OPEN CALL: SYMPOSIUM VAŠULKAS RELOADED/ Vašulka Kitchen Brno
OPEN CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS
SYMPOSIUM VAŠULKAS RELOADED
Vašulka Kitchen Brno — Center for New Media Art 22. –23. 10. 2024
In December of 2023 three exhibitions presenting the work of Steina and Woody Vašulka and their contemporaries and ensuing generations of artists took place at the Brno House of Arts and Vašulka Kitchen Brno. This fall, we are returning to the Vašulkas work as part of an upcoming symposium VAŠULKAS RELOADED, which will be devoted to the critical evaluation of their work and their significant contribution to the art world including the subject of open archives.
Steina and Woody Vasulkas have always encouraged the idea of an open archive, one that is freely accessible and that can be transformed into a site of collaboration for a wide range of interested parties. They conceived their own archive (vasulka.org) containing contextual material from early video art on an unprecedented scale including personal letters, photographs, grant applications, exhibition costs, technical descriptions, and more. They gradually donated their digitized materials to various institutions and individuals with the hope that they would not only preserve but also disseminate and continue to work with them. These archives are now scattered in several international locations. In doing so, they also explored avenues that turned out to be less fruitful endeavors, such as the creation of a living archive in Second Life. Vašulka Kitchen Brno is also one of the sites where the Vašulka's archive is being processed, where the digitized materials are accessible to all those interested in research related studies.
We welcome proposals for contributions to the symposium on related topics, such as:
- the work of Steina and Woody Vasulka in international archives and databases
- the historical and contemporary possibilities of "open archives" as sites of collaboration
- specific examples of work with Vašulka archives and/or their contemporaries
- possibilities of collaboration through online archives
- reception of the work of Steina and Woody Vasulkas in the Czech and Slovak environment and abroad
- reflection on working with historical and contemporary analog and digital instruments and software
The conference will include a two-day exhibition and projection of works inspired by or referring to the work of Steina and Woody Vasulka including works from their archive. THe program will consist of presentations by invited speakers as well as contributions selected on the basis of the open call.
The expected length of the contribution is 20 minutes.
The symposium is intended for the professional and lay public, including students and researchers in the field of art and technology, archiving and digitization.
Participants in the symposium will receive an honorary.
Accommodation for the participants will be provided.
Contributions will be published in a reader in 2025.
Please send your proposals for participation in the symposium in the range of 1 NP, in Czech, Slovak, or English by filling out the online form here by 7/31/2024.
The symposium will take place at Vašulka Kitchen Brno (Dům pánů z Kunštátu, Dominikánská 348/9, Brno, Czech Republic).
Photo: Steina and Woody Vašulka, Vocabulary, video, 1973, Vašulka Archive