PUSHING THE MEDIUM #2 SYMPOSIUM
September 15th to 24th 2006
Nodar (São Pedro do Sul), Viseu and Guarda

An event organized by Binaural Nodar in partnership with Binaural Nodar with Moks (Estonia) and Stazione di Topolò (Italy)

The “PUSHING THE MEDIUM #2” Symposium (PTM #2) is an initiative that brings together an international group of sound, visual and new media artists, which takes place in Nodar, S. Pedro do Sul, between September 15th and 24th. Through this event, we seek to challenge artists, social researchers and other participants from various areas and backgrounds, to think, question and interact with the PLACE – the landscape, the village, the social habitat… – as the primary material for work, through debates, creative interventions and artistic collaborations.

This second edition of the symposium is an invitation to bring contemporary artistic practice and reflection closer to rural areas, thus contributing to the appreciation of Nodar’s community space and understanding how the cultural development in rural areas is a fundamental and emerging issue.

The event includes public presentations in the village of Nodar and also in the cities of Guarda and Viseu, seeking to establish bridges and partnerships with projects and institutions that share the same motivation to intervene and invest socially and culturally in less favored regions.

ACTIONS, PERFORMANCES, CONCERTS

The symposium program brings together the development of short-term projects carried out in the village of Nodar and performative events in the cities of Guarda and Viseu, in the spaces of Teatro Municipal da Guarda and the Auditorium of the Instituto Português da Juventude de Viseu. On the weekend that culminates the Symposium, there will be installations, actions and other artistic interventions in the surroundings of the village of Nodar. Visitors will have the possibility to wander and discover the community of Nodar and some of the works developed, in the form of installations and performances.

CONFERENCES (Technology University of Viseu)

PTM #2 intends to promote knowledge and debate through a series of presentations by the participants involved in the event, focused both on the domain of the project carried out in Nodar as well as on previous experiences and projects. The objective of the conferences is to disseminate locally, namely to the young university public, the framework of the initiative, the path and motivation of the artists. The questions to be explored deal with the relationship between artistic practice and rural spaces, between the idea of “site-specific” practices and technology, between creative processes and habitat /communities.

ORGANIZATION, PARTNERSHIPS AND SUPPORT

PTM #2 is an organization of Binaural Nodar, a cultural association that since 2004 produces and develops artistic activities. Binaural Nodar is a non-profit organization dedicated to local and international cooperation in the fields of artistic, social and environmental research and is connected in partnerships with international organizations with similar purposes such as Moks (Estonia) and Stazione de Topolò (Italy).

The 2006 edition of the PTM has the financial support of the Instituto das Artes / Ministry of Culture.

Another relevant support is provided by the Portugal Telecom Foundation. In partnership with Binaural Nodar, the “The internet arrives at you” bus will be in the municipality of S. Pedro do Sul from September, 15th which is intended to sensitize the population from rural areas to new information technologies. During the presence of the bus in the Municipality of S. Pedro do Sul, in addition to basic training in the internet, the Binaural Nodar team will introduce young people to multimedia arts, through small exercises in capturing and editing sound and image.

ARTISTS PARTICIPATING IN THE SYMPOSIUM

Klaus Filip (Austria)
John Grzinich (USA / Estonia)
Antonio Della Marina (Italy)
Maksim Shentelev (Latvia)
Pablo Rega / Oscar de Paz (Spain)
Ingrid Quiroga / Cristina Tascón (Spain)
Silvia Zayas (Spain)
Roi Fernandez (Spain)
Iñaki Ríos / Nati Plasencia (Spain)
@C: Pedro Tudela / Miguel Carvalhais (Portugal)
Paulo Raposo (Portugal)
Rui Costa (Portugal)
André Gonçalves (Portugal)

CREDITS

ORGANIZATION
Binaural Nodar, in collaboration with Moks (Estonia) and Stazione di Topolò (Italy)

DIRECTION
General Coordination and Production Direction – Luís Costa
Artistic Direction – Paulo Raposo
Technical Direction – Rui Costa

PRODUCTION
Marta Fonseca
Manuela Barile
Krista Dragomer
Kurt Korthals
Adam Santiago

FUNDING
Institute of Arts / Ministry of Culture

SUPPORT
Portugal Telecom Foundation
Instituto Cervantes in Lisbon
Municipal Theater of Guarda
Technology University of Viseu
Portuguese Youth Institute – Viseu Delegation
Moks, Estonia