Concrete and Glass

at 20 HOXTON SQUARE PROJECTS (free entry):
6.30-9.30PM
HEART OF GLASS (group exhibition) – ground floor
Curated by Flora Fairbairn and Paul Hitchman
in collaboration with Adam Waymouth

KATE MccGWIRE – foyer
Solo presentation of art by previous Heart of Glass winning artist

SHOP + OFFICE – first floor
curated by Hannah Barry in assocation with murmurART

8.30PM
TECHNO HARMONIUM, a live performance by Felix Thorn and digital visuals artists Weirdcore, curated by LUMIN

at HOXTON BAR & KITCHEN (doors 8pm, tickets £5.00):
9.00PM
THE OWL PROJECT

10.00PM
VOLCANO THE BEAR live soundtrack to FISCHLI AND WEISS’S THE WAY THINGS GO

Concrete and Glass 2010 launches on Thursday 13th May with the first of a series of specially commissioned live performances at Hoxton Bar & Kitchen and 20 Hoxton Square Projects, in Hoxton Square, east London.

Commissioned especially for Concrete and Glass, with support from Sound and Music:

VOLCANO THE BEAR live soundtrack to FISCHLI AND WEISS’S THE WAY THINGS GO
THE OWL PROJECT
Thursday 13th May 2010 at Hoxton Bar and Kitchen (doors 8pm, tickets £5)

Tickets from:
See Tickets
0870 264 3333

Ticket Web
08444 771 000

Arch experimentalists VOLCANO THE BEAR will provide a live soundtrack to Fischli and Weiss’s acclaimed chain reaction film, The Way Things Go. This will be a one-off gig, and will be performed by Aaron Moore and Daniel Padden. Volcano The Bear’s own music is an often-absurd meeting of unlikely instruments, objects and sounds. Narratives and momentum are created and sabotaged, and accidents happen.

OWL PROJECT straddle the worlds of sound and visual art, with their peculiar sculptural musical instruments, including the mLog, their woodcraft interpretation of an iPod, which contrasts the disposability of modern technology with the labour intensive processes inherent in traditional handcraft objects. This group of process-orientated artists has recently won a coveted grant to create one of the major projects for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

Also on 13th May, at 20 Hoxton Square Projects, presented by LUMIN:
‘TECHNO HARMONIUM’ by FELIX THORN and WEIRDCORE.

Techno Harmonium is a collaboration between FELIX THORN and digital visuals artists WEIRDCORE. Used to doing reactive live visuals for cutting electronic acts and bands, Weirdcore have been asked to focus their attention on Felix’s new machine, the Harmonium. The piece will open with an improvised live visual and audio performance on the evening of 13th May followed by a weeklong installation.

Felix’s Harmonium is a kinetic musical sculpture. Characteristics of electronic synthesizers can be traced back to mechanisms in early organ designs. The Harmonium make use of these pre-existing mechanisms by automating them for performance. The design of this machine aims to not only to match, but also to surpass the human performer by enhancing the machine with LEDs and movement that creates a truly multi sensory performance on the demand. For Concrete and Glass Lumin has invited visual artists and programmers Weirdcore to create video response for the piece. This will add a truly digital dimension both as a performance and visual installation. The Harmonium will then become the ultimate performer.

We are very pleased to announce a second Concrete and Glass for 13th-27th May 2010 following the festival’s successful premiere in 2008.

As in 2008 Concrete and Glass will showcase innovative new talent in both music and contemporary art. This year’s focus is on specially commissioned new works, with an emphasis on the cross-over between music, art and performance. Details of the lineup of artists and special events will be announced soon.

The 2010 Concrete and Glass will take place in Hoxton Square, East London. The art exhibitions will be presented in collaboration with 20 Hoxton Square Projects and the Sound Art & Music performances will take place at Hoxton Bar & Kitchen.

The Sound Art & Music performances are being commissioned especially for Concrete and Glass by co-founder Tom Baker of Eat Your Own Ears, with support from Sound and Music (SAM). Full details of the lineup of these performances and ticket prices will also be announced soon.

The contemporary art aspect of the festival is being curated by Flora Fairbairn and Paul Hitchman. In addition the organisers have invited independent curators to contribute collaboratively to the event. These include Joana Seguro of Lumin and Sean McLusky and Martin Tickner of Neu Gallery. Other event partners include the Arts Council and murmurART.

At the heart of the art side of Concrete and Glass is Heart of Glass, an eclectic group show of new art. The works for the show will be chosen from an open submission process, in conjunction with murmurART and the Contemporary Art Society, and will feature both established and emerging artists. A panel of art experts will select a “winner” who will be offered a solo show at the following year’s festival.

For artists: open submission for Heart of Glass For more information on how to submit a proposal for Heart of Glass please contact will@concreteandglass.co.uk. The deadline for all submissions is 26th March 2010.

“Music-and-art-hybrid events in London are increasingly common these days, but you would be hard-pressed to find something so plugged in and comprehensive as Concrete and Glass.” The Independent

20 Hoxton Square Projects
20 Hoxton Square Projects is a collaborative project space with international reach, dedicated to showcasing the most exciting contemporary art, founded by Alex Dellal. Since its inception the gallery has gained a reputation as a dynamic creative hub, producing collaborative projects with established artists, galleries and guest curators. 20 Hoxton Square Projects is also committed to supporting young talent and its emerging artists programme is now run in association with murmurART.
www.20hoxtonsquare.com

Sound and Music
SAM presents fresh and challenging new music and sound through a range of live events, learning initiatives, digital projects and publications. The significant scale of the organisation enables it to make a major impact on public perceptions of contemporary music and sound. SAM explores all sorts of different and unexpected art forms. Engaging as many people as possible through its work, it is not afraid of complexity and risk-taking, but challenges the audience to listen in a new way. Recent projects include a collaboration with the Science Museum with a sell-out event to launch a new live arrangement of Brian Eno’s 1983 album Apollo. In April, Sound and Music will launch its new programme with a commissioned sound work by major contemporary artist Bill Fontana at Somerset House.

For more information contact:
Paul Hitchman – paul@concreteandglass.co.uk
Flora Fairbairn – info@florafairbairn.com
Tom Baker – tom@eatyourownears.com