tag: Curation

In the selection process for Patterns and Process I wanted to take broad look at algorithmic art. We typically associate the term algorithm with digital art, and perhaps more recently with artificial intelligence, but at its most basic interpretation an algorithm can be a simple set of rules or instructions for a machine or human to execute.

In Patterns and Process I have selected works which show different interpretations of algorithms and how they are implemented across practices including digital art, print, textiles, and graphic design.

(Algo|Afro) Futures was a mentoring programme for early career UK-based Black artists interested in exploring creative coding and live coding. The programme ran over four editions between 2021 - 2025.

Live coding is a performative practice where artists and musicians use code to create live music and live visuals. This is often done at electronic dance music events called Algoraves, but live coding is a technique rather than a genre, and has also been applied to noise music, choreography, live cinema, and many other time-based artforms.

If you are an artist, then you have no doubt copied the work of others. This copying can range from using pages from a magazine in collage, adopting the style of an artist, or simply being inspired by the work of an artist. This natural process of copying, taught to us at every stage of our artistic development, is burdened by a very complex and messy set of laws and social conventions which define and limit how we can use copying within our practices. These don’t take into account exceptions or nuances, and come from a historical world where artworks were scarce physical objects, and don’t translate well into a world where culture is abundant and can be accessed and copied at will.

Rules of Engagement presents the work of three artists whose collective works make a case for ethical practices when working with data.

Following numerous scandals involving data towards the end of the 2010s the industry is now being forced to ask critical questions about its data collection and handling practices, and to consider embedding ethical practices at all stages. The old model of ‘move fast and break things’ has brought with it accelerated innovation but also an increased risk of data mishandling and misuse, leading to real-world implications for often already marginalised groups of people.

The second a-n Assembly event for 2018 will take place at Eastside Projects in Birmingham, an artist-led gallery space established in 2008. Working in collaboration with artist and curator Antonio Roberts, Assembly Birmingham will address the increasing amount of development taking place across the city and the Midlands as a whole, exploring both the opportunities and the challenges this presents for the visual arts community in the region.

In 2017 Arts Council England invested £90 million in Birmingham-based National Portfolio Organisations, while the government’s multi-billion-pound investment in high-speed railway HS2, which is due to open in December 2026, will reshape the city’s landscape. Numerous artist-led galleries and commercial creative industries, including Eastside Projects, have established a presence in the Digbeth area of Birmingham in recent years, taking advantage of low rents, large spaces and close proximity to the city centre. While an ongoing redevelopment scheme for Digbeth and the wider city reflects the city’s ambition to grow and regenerate, what impact will these changes have for artist residents?

No Copyright Infringement Intended is a group exhibition exploring the relationship between copyright and culture in the digital age, investigating how the concept of ownership and authorship is evolving and coming into conflict with outdated copyright and intellectual property laws.

Since the 1990s the internet has provided the opportunity for mass copying, redistribution and remixing of content – profoundly changing the way culture is produced and shared and sparking legal battles and debates that still rage on. Today, the increasing availability of technologies like 3D scanning and 3D printing have extended the ability to digitally copy and reproduce to the physical realm.

Algorave returns to Birmingham on 3rd December to close Vivid Projects’ 2016 exhibition season.

An Algorave is a party where electronic music is generated live from algorithms. The word was coined around 2012, initially as a joke, but has since taken hold with Algoraves taking place in over 40 cities around the world.

At an Algorave the creation of algorithms are brought into the experience of the music itself. This is done using specially made “Live Coding” environments such as SuperCollider, TidalCycles, Gibber, ixi lang and Extempore. This processed opened up by projecting the code on screens around the venue, so audience members can see how the music they hear is being made. This is often complimented by algorithmically generated visuals projected alongside the code.

Stealth presents recent work by UK and international artists critiquing surveillance culture and the invasive and pervasive technologies that shape our daily interactions. Utilising a variety of media including installations, video, social media and software, the exhibition explores how technology affects and disrupts our perceptions of privacy.

µChip comes to Birmingham for a 3-day event celebrating Chiptune music, digital art, hacking, modified hardware and unconventional approaches to making music and visual art. µChip 3 will feature hands-on hacking workshops and demos alongside an exhibition of vintage computers, digital art, video screenings, and performances from a range of local, national and international Chiptune musicians. The ambition is to inspire and empower participants of all ages to engage with creative media in new and unconventional ways.

Black Hole Club is a lively, daring space for creative people - artists, designers, curators and writers and more - in the West Midlands to share and test ideas. Members receive support to develop their practice and are encouraged to explore new areas, including but not limited to digital art, live performance, experimental audio, film and video, animation, and computer-generated art.

Vivid Projects’ acclaimed 33 REVOLUTIONS programme concludes this winter with Bring Your Own Beamer, a one-night celebration of the projected image curated by Antonio Roberts with assistance from Pete Ashton.

Armed with projectors, artists are invited to beam responses to 33 REVOLUTIONS in Vivid Projects’ space.

An engaging day of performances and interactive installations from digital artists, hacktivists and new media explorers from the West Midlands, Chicago and beyond. Artworks take the form of hacked and customised hardware, accessories, demos, lectures, data-mangling, projection and more!

This eclectic, expectation bending event is presented by Vivid Projects in association with artist/curator Antonio Roberts and The Barber institute of Fine Arts.

Dirty New Media is presented as part of the University of Birmingham’s first Arts & Science Festival, a week long celebration of ideas, research and collaboration across campus.

In June 2012 TROVE, with Antonio Roberts, are hosting an exhibition about toys. This project leads on from the discovery that the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, where TROVE is based, used to produce more ’toys’ than jewellery, guns or pens during the industrial revolution; all things it is now more famously known for producing.

When researching what toys were produced in this area of Birmingham it was discovered that the term ‘toys’ was used to describe items such as buttons, cuff-links and belt buckles.

We are pleased to announce the Birmingham edition of Bring Your Own Beamer (BYOB), taking place on Friday 16th March at VIVID as part of Flatpack Festival. BYOB is an international series of one-night exhibitions inviting artists, armed with films and projectors, to convene and explore the art of projection in an immersive environment of moving light, sound and performance.

BYOB Birmingham is curated by Antonio Roberts (that’s me!) and Pete Ashton, and is presented by VIVID and Flatpack Festival BYOB is an idea originally conceived by Berlin-based artist Rafael Rozendaal.

Now in its second year, GLI.TC/H gathers a variety of participants + works + ideas from within glitch/dirty/experimental-new-media art communities into a multi-day & multi-format happening consisting of video screenings, real-time performances, workshops, lectures, panels, a gallery exhibition and on-going online components. Thinkers and artists; Makers and breakers converge to celebrate technological catastrophe. A glitch is a moment known to everyone but enjoyed by few. GLI.TC/H brings together those inspired/curious/provoked by glitches and provides a platform to break things, share thoughts, and develop ideas.