Open Call - ANALOGUE EYE: Video Art Africa

Dear Artist,

I am curating a video art work screening of various artists working on the continent for the main programme of the annual National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa, July 2014.

The screening will be unique as the works will be will be shown in the form of two mobile drive-ins (a car with a projector mounted on the roof), one that is fixed at one prominent site and the other that moves to various public spaces. The drive-in will be authentic as possible as patrons will drive onto an open field where the sound will be broadcast to their car stereos and to stereos provided. The aim is to showcase work that gets very little exposure in galleries in South Africa and elsewhere on the continent. It will be open and free to the public and will be shown in public spaces that engage and expose video art directly to a wider audience.

The varying themes of the works that I am looking are quite broad but new or older work that considers nationality, identity and migration will be considered. I am looking at work that is no longer than 5-7 minutes (but may consider longer works) in digital format. Artists can submit up to three works each. The idea being that we could showcase a wide range of works from numerous African countries which are curated into a number of themed screenings.

The working title for the screening is: ANALOGUE EYE: Video Art Africa. The title pays homage to a handmade or hands-on way of film-making (much like I did as a young film-maker), using old VHS video cameras and equipment in really creative ways - not necessarily the way they were intended to be used. In this regard I have built the mobile drive-in with mostly upcycled materials and equipment. Analogue Eye also embraces a philosophy of ‘making it happen’ regardless of the situation you may find yourself in as an artist. The title refers to an ethos and way of working which many of us may subscribe to or identify with.

The National Arts Festival technical team will provide all technical needs such as HD projectors and screens but royalties will unfortunately not be paid.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the National Arts Festival which also coincides with 20 years of a democratic South Africa – so this year’s festival is set to be a hi-profile and significant event both nationally and internationally. With this in mind the drive-in theatre will be prominently positioned next to the main festival hub (The Foundation Monument) with large volumes of pedestrian and vehicle traffic.

I am very excited about the prospect of showing your work here and hope you are open to participating!!

If you are interested in participating, please email me back (B.Meistre[at]gmail.com) and I will forward you further submission requirements and documentation.

Warmest regards,

Brent Meistre
Senior Lecturer
Rhodes University Fine Art Dept