Zapolyarny. The Crossing explored and re-activated an abandoned construction site – it is yet uncertain what its purpose was, or who owned it – using light and motion. The installation demonstrated Gilje’s interest in motion, how it passes through spaces, objects, bodies and landscapes.

DAY 5, NIKEL (RU) & KIRKENES (NO) Monday morning took the group to Nikel. First-time visitors to the town – dwarfed as it is by the enormous nickel smelter that causes the extreme pollution that devastates local nature – were overwhelmed by it. Architect Tatjana Gorbachewskaja, who was born and raised in Nikel, and Katya Larina, a specialist on Russian secret cities, explored the unique history and architecture of this town, which is entirely dependent on mining and heavy industry. The participants explored the area in guided walks which led from the city centre to the smelter. The day, and the official programme, ended with an indoor Nickel_RosaMenkman.jpg presentation and a closing discussion before the crossing of the border and the return to Kirkenes.

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HC Gilje, The Crossing, commissioned for Dark Ecology Journey 2015, Zapolyarny Russia. Photo by Michael Miller 1.3 COMMISSIONS & CO-PRODUCTIONS

It is Sonic Acts’ ambition to realise new works, varying from experimental installations, audio works, compositions and films to research projects and large-scale works in public space. The commissions are explorations and concretisations of the (artistic) research that Sonic Acts champions. The works (and their creators) form important connections between the different activities and they usually premiere in Amsterdam, and are distributed later via the international network. Sonic Acts commissions new works from carefully selected artists, creators and musicians, whereby the organisation functions as client, catalyst and distributor. We supervise the content and production of the commissions, facilitate residencies, act as a sparring partner and monitor the quality of the commissioned work. The commission is constantly coupled with reflection and knowledge transfer: artists present their works-in-progress, they give workshops and/ or are interviewed. Thus, practice and theory are linked and the process of production is made visible to the public. The textual and visual results are published in online and offline Sonic Acts publications that aim to increase our reach.

Long Wave Synthesis Raviv Ganchrow

Long Wave Synthesis is a land-art scale sound installation that investigates infrasound, and probes the relations between how we perceive the landscape and long-wave vibrations. The piece creates a complex topography of acoustic waves in a range of 4 to 30 Hz (mostly in the infrasound range, below the threshold of human hearing) spreading out from an array of custom-built, very low frequency generators. The first prototype was presented on 12 October 2014 at Høybuktmoen near Kirkenes. Raviv Ganchrow’s talk on Long Wave Synthesis is published in The Geologic Imagination (2015). Arie Altena interviewed Raviv Ganchrow about his work at the book presentation on 17 January 2015 in de Balie in Amsterdam.

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Raviv Ganchrow (US/NL) is a sound artist and researcher. His work focuses on interrelations between sound and space, aspects of which are explored through sound installations, writing and the development of acoustic-forming and vibration-sensing technologies.

Long Wave Synthesis is commissioned by Sonic Acts & Hilde Methi for Dark Ecology and The Geologic Imagination.

Barents (Mare Incognitum) HC Gilje

Barents (Mare Incognitum) is an outdoor video installation by HC Gilje in Nikel (RU). The installation shows a slowly rotating view of the Barents Sea: up becomes down, East becomes West. HC Gilje shot the footage for the video in the border zone between Norway and Russia, facing the North Pole. He used his custom-built orbital camera, which slowly rotates around its own axis and captures the world that revolves around it, thus allowing for an atypical exploration and experience of spaces and landscapes. HC Gilje (NO) works with real-time environments, installations, live performance, set design and experimental video.

Barents (Mare Incognitum) is commissioned by Sonic Acts & Hilde Methi for Dark Ecology.

The Crossing HC Gilje

The Crossing is a light-motion installation by HC Gilje that premiered outside Zapolyarny (RU). It explored and re-activated an abandoned construction site using light and motion: ephemeral light meets physical structures. The installation showed Gilje’s interest in motion itself, how it passes through spaces, objects, bodies and landscapes.

The Crossing is commissioned by Sonic Acts & Hilde Methi for Dark Ecology.

Nikel Materiality Tatjana Gorbachewskaya & Katya Larina

Nikel Materiality by Tatjana Gorbachewskaja, in collaboration with Katya Larina, sought to explore Nikel through the prism of the unique material substances that this city has created. The story of Nikel is that of a place that has transformed the natural environment, and is seemingly no longer dependent on its geographical, geological or atmospheric attachments to the Earth. Tatjana Gorbachewskaja and Katya Larina Tatjana Gorbachewsakaja and Katya illustrated the architectural history and interaction with the harsh environment through Larina, Nikel Materiality, commissioned for thematic maps and catalogues of artefacts that emerged from Nikel’s symbiosis Dark Ecology Journey 2015, Nikel Russia. between the natural environment and alien materials created by human culture. During Photo by Michael Miller the second Dark Ecology Journey Gorbachewskaja and Larina presented their research in the form of a talk and a conceptual walking tour through the city of Nikel.

Tatjana Gorbachewskaja (RU) is an architect and urbanist, who grew up in Nickel, Russia.

Katya Larina (RU) is an architect and urban designer who received her Master’s degree in Landscape Urbanism from the Architectural Association, London.

Nikel Materiality is commissioned by Sonic Acts & Hilde Methi for Dark Ecology.

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A Script for Machine Synthesis Florian Hecker

A Script for Machine Synthesis by Florian Hecker is a sound composition and an experimental drama. It is the climactic third chapter in the trilogy of text–sound pieces that Hecker created with the writer–philosopher Reza Negarestani (after Chimerization, dOCUMENTA13 and Hinge, Lumiar Cité, Lisbon; both 2012). The suggestive encounter with a pink ice cube is a conceptual point of departure for a scene in which linguistic chimeras of descriptions of smell and sound are materialised through synthetic trophies, auditory objects, and theatrical props. A Script for Machine Synthesis features the voice of Florian Hecker, A Script for Machine Charlotte Rampling; a perfume created by Frédéric Malle, Editions de Parfums and Carlos Synthesis, opening Sonic Acts Festival The Benaïm; IFF, a synthetic voice designed by Rob Clark and the Centre for Speech Research Geologic Imagination, Stedelijk Museum. Technology, University of Edinburgh; a CAL 64 Column Array Loudspeaker System by Meyer Sound; and a synthetic paper booklet designed by NORM, Zurich.

Florian Hecker (DE) is an electronic music composer whose compositions tend towards noise music.

A Script for Machine Synthesis is commissioned by Sonic Acts for The Geologic Imagination.

LYSN: Murmansk Spaceport Hilary Jeffery

Hilary Jeffery’s Murmansk Spaceport was conceived as an environment for exploring unknown territories. During November 2015 musicians from Murmansk (RU) and Bodø (NO) in the Barents Region worked with Hilary Jeffery in a new formation of LYSN to perform LYSN: Murmansk Spaceport. The work encouraged the musicians to travel imaginatively into areas they did not know, to explore dark territories of which they have little or no Hilary Jeffrey,Murmansk Spaceport, experience. commissioned for Dark Ecology 2015, Murmansk Russia. Photo by Michael Miller LYSN / ЛИСН: Ekaterina Efremova (vocals, guitar, accordion, electronics), Andrey Gaiduk aka 23:59 (computer, electronics), Hilary Jeffery (trombone, computer, composition), Anastasia Koluntaeva (trumpet), Svetlana Matveeva (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Timur Mizinov (trumpet, guitar), Victor Skorbenko – (vocals, guitar, electronics), Anna Rotar (trombone), Kristin Alsos Strand (cello).

Hilary Jeffery (UK) is a self-proclaimed ‘desert trombonist’ and composer. A central influence on his music is a sense of silent-space.

LYSN: Murmansk Spaceport Murmansk Spaceport is commissioned by Sonic Acts & Hilde Methi for Dark Ecology.

unearthed Karl Lemieux & BJ Nilsen

The border area of Norway and Russia, where the sparse beauty of the Arctic landscape meets industrial decay and heavy pollution, is where BJ Nilsen and Karl Lemieux collected material for their audiovisual collaboration unearthed. The work was released with the publication The Geologic Imagination on a USB-device, accompanied by a text written by Karl Lemieux and BJ Nilsen and images by Karl Lemieux. The live premiere of unearthed took place on 27 February 2015 at the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, Amsterdam, as part of the 2015 Sonic Acts Festival. BJ Nilsen and Karl Lemieux, unearthed, commissioned for Dark Ecology & Sonic BJ Nilsen (SE) is a Swedish composer and sound artist based in Amsterdam. His work is Acts Festival The Geologic Imagination primarily focused on the sounds of nature and how they affect humans.

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Margrethe Pettersen, Living Land – Below as Above, commissioned for Dark Ecology Karl Lemieux’s (CA) films, installations, and performances have screened internationally Journey 2015, Kirkenes Norway. Photo by in museums, galleries, music venues and film festivals. He is more commonly known as Michael Miller the ninth member of Godspeed You! Black Emperor for which he does live 16mm film projections.

unearthed is commissioned by Sonic Acts & Hilde Methi for Dark Ecology and The Geologic Imagination and part of Changing Weathers.

Albedo Murcof & Rod Maclachlan

For Albedo, Murcof and visual alchemist Rod Maclachlan created a mesmerising experience of light and surround sound. Inspired by structural-materialist film and the aesthetics of analogue sci-fi effects, Maclachlan draws with light and lenses to evoke the qualities of visual music pioneers John and James Whitney, Jordan Belson and Oskar Fischinger.

Murcof (MX) is an electronic musician and composer. Drawing on minimalism, postmodernism, and baroque music, Murcof creates a shifting sound world.

Rod Maclachlan (UK) received his MA from University College Falmouth, where he developed an interest in 18th- and 19th-century chemical, optical, and electrical devices.

Albedo is commissioned by Sonic Acts for The Geologic Imagination.

Living Land - Below as Above Margrethe Iren Pettersen

Living Land – Below as Above is a soundwalk developed by Margrethe Iren Pettersen for Dark Ecology. The idea of the soundwalk began with Pettersen’s interest in ice as a

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Otto Piene, The Proliferation of the Sun (1967), Sonic Acts Festival The metaphor, and as the primary archival medium of the Arctic. In the dark wintertime, life Geologic Imagination, 27 February 2015, in the Arctic is at rest, hidden, and the spectrum of what is visual and audible is scaled Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ Amsterdam. Photo down, which invites a deeper attention of our senses to nuances. Inspired by the 1979 by Ed Jansen documentary The Secret Life of Plants, Pettersen imagined the communication between species beneath the silent snow carpet, capturing a cosmology of the plants which scientifically proves that plants are sentient beings with a nervous system, despite lacking a brain.

Margrethe Iren Pettersen (NO) is a florist with a Bachelor’s degree from the Academy of Contemporary Art in Tromsø.

Living Land - Below as Above is co-commissioned by Sonic Acts & Hilde Methi in collaboration with Arctic Encounters for Dark Ecology.

The Proliferation of the Sun (1967) Otto Piene

The re-installation of The Proliferation of the Sun, originally conceived in 1967, is a 25-minute multimedia performance using hundreds of painted slides, sound, and several projectors. Colourful shimmering shapes on hundreds of hand-painted glass slides are projected onto a huge multi-screen array to create what Otto Piene called a ‘poetic journey through space’. The visitor is immersed in projections that splay across various surfaces. Piene reminds the viewer of the magic of the projected image, which is even more beguiling when you can immerse yourself in it and be overwhelmed by the scale and light.

Otto Piene (DE) is most known for his colourful paintings and gigantic open air sculptures, including the 600-metre-long Olympic Rainbow at the 1972 Olympics.

A co-production in collaboration with Kunsthalle Bremen - Der Kunstverein in Bremen & ZERO Foundation.

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Unknown Lucy Railton & Russell Haswell “I don’t doubt that in ten years time I’ll think back on In residency in Kirkenes, Lucy Railton & Russell Haswell (UK) researched, recorded and developed a new work which was premiered at the Borealis Contemporary Music the Journey and I’ll suddenly Festival in Bergen on 14 March 2015. Their collaboration exploited the languages of be back again wandering contemporary instrumental music and hybrid analogue/digital synthesis. The Dark Ecology team joined forces with Borealis and Landmark/Bergen Kunsthall for this up the hill in the dark to unique performance where Railton and Haswell combined a collection of material be confronted with Joris conceived in the empty landscapes of the North with the more immediate interplay of their improvised performance practise. The work drew on their time in the industrial Strijbos’ work (Wow!) and and natural surroundings of the Barents Region, creating a conceptual and musical link then barely touching the between Kirkenes in the northeast of Norway and Bergen over 2000 kilometres to the southwest. path around the lake while spellbound by Margrethe Russell Haswell (UK) is an artist, record producer, free improviser, computer musician, Iren Pettersen’s work noise aficionado, and curator. (Wow!).” Lucy Railton (UK) is a cellist and curator, she was trained at the New England Conservatory in Boston and the Royal Academy of Music in London. - Brent Klinkum, participant of the Dark Ecology Journey 2015 A co-production by Sonic Acts, Hilde Methi, Borealis and Landmark/Bergen Kunsthall for Dark Ecology and Borealis Contemporary Music Festival.

OBJECTHOOD podcast #4 Radio Web MACBA

OBJECTHOOD #4 is a podcast curated by Roc Jiménez de Cisneros for Radio Web MACBA. It explores the slippery materiality of untraceable objects: from the arsenic poisoning the wells of Bangladesh as told by Nabil Ahmed, to Arie Altena’s account of the superstition surrounding the Kola Superdeep Borehole in Russia, and the bizarre biology of the vampire squid from hell in a passage from Vilém Flusser’s Vampyroteuthis Infernalis read by AGF.

A co-production by Radio Web MACBA and Sonic Acts for Dark Ecology.

IsoScope Joris Strijbos

Joris Strijbos’ IsoScope is a kinetic sound-and-light installation. It consists of multiple robotic wind objects that interact with each other and with the landscape to perform a generative composition that manifests through emergent behaviour. Strijbos wanted to create an outdoor man-made phenomenon – an abstract sound-and-light entity – which, like most natural phenomena, can only be experienced under specific weather conditions. The work can be seen as a proposition for a new kind of mechanic and artificial life. Although Strijbos spent a lot of time on its technical and functional development, IsoScope is foremost a sensorial experience in which the audience can wander through the rotating lights and a constantly changing sonic cloud.

Joris Strijbos (NL) is a Rotterdam-based artist whose work focuses on the synaesthetic relationship and interaction between moving image and sound.

IsoScope is commissioned by Sonic Acts & Hilde Methi for Dark Ecology and Sonic Acts Academy.

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Joris Strijbos, IsoScope, commissioned for Dark Ecology and Sonic Acts Academy, Dolmen Kirkenes Norway. Photo by Jeroen Mario de Vega Molenaar

Dolmen is a new work by Mexican sound artist Mario de Vega. De Vega is known – or maybe even notorious – for his confrontational works, which, for instance, use infrasound or extremely high voltages. Dolmen is an intervention that explores the boundaries of human perception as well as the social, political and physical impact of telecommunications technology. It makes the public physically aware of the presence of wireless signals in space – the radio signals that are the carrier waves of our digital communications. The work evolved from interests in radio signals and in the possible negative influence of electromagnetic pollution on humans.

Mario de Vega (MX) is a sound artist best known for his site-specific interventions, sculptures and sound improvisations

Dolmen is commissioned by Sonic Acts for The Geologic Imagination and donaufestival 2015.

Pasvikdalen Mario de Vega, Dolmen, Sonic Acts Festival Jana Winderen The Geologic Imagination, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ. Photo by Pieter Kers Jana Winderen’s commissioned sound composition Pasvikdalen is based on recordings made both above and under water close to the border between Norway and Russia. The live premiere of Pasvikdalen took place on 27 February 2015 at the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, Amsterdam, as part of the 2015 Sonic Acts Festival. Jana Winderen talked about her work at the Sonic Acts conference on 27 February in a presentation entitled ‘Listening Without Getting Answers’.

Jana Winderen (NO) studied at Fine Art at Goldsmiths College in London, with a background in mathematics, chemistry and fish ecology from the University in Oslo. Amongst her activities are immersive multichannel installations and concerts.

Pasvikdalen is commissioned by Sonic Acts and Hilde Methi for Dark Ecology and Sonic Acts, and part of Changing Weathers.

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Vertical Cinema, SXSW, 17 March 2015, Central Presbytarian Church, Austin, US. 1.4 DISTRIBUTION Photo by Rich Merrit Over the years, Sonic Acts has built an extensive international network. The establishment of international partnerships and collaborations enhanced Sonic Acts’ global position and its content. It enables Sonic Acts to develop new works, to realise co-productions, to export Sonic Acts’ format and productions, to attract international attention for our activities and work in the Netherlands, and to generate additional revenues. Additionally, these collaborations have stimulated innovation by Sonic Acts, by involved parties and by creators, and moreover contribute to Amsterdam’s image as an innovative city with room for high-tech art and creative industry. The successful (inter)national distribution of Vertical Cinema (at IFFR, Stedelijk Museum, Melbourne International Film Festival (AU) and SXSW (US) amongst others) shows the worldwide demand for projects by Sonic Acts. In 2017–2020 Sonic Acts will further expand its international co-productions and co- operations and will continue the Vertical Cinema project.

VERTICAL CINEMA In 2013 Sonic Acts commissioned, curated and produced Vertical Cinema. This series of ten commissioned large-scale, site-specific works by internationally renowned experimental filmmakers and audiovisual artists, is presented on 35mm celluloid and projected vertically with a custom-built projector in vertical cinemascope. It is a 90-minute programme made solely for projection on a monumental vertical screen and features works by Tina Frank (AT), Björn Kämmerer (DE/AT), Manuel Knapp (AT), Johann Lurf (AT), Joost Rekveld (NL), Rosa Menkman (NL), Billy Roisz (AT) & Dieter Kovačič (AT), Vertical Cinema, Glasgow Short Film Makino Takashi (JP) & Telcosystems (NL), Esther Urlus (NL), Martijn van Boven (NL) & Festival, 11 March 2015, The Briggait, Gert-Jan Prins (NL). Glasgow. Photo by Eoin Carey, courtesy Glasgow Film. Vertical Cinema has been a successful project from its very start - it received a lot of attention and was widely discussed. It was controversial, as it used celluloid whereas film had already ‘gone digital’ and as it questioned the very nature of the medium film and the future of cinema.

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Vertical Cinema had its Dutch premiere during the 2014 International Film Festival “It was deeply impressive. Rotterdam and has been shown worldwide ever since. Some of these works In 2015, the project was shown internationally during major festivals in churches, museums and other special locations. BBC World dedicated a short documentary to it. grabbed me by the gut, slapped me around the ears Vertical Cinema at Glasgow Short Film Festival 11 March and did funny things to my The Briggait, Glasgow (UK) eyes...” The Glasgow Short Film Festival included Vertical Cinema in their programme. Festival - Michael Pattison, in Sight & Sound director Matt Lloyd said: ‘We were delighted that the opening event was a sell-out and magazine on vertical cinema the biggest event we’ve ever hosted at GSFF. It truly left viewers spinning.’

Vertical Cinema at SXSW 17 March Central Presbytarian Church, Austin (US)

At South by Southwest (SXSW), Vertical Cinema was selected for both the Music and the Film programme. The two screenings of Vertical Cinema took place on 17 March 2015 in the Central Presbyterian Church.

This presentation was supported by Creative Industries Fund NL.

Vertical Cinema at STRP Biennal 2015 26 March Klokgebouw, Eindhoven

The next stop for Vertical Cinema was the STRP Biennial in Eindhoven on Thursday 26 March 2015. Vertical Cinema was part of the SCREEN ON | NO SCREEN themed STRP Biennial. As an introduction, experimental filmmakerJoost Rekveld’s keynote lecture provided the context for the Vertical Cinema project.

Vertical Cinema at Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) Panel: Talking Pictures - Cinema, Reimagined 11 August

Screening 14 August Deakin Edge theatre, Melbourne (AU)

Vertical Cinema received its Australian premiere at Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF). On 14 August, the Vertical Cinema films were screened twice to full houses at Vertical Cinema, MIFF, 14 August 2015, Deakin Edge Theatre. Deakin Edge theatre, Melbourne. Photo by Joost Rekveld Vertical Cinema filmmakerJoost Rekveld was a guest of the festival. Together with technical producer Erwin van ’t Hart, he took part in the panel ‘Talking Pictures – Cinema, Reimagined’, which was co-hosted by the Graduate School of Humanities & Social Sciences, on 11 August. During his stay in Melbourne Joost Rekveld was interviewed for a number of publications, including, among others The Age, 4:3, Filmink and Spook Magazine.

The screening was supported by the City of Melbourne, Federation Square, Austrian Embassy Canberra, Graduate School of Humanities & Social Sciences, and the Embassy of the Netherlands in Australia.

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“[...] The dark futuristic Vertical Cinema at Baltā Nakts Dolmen structure creaks 5 September Koncertzāle Rīga, Riga (LV) and crashes like a receiver for radio waves from outer On 5 September, Vertical Cinema was in Riga as part of the official Baltā Nakts programme. This edition of the annual all-night festival, which is Riga’s answer to Nuit space, producing what Blanche, revolved around light and saw a diverse range of performances, concerts, sounds like the totality of all installations, lectures, workshops and screenings at venues across town. The Vertical Cinema programme lit up Koncertzāle Rīga twice during the free double information simultaneously: screenings that took place that night. The auditorium, with its ornamental stage and simply overwhelming.” crystal chandeliers offered an interesting venue that showcased the vastness of the Vertical Cinema screen: it stepped outside the frame of the stage and stretched all the - Helmut Ploebst, Der Standard way to the ceiling.

Supported by RIXC, The Centre for New Media Culture, Mondriaan Fund, Riga City Council and the Embassy of the Netherlands in Latvia.

OTHER DISTRIBUTED WORKS

Dolmen at donaufestival 24 April donaufestival, Krems (AT)

After its premiere in Amsterdam at The Geologic Imagination festival, Mario de Vega’s Dolmen had its Austrian premiere at donaufestival. De Vega reworked the installation to adapt it to the new context. It was very well received by the audience and the press. Mario de Vega, Dolmen, donaufestival 2015, Krems Austria. Photo by David Visnjic Dolmen evolved from De Vega’s interests in radio signals and the possible negative influence of electromagnetic pollution on humans. It is an intervention that explores the boundaries of human perception as well as the social, political, and physical impact of telecommunications technology. It makes the public physically aware of the presence of wireless signals in space – the radio signals that are the carrier waves of our digital communications.

Dolmen at Meinblau Projektraum 9 to 20 December Meinblau Projektraum, Berlin (DE)

From 9 to 20 December 2015, Mario de Vega’s Dolmen was presented by singuhr-projects at Meinblau Projektraum in Berlin, in yet another reworking, this time for headphones.

Citadels: Common Structures at Centraal Museum 17 October to 24 January 2016 Centraal Museum, Utrecht

Citadels: Common Structures, an installation by Matthijs Munnik, commissioned by Sonic Acts for the 2013 festival The Dark Universe, was part of the exhibition Lekker Licht at Centraal Museum in Utrecht.

As a window to a virtual world, Citadels: Common Structures presented an abstract universe composed of light and sound, exploring the borders of our sensory hardware. While the eye tries to make sense of the sensory overload, a dazzling display of highly detailed patterns and colour combinations are formed in the retina and fed to the brain. The resulting phenomena observed by visitors are induced by the rapidly flickering lights and created by the eye itself.

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Barents (Mare Incognitum) at EYE Film Institute 8 to 15 December EYE Film Institute, Amsterdam

HC Gilje’s new video piece Barents (Mare Incognitum) was screened between 8 and 15 December on the wall of EYE’s foyer. It presents a slowly rotating view of the Barents Sea, a disorienting perspective that blurs North and South, East and West.

1.5 WORKSHOPS AND MASTERCLASSES

With the workshops and masterclasses Sonic Acts aims to develop talent and share knowledge. The topics relate to the areas of focus of Sonic Acts and offer talented students, makers, artists, musicians, writers and critics the opportunity to deepen their own practice. In the masterclasses young makers exchange knowledge with renowned international ‘masters’. The multi-day workshops focus on learning practical tools – an example of this is the recurring Critical Writing Workshop – and artistic research methods. The number of entries for each workshop and masterclass clearly shows that there is a great demand for such forms of knowledge acquisition and sharing, and for reflecting on practice on a high level.

Earth Coding – Workshop by Martin Howse & Nik Gaffney 23 to 24 February A-Lab, Amsterdam & field trip

The two-day Earth Coding Workshop explored links between contemporary technology and the Earth in an attempt to define and create a new form of land art. Through a variety of experimental activities, including telluric currents and earth antennas, the workshop aimed to find possible answers to questions such as: ‘Can the Earth as a process be tempted to compose software?’. This workshop included a field trip to a Martin Howse and Nik Gaffney, Earth nearby natural terrain. Coding Workshop, Sonic Acts Festival The , 23 February 2015, Geologic Imagination Martin Howse (UK) investigates the links between the earth (geophysical phenomena), Amsterdam. Photo by Pieter Kers software and the human psyche (psychogeophysics).

Nik Gaffney (BE/AU) is a founding member of FoAM, a distributed laboratory for speculative cultures.

Masterclass by Kurt Hentschläger 24 February Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam

Hentschläger’s work is characteristically visceral and immersive, as in ZEE and FEED, with extreme perceptual effects composed from light, sound and fog. These works literally transport the viewer into other worlds. Hentschläger’s CLUSTER series builds on the uncanny by portraying 3D representations of humanoid creatures that can only exist in dynamic flux, swirling and flowing like the wind, apparently unhinged from the surface on which they are projected. Hentschläger’s most recent, emerging body of work centres on how we perceive nature in the 21st century. The masterclass was aimed at audiovisual artists.

Kurt Hentschläger (AT) creates audiovisual installations and performances. His work is visceral and immersive, with extreme perceptual effects.

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Tuning Vine Just Intonation – Masterclass by Robin Hayward 24 to 25 February Rijksakademie, Amsterdam

Robin Hayward presented a two-day workshop on his Hayward Tuning Vine interface, a powerful tool for exploring the rich harmonic relationships implicit within just intonation. Through colour coding and spatialising these harmonic relationships, the Hayward Tuning Vine allows musician to explore the relationships intuitively. It makes just intonation more Robin Hayward, Tuning Vine Workshop, accessible, and provides an ideal introduction to the theory and practice of microtonal music. Sonic Acts Festival The Geologic 24-25 February 2015, Imagination Robin Hayward (UK) is a tuba player and composer. Amsterdam. Photo by Roy Taylor The Anthropocene Today – Masterclass by Graham Harman 25 February BAK, Utrecht

This workshop focused on what the Anthropocene means for ontology as well as for politics. Speculative Realist seeks to overturn these forms of philosophy that privilege the human being. Given that the Anthropocene is, by definition, a geological era created by human activity, it might seem impossible to examine it separate from human influence. Yet the fact that humans triggered the Anthropocene does not mean that its features are transparent to human knowledge. This ambiguity in the human relationship to the Anthropocene (we created it, yet do not understand it) is the basic puzzle of Anthopocene ontology.

Graham Harman (US) is Distinguished University Professor at the American University in Cairo. He is a founding member of the Speculative Realism movement.

This masterclass was organised by Sonic Acts in partnership with BAK and Dark Ecology and is part of Changing Weathers.

Describing the Indescribable – Critical Writing Workshop 25 February to 1 March Graham Harman. Photo by Michael Miller Paradiso, Amsterdam

The Critical Writing Workshop Describing the Indescribable by Sonic Acts, The Wire and Gonzo (Circus) started on Wednesday 25 February, and was followed by working sessions on all festival days. Renowned and experienced journalists and writers shared insights into specific aspects of their craft (language, style, focus) and provided feedback on the texts written by the workshop participants during Sonic Acts.

The Critical Writing Workshop was organised in association with Dark Ecology and is part of Changing Weathers.

Reimagining the Present – Workshop by Liam Young 2 March Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam

During this one-day workshop the participants were invited to play on the classic science fiction world-building trope of ‘just change one thing’. By changing only one element within the footage of existing environments, the maker can construct a highly compelling and visceral fiction; an exaggerated present or strange and speculative future that is both familiar but at the same time slightly askew. The workshop started with an introductory discussion of iconic scenes from the history of sci-fi and Young’s own work. The participants were invited to bring their own footage and subvert and re-imagine it using entry-level CGI, special effects and post-production film and animation techniques.

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Dark Ecology Critical Writing Academy, 9 – 10 October 2015, Murmansk Russia. Photo Liam Young (UK) is an independent designer, futurist, critic and curator and a founder by Rosa Menkman of the think tank Tomorrows Thoughts Today, a group whose work explores the consequences of fantastic, perverse and underrated urbanisms.

Synchronator – Masterclass by Gert-Jan Prins and Bas van Koolwijk 27 March Klokgebouw, Eindhoven

In addition to the screening of Vertical Cinema, Sonic Acts organised two masterclasses in collaboration with STRP Biennial on Friday, 27 March. Gert-Jan Prins and Bas van Koolwijk presented a masterclass on the Synchronator, a powerful device that converts electronic audio signals into a composite video signal. Bas van Koolwijk and Gert-Jan Prins developed it in 2009, and the number of users has grown steadily ever since. Gert-Jan Prins (NL) focuses on the sonic and musical qualities of electronic noise and investigates its relationship with the visual.

Bas van Koolwijk (NL) is a media artist who uses both sound and image, be it analogue or in numerical code, as interchangeable data.

Expanded Cinema: A Vertical View – Masterclass by Esther Urlus 27 March Klokgebouw, Eindhoven

Esther Urlus revealed all the ins and outs of the film projector in her masterclass ‘Expanded Cinema: A Vertical View’. Participants explored how to work with 16mm projection devices in order to expand their potential and re-purpose their function.

Esther Urlus (NL) makes Super 8, 16mm and 35mm films and installations. She creates new works by kneading the material, and by trial, error and (re)invention.

Dark Ecology Critical Writing Academy 9 to 10 October Murmansk (RU)

On 9 and 10 October, Sonic Acts and Fridaymilk organised a two-day Critical Writing Academy in Murmansk as part of Dark Ecology. Nine Norwegian and Russian writers with a connection to the Barents Region were selected to take part in the Academy led by Rosa Menkman and the experts Furqat Palvazande (RU) and Arne Skaug Olsen (NO), who shared their insights into specific aspects of their craft (language, style, context, framework and focus).

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The Academy was organised with several objectives in mind: to enhance the art of critical writing while communicating the themes of the three-year Dark Ecology project to a broader audience of writers who might help to document upcoming journeys and local residencies. The Academy also builds and fosters an interconnected, horizontal community of critical writers across the Barents Region, which can provide a vital infrastructure for any future projects, to ensure they have a more lasting and distributed impact.

Furqat Palvazande (RU) held multiple positions within the educational and cultural sector before he became editor of Theory and Practice in 2011.

Arne Skaug Olsen (NO) is a curator, art critic and writer. He was curator at LIAF (Lofoten International Art Festival) in 2015 and at Visningsrommet USF in Bergen (2008–11) and has written for Camera Austria, Klasskampen and Billedkunst.

Rosa Menkman (NL) is an artist, curator and theorist. Since 2007 Menkman has written for multiple platforms and publications, Sonic Acts among them.

Fridaymilk (Oleg Khardatsev / Zhanna Guzenko) (RU) is a well-known media platform in Murmansk, Russia, run by a team of ten people who are eager to promote new life approaches and facilitate discussions and conversations on issues in the Barents Region.

1.6 OTHER ACTIVITIES

CHANGING WEATHERS The Changing Weathers project (2014 to 2016) is a set of activities and actions that reflect the status of Europe’s changing cultural landscape, taking into account the shifting geophysical, geopolitical and technological vectors that are shaping it. It is a partnership with organisations and people both from the European ‘core’ and its political and economic ‘periphery’, with partners from countries in the East and West, and North and South. It’s also a series of workshops, open thematic conferences, residencies, exhibitions and cultural actions with a goal of developing, discovering and re-shaping resilient and sustainable cultural practices challenged by climate, economic, ecological, technological, social, political, cultural, artistic and geopolitical changes and tensions in past, present and future Europe.

The project includes a programme of (commissioned) artworks, strategies and dynamic infrastructures. These initiate and sustain long-term networked collaborations and exchanges between the participating organisations, cultural operators, artists and traditional and indigenous cultural activists.

Changing Weathers is initiated by the Arctic Perspective Initiative (API) and is coordinated by Zavod Projekt Atol (Slovenia) in partnership with Sonic Acts (The Netherlands), RIXC network for art, science and cultural innovation (Latvia), Finnish Bioart Society (Finland), curator Hilde Methi (Norway), Time’s Up Laboratory for the construction of experimental situations (Austria,) and Ljudmila Art And Science Laboratory (Slovenia).

The Geologic Imagination Book Launch in Bergen 15 January Landmark, Bergen (NO)

Sonic Acts and Dark Ecology officially launched their new bookThe Geologic Imagination, a richly illustrated and beautifully designed collection of essays, visual contributions and interviews in Bergen. Landmark, Sonic Acts and Dark Ecology invited Femke Herregraven and Timothy Morton to speak at the occasion. Morton, one of the contributors to the book and Rita Shea Guffey Chair in English at

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Rice University, reflected on dark ecology, thinking at Earth magnitude and the ‘geologic imagination’. Designer and artist Femke Herregraven talked about her research into how climate change opens up new investment opportunities for financial markets and how the melting Arctic ice will increase the speed of financial trading.

The Geologic Imagination Book Launch in Amsterdam 17 January de Balie, Amsterdam

Sonic Acts and Gonzo (Circus) celebrated the start of the New Year in a packed de Balie Salon. Sonic Acts launched their new book in the Netherlands with an afternoon filled with ‘geologic imagination’. Timothy Morton was invited to speak about The Fast Track to Ecological Sadness, Femke Herregraven talked about her research project The All Infrared Timothy Morton, The Geologic Imagination Line, and Raviv Ganchrow shared his research into infrasound for his work Long-Wave Book launch, 17 January 2015, De Balie Synthesis, commissioned for Dark Ecology. Afterwards, DJs from Gonzo (Circus) provided Amsterdam. Photo by Pieter Kers a soundtrack of adventurous music to the refreshments.

Stedelijk Book Fair: Sonic Acts presents The Geologic Imagination 17 and 18 January Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam

At the Stedelijk Museum’s book fair, the idea of the book as an object lives on, with a selection of leading publishers presenting their most important current publications for sale. Sonic Acts was present with the new book The Geologic Imagination, which was officially launched only the day before. Besides that we took along other recent publications such as Travelling Time (2012), The Dark Universe and the Vertical Cinema cahier (both from 2013), and many more. Femke Herregraven, The Geologic Other participating publishers included: ABC Artists Books Cooperative, Alauda Imagination Book launch, 17 January 2015, Publications, de Appel arts centre, Casco - Office for Art, Design and Theory, De Cult De Balie Amsterdam. Photo by Pieter Kers Cllub (ArtKitchen Gallery and Galerie A), Elisabeth Tonnard / Joachim Schmid, EYEMAZING Editions, Fw:Books, Idea Books, International Foundation Manifesta, Johan Deumens Gallery, Kunstverein Amsterdam, Lecturis, Onomatopee, Paradox & YdocFoundation, Post Editions, Roma Publications, San Serriffe, Simulacrum, SPBH Editions, Stedelijk Publicaties, The Eriskay Connection, Uitgeverij de Buitenkant, Valiz, Walther König, and Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art.

BAK Learning Place: Sonic Acts research presentation 23 April BAK Utrecht

As part of the educational programme Learning Place: Human-Inhuman-Posthuman with students from MAR/KABK, The Hague and MaHKU, Utrecht, Lucas van der Velden, curator and director of Sonic Acts, presented the research that has been conducted as part of The Dark Universe, The Geologic Imagination and the Dark Ecology projects.

HF Academy #2: Sonic Acts presents Dark Ecology 14 May Felix Meritis, Amsterdam

As part of the Holland Festival Young Academy, Lucas van der Velden, curator and director of Sonic Acts, participated with the THE MAN AND THE MACHINE, giving a presentation on the future of digital media as a new form of art. Drawing on the Dark Ecology project and the previous Sonic Acts festival edition, Travelling Time, Lucas van der Velden spoke about the emergence of the digital universe.

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Holland Festival: 25 Years of ArtScience Interfaculty 27 June Paradiso, Amsterdam

On Saturday 27 June 2015 Sonic Acts hosted the 25th anniversary of one of its co- founders, the ArtScience Interfaculty, in Paradiso Amsterdam. The anniversary was part of the Holland Festival 2015 programme and was compiled by the ArtScience Interfaculty in collaboration with Sonic Acts and Paradiso. Joris Strijbos and Matthijs Munnik, Artscience Anniversary, 27 June 2015, The programme consisted of selected works by ArtScience alumni of the past 25 years. Paradiso Amsterdam. Photo by Ed Jansen The programme began with two lectures: art historian Michael van Hoogenhuyze talked about his views on the creative process of the artist, and Edwin van der Heide and Taco Stolk focused in their lecture on Dick Raaijmakers’ commentary on Pierre Boulez’s approach to live electronic music. Throughout the day and evening there were works and installations by Marloes van Son, Jet Smits, Sebastian Frisch, Daniel Berio, Ivan Henriques and Angela de Weijer. In the evening there were performances by amongst others Optical Machines, Joris Strijbos, Matthijs Munnik, Dieter Vandoren, Erfan Abdi, Mariska de Groot, Telcosystems and a closing performance by Mika Vainio.

The Proliferation of the Sun (1967) 3 July Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam

Having re-staged it earlier in 2015 for The Geologic Imagination festival, Sonic Acts presented the performance The Proliferation of the Sun (1967) by ZERO artist Otto Piene again at the opening of the exhibition ZERO: Let Us Explore The Stars at Stedelijk Otto Piene, The Proliferation of the Sun Museum in the Teijin Auditorium. (1967), 3 July 2015, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Photo by Ernst van Deursen

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BJ Nilsen, Performance, Eye on Art: Weather Report, 15 December 2015, Eye Eye on Art: Weather Report Film Institute, Amsterdam. Photo by Pieter 15 December Kers EYE Film Institute, Amsterdam

Following the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Sonic Acts and Eye on Art hosted a Dark Ecology inspired evening at EYE Film Institute which included presentations by two Dark Ecology commissioned artists. HC Gilje spoke extensively about the light-motion installation The Crossing and the video installation Barents (Mare Incognitum), which were premiered during the 2015 Dark Ecology Journey. The latter was screened in the EYE’s foyer throughout the conference period and on the night. BJ Nilsen presented a journey through 35mm films from EYE’s archive. These films documented fishing and hunting in the northern regions of earth in the 1920s and were accompanied by an immersive live soundtrack by Nilsen.

1.7 PUBLISHING

Publications by Sonic Acts link theory and practice, provide insights into current developments, stimulate critical reflection and make visible the development of knowledge by Sonic Acts. The publications promote durable production and knowledge sharing. All of Sonic Acts’ publications are in English and are sold at the online store, via Ideabooks, and at a selection of bookstores in the Netherlands and abroad.

The Research Series, the podcasts and other forms of online publishing such as the more informal Field Notes and the blog posts at Sonic Acts websites offer important tools to expand our online audience.

PUBLICATION: THE GEOLOGIC IMAGINATION This publication by Sonic Acts was inspired by geosciences and zooms in on the Earth. Fundamental to The Geologic Imagination was the idea that we live in a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene. Human activity has irreversibly changed the composition of the atmosphere, the oceans, and even the Earth’s crust. Humanity has become a geological force. Consequently, the perspective has shifted from humans at the centre of the world to the forces that act on timescales beyond the conceivable. These ideas challenge us to rethink our attachments to the world, and our concepts of nature, culture and ecology. With this book Sonic Acts examines how art and science map and document new insights, and how the changes and transformations that occur on a geological scale can The Geologic Imagination Publication become something humans can feel, touch, and experience. The Geologic Imagination

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features new essays by Timothy Morton, Douglas Kahn, Paul Bogard, Michael Welland, “This valuable collection and Raviv Ganchrow; there are interviews with Dipesh Chakrabarty, Matthew Coolidge, will soon become one of the Liam Young, Noortje Marres, Kodwo Eshun, Kurt Hentschläger, and Mario de Vega; and visual contributions by Femke Herregraven, Mirna Belina, Ellsworth & Kruse, the Center first essential go-to texts of Land Use Interpretation, Marijn de Jong, and BJ Nilsen & Karl Lemieux. for artists and scholars The publication accompanied the 2015 Sonic Acts Festival. A major part of the contributions is connected to the Dark Ecology project that started in October 2014. who want to think about The book also contains unearthed, a new soundwork BJ Nilsen made during the Dark the Anthropocene, global Ecology explorations of the border zone between Kirkenes (Norway) and Nikel (Russia). warming and ecological The Geologic Imagination issues in general. A treasure Published by Sonic Acts Press Edited by Lucas van der Velden, Mirna Belina, Arie Altena & Sonic Acts trove of original thoughts Designed by Femke Herregraven and creativity.” Includes a USB device with the soundwork unearthed by BJ Nilsen 336 pp., English, Illustrated - Timothy Morton on The Geologic Imagination RESEARCH SERIES The Sonic Acts Research Series is a series of online dossiers devoted to specific aspects of the research that Sonic Acts conducts for its activities. Commissioned texts and interviews with featured artists and speakers are combined with films and material from previous Sonic Acts events. One such dossier will be published every month. The texts will eventually be made available in various formats to accommodate different reading and browsing tastes. In 2015 the following Research Series dossiers were published on the Sonic Acts website:

#7: Liam Young, by Tim Maughan #8: Kurt Hentschläger, by Mirna Belina #9: Hillel Schwartz, by Arie Altena and Raviv Ganchrow #10: Graham Harman, by Liesbeth Koot and Menno Grootveld #11: Jon Hagstrum on migrating birds, by Liesbeth Koot and Menno Grootveld #12: Noam Elcott on Verticality, by Arie Altena #13: Bart Rutten on Verticality, by Arie Altena #14: Don Foresta, by Arie Altena #15: Benjamin Bratton, by Klaas Kuitenbrouwer, curator of Garden of Machines #16: Karl Lemieux, by Julian Ross #17: Lukas Marxt, by Julian Ross #18: Mark Williams, by Liesbeth Koot and Menno Grootveld #19: The Geologic Imagination: Lectures, Interviews and Recordings #20: John Tresch, by Liesbeth Koot and Menno Grootveld

DARK ECOLOGY FIELD NOTES The Dark Ecology Field Notes is a collection of all the video and photo reports, interviews, written reports, short essays, audio recordings and other media relating to the Dark Ecology project and journeys. In 2015 the following field notes were published on the Dark Ecology website:

- Dark Ecology Reading List II, by Arie Altena - Dark Ecology Critical Writing Academy Report, by Rosa Menkman - Research Series #19: A Dark Ecology Special: Lectures, Interviews and Recordings - Field Notes: Making things speak, by Arie Altena - Dark Matters: Susan Schuppli, by Lucas van der Velden and Rosa Menkman - Sonic Acts & Radio Web MACBA Podcast special on Dark Ecology, with contributions from Arie Altena - Living Land – Below as Above, in dialogue with Britt Kramvig and Margrethe Pettersen

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VIMEO On our Vimeo-channel and website Sonic Acts gives access to a growing number of videos (+150 videos in 2015) from previous events, which constitute part of our archive. These videos are amongst others used in our Research Series, this way connecting our archive with new projects of Sonic Acts.

FESTIVAL LIVESTREAM The conference programme of The Geologic Imagination was live streamed and reached a significant international audience that could not participate in real life. All recordings are consequently published on Sonic Acts’ vimeo channel.

Herman Kolgen, Seismik, Sonic Acts Festival The Geologic Imagination, 27 February 2015, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ Amsterdam. Photo by Ed Jansen

31 / ANNUAL REPORT 2015 2. COMMUNICATION AND PUBLICITY

The 2015 festival edition and the events Sonic Acts organised throughout the year attracted almost 9.300 and 2.360 visitors respectively. The screenings of the Vertical Cinema programme across the globe attracted 2.200 visitors. About 1.350 visitors attended Dark Ecology events in 2015.

Sonic Acts published all the activities, commissions and research series on its own websites (sonicacts.com, verticalcinema.org, darkecology.net), and via the different social media channels and the newsletter (about 2.600 recipients, unchanged in 2015). Audience Sonic Acts Festival The Geologic Imagination. Photo by Pieter Kers Sonic Acts has an active online audience; the sonicacts.com website has had 12.012 unique visitors (+2.000 in 2015), and the festival website sonicacts.com/2015 has had an additional 20.248 unique visitors. The project websites also reached an extensive online audience, with 9.385 unique visitors for verticalcinema.org (+3.000 in 2015), and 9.990 unique visitors for darkecology.net (+7.350 in 2015).

The Sonic Acts Facebook page grew to 7.249 fans (+1.962 likes in 2015) with posts reaching up to 9.000 people, Sonic Acts had nearly 4.187 followers on Twitter (+1.216 followers in 2015), approximately 480.943 views (in total, until now) of Sonic Acts photos on Flickr (+147.521 in 2015), and 20.350 plays of the 249 videos on Vimeo (+11.850 plays of +150 videos in 2015).

The Facebook page that was created for Vertical Cinema back in 2014 grew to 573 fans (+425 in 2015), with posts reaching up to 1.372 people. The Dark Ecology Facebook page, also created in 2014, grew to 1.636 fans (+755 in 2015), with posts reaching up to 2.950 people. The Dark Ecology newsletter has 721 recipients (+320 in 2015).

Announcements, reviews and interviews appeared in regional and national newspapers, weekly- and monthly journals, blogs and online magazines, such as: BBC World, Barents Observer, De Correspondent, Trouw, Parool, Volkskrant, Folia, Gonzo (Circus), DJ Broadcast, NRC, Subbacultcha, Metropolis M and The Wire.

All promotional efforts were strengthened through a strong joint promotion with our partners, including Paradiso, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, OT301, Stadsherstel, Rewire Festival, Viral Radio, Arctic Encounters, Full of Nothing, PNEK Norway, Fridaymilk, Changing Weathers, European Space Agency, Österreichisches Filmmuseum, NÖ Festival, Kino GmbH, Gonzo (Circus), Filmwerkplaats Rotterdam, donaufestival, Glasgow Short Film Festival, SXSW, STRP Biennial, Melbourne International Film Festival, Baltā Nakts, Borealis Festival and Landmark / Bergen Kunsthall.

32 / ANNUAL REPORT 2015 3. SONIC ACTS TEAM, PARTNERS & FUNDERS IN 2015

3.1 SONIC ACTS

Curatorial team: Arie Altena, Nicky Assmann, Mirna Belina, Martijn van Boven, Femke Herregraven, Bronne Keesmaat, Gideon Kiers, Liesbeth Koot, Lucas van der Velden, Annette Wolfsberger, Juha van ’t Zelfde.

Production: Eve Dullaart, Rick Everts, Marianne Eerenstein (intern), Sebastian Frisch, Erwin van ’t Hart, Mark den Hoed, Julia Nüsslein, Jorg Schellekens, Annette Wolfsberger.

Communication & Documentation: Bas de Beer, Fridaymilk, Sebastian Frisch, Femke Herregraven (Bitcaves), Henrik van Leeuwen (Gebroeders van Leeuwen), Valentina Lisak, Sanne Lohof, Rosa Menkman, Jolijn de Natris, Mark Poysden, Floor Spapens.

Board: Pierre Ballings, Mark Minkman, Joost Rekveld, Gerard Walhof.

Partners: The Geologic Imagination was produced in collaboration with Rewire and Viral Radio and in association with Paradiso, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, OT301, Stadsherstel, STEIM.

Support: The Geologic Imagination was supported by Creative Industries Fund NL, Mondriaan Fund, City of Amsterdam, Paradiso, Fonds 21, Creative Europe Programme of the European Union, Amsterdam Fund for the Arts, Performing Arts Fund NL, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, PNEK, UNSW Australia, Rewire, Viral Radio, Port of Amsterdam, Stadsherstel, Steim, Underbelly, Gonzo (Circus), The Wire, Beamsystems, Filmtechniek, WG Theatertechniek.

3.2 DARK ECOLOGY

Curatorial team: Arie Altena, Nicky Assmann, Mirna Belina, Femke Herregraven, Gideon Kiers, Rosa Menkman, Lucas van der Velden, Annette Wolfsberger, Hilde Methi.

Production: Eve Dullaart, Rick Everts, Roman Khoroshilov, Irina Neganova, Maria Rusinovskaya, Glafira Severyanova, Guro Vrålstad, Marta Wasiuta (intern), Annette Wolfsberger.

Communication & Documentation: Fridaymilk, Femke Herregraven (Bitcaves), Henrik van Leeuwen (de Gebroeders van Leeuwen), Sanne Lohof, Rosa Menkman, Hilde Methi, Michael Miller, Mark Poysden.

Partners: Dark Ecology is curated and produced by Sonic Acts and Norwegian curator Hilde Methi in collaboration with the Russian partners Full of Nothing (Petrozavodsk), Fridaymilk (Murmansk), Maria Rusinovskaya, Roman Khoroshilov and Barents Travel (Nikel), Norwegian partner PNEK and European partner Arctic Encounters. Dark Ecology is part of Changing Weathers (Zavod Projekt Atol (SI) in partnership with Sonic Acts (NL), RIXC (LV), Finnish Society of Bioart (FI), Hilde Methi (NO), Time’s Up (AT) and Ljudmila (SI)). Changing Weathers is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.

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Collaborators: Dark Ecology also collaborates with Sør-Varanger Filmklubb, Samovar Theatre, Landmark/Kunsthall Bergen, Nikel Children’s Art School, Borealis Festival, and many more.

Support: Dark Ecology is generously funded by BarentsKult, Public Art Norway (KORO/ URO), Arts Council Norway, Creative Industries Fund NL, Creative Europe Programme of the European Union, PNEK (Production Network for Electronic Art, Norway), Mondriaan Fund, Finnmark County Municipality, Nordland County Council and Troms County Council. Troms County Council supports through Norwegian - Russian Cultural Cooperation - Visual Art 2013 - 2015, funded by the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Culture. Nordland County Council, section for Arts and Culture, supports the participation for artists based in Nordland.

HC Gilje, Barents (Mare Incognitum), commissioned for Dark Ecology Journey 2015, Nikel Russia. Photo by the artist

34 / ANNUAL REPORT 2015 SONIC ACTS 2015 IN NUMBERS 4. SONIC ACTS 2015 IN NUMBERS

Sonic Acts Festival visitors: 9.224 Sonic Acts events visitors: 2.362 Vertical Cinema visitors: 2.119 Dark Ecology events visitors: 1.348

SONIC ACTS Sonic Acts portal website: Audience Sonic Acts Festival The Geologic 19.324 visitors Imagination. Photo by Pieter Kers 12.012 unique visitors 36.434 page views

Sonic Acts festival 2015 website: 34.880 visitors 20.248 unique visitors 129.099 page views Facebook page: 7.249 fans (+1.962 in 2015) and with posts reaching up to 9.022 people Twitter: 4.187 followers (+1.216 in 2015) Flickr: approximately 480.943 views in total (+147.521 in 2015) Newsletter: nearly 2.600 recipients Vimeo: 249 videos (+ 84 in 2015), 20.350 plays in 2015

VERTICAL CINEMA Vertical Cinema website: 10.960 visitors 9.385 unique visitors 18.926 page views Facebook page: 573 fans (+425 in 2015) and with posts reaching up to 1.372 people

DARK ECOLOGY Dark Ecology website: 14.339 visitors 9.990 unique visitors 33.689 page views Facebook page: 1.636 fans (+755 in 2015) and with posts reaching up to 2.950 people Newsletter: 669 recipients (+422 in 2015)

SONIC ACTS Weteringschans 6-8 1017 SG Amsterdam The Netherlands

www.sonicacts.com www.verticalcinema.org www.darkecology.net Photo nextThe Geologic unearthed , Sonic page: Acts Festival BJ Nilsen and Karl Lemieux, Kers Pieter Photo by aan ‘t Amsterdam. IJ Muziekgebouw Imagination , 27 February 2015,

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