n a m e
----------------------------------
NOMAD


i n t r o d u c t i o n
----------------------------------
The aim of this project is to develop one overnight action based on the
contents of the included artists, but unlike similar projects, without
interference of non suitable music or art styles. Depending on the number of
currently involved artists and additional programs it could also take more
days of activity. The principal goal of this project is to create an open
electronic art performance platform disconnected from any particular space or
location, but built around artists and their work.

Into this first phase the core group is forced to communicate the future
playground of events - multiple into content, locations, time and amount
of acting artists.


c o r e g r o u p
----------------------------------
It is our intention to build and develop strong audiovisual collaboration
project, which will be created, developed and moderated by a core group of
artists already gathered around basic platform constructed by KDES
(kosmoplovci, Serbia) and In-dust (Austria).

The core group plan is to constantly develop itself between and during public
events and work on finding and including other interested groups and
individuals to the festival core.


some historical facts
---------------------------------
In the year 2000 Helmut Schäfer and Igor Djordjevic (of KDES) had been members
of the art Project 'hExpo 2000'. During the self organised art activities of
sixty members over three Slovenian cities (Maribor, Koper and Ljubljana) each
sensible artist could recover the East - West difference in between the
entrance and view over arts. Basically this difference was given on one side
by the culture political structures of West Europe and on the other by the
nearby non existing structures in the East. This fact forced the most of the
east artists to mainly focus on their self education, content and statement.

Comparing with the most of the western artist into this project the east artists
had been more into the use of electronic medias to produce an artistic output,
like also in the basically technology of networks and internet.
This deepens on the positive use of time during the isolating Balkan war.

In the May of 2003 In-dust (curator Christian Schiller) organised an art event
in Graz called In-dust. In-dust invited KDES, Helmut Schäfer and other artists
to produce an one night event of video and sound. It was asked to develop
group activities like embedded solo acts of the different project members.
Interactions in between the difference of each was used to construct an
multilayered impression for the visitor. The experience and colaboration that
arouse from this event has created the ground stone for the current project
and future visions.


f i r s t p h a s e
----------------------------------
First phase of this platform is to cross the old east countries and Austria,
during which time it should grow and expand. This would be done actively
through collaboration projects of a core group with local institutions,
artists and artist groups. The constant focus of project is on the possibility
to support and integrate local artists to extend the performance group. This
communication would be provided within workshops, lectures and exchange
whenever there is interest and possibility, depending on the amount of support
of local organising at a particular space and event.

With the initiation of the project, the appropriate web site will follow the
project development and support it with information and image but also with
digital music and video downloads connected to the project, including member
contributions and recorded documentation. Depending on possibilities, web site
will also try to maintain live streams from the venues.

events in planning
October 2004 Graz co-produced by 'Kulturzentrum bei den Minoriten'
October 2004 Krakow, curator Stephen Barkley
November/December 2004 Belgrade


t i m e f r a m e
----------------------------------
The project is not planned to last a certain time, it will develop constantly
and slowly, depending only on the time needed to find appropriate space and
sponsors.


n e x t p h a s e
----------------------------------
After the first phase (old east and Austria) the project should try to detach
from it's area and move wherever possible. In first period this would probably
take in count European countries primarily, but our project's aim is to go
over the political borders and make our 'nomad' festival global and trans
national.


f o r m   o f    f u n c t i o n
----------------------------------
Every single member of this project will use his personal contacts to find
collaborators to fix new activities and location. So all in all it is planned
like an self-organised art forum.


m e m b e r o p i n i o n s (1)
----------------------------------
So again why all this?
(Helmut Schäfer)

The experience I got in between my personal activities into art is that the
most electronic audio video festivals even like some art festivals are often a
mixture of some interesting works and more and less commercial entertainment.
The most worse fact is that this commercials are covering time and financial
possibilities which could get used for serious future orientated art productions.

From time to time I had to learn that the audience is in the case of art
interest and understanding better developed as some curators. This means
there is audience which seems to be already searching for real intense
impressions and not for tasty fancy senseless acts and products.

Artists which comes from the field of contemporary arts, computer science, and
very well self-educated ones which take no care about how stylish a
work can get, no which are using personal inputs by politics, human society
development, and others as an impulse for their artistic creativity are asked.
-like asked to participate the idea of the NOMAD project.


m e m b e r o p i n i o n s (2)
----------------------------------
And why do we need another multimedia festival?
(Igor Djordjevic/KDES)

Most, if not all of the current electronic festivals are organised by people
who don't have any direct touch with the content, which results in hundreds of
'festivals' based primarily around FORM rather than CONTENT. The organizers of
these events don't 'waste' much time figuring out the quality of the work, but
rather accept anything looking or sounding 'electronic', which is a dangerous
trap because computers are nowadays parts of our everyday life, and not every
photoshop picture or mp3 file is computer art only because it is made on
computer... there are certain amount of 'artists' who defend their primitive
computer-based work with big stories and concepts, but large amount of that is
just overstated and overused talk - badly, if anyhow supported in their work.

As a result, events are filled up with work which don't fit to each other and
only generate confusion to the visitor who leaves the place without any
concept of understanding. Instead of using the festival occasion to accent
certain ideas and possibilities, and to move on to another level on the next
occasion, most festivals are circling in their endless loops that look more
like 'filling up space and time' than having any concept behind, rounding
their selection mostly to mainstream, widely known names, without any real
understanding of electronic media and it's possibilities. Sometimes some
quality work gets in there by some lucky stream of events, but it's meaning
and effect is often completely cancelled and compromised with other
performances, often happening on the same evening.

With this attitude and practice, positive developments in the field of
electronic art are inertly neglected, and our goal with this festival is to
try to fix that situation, to go around the world with carefully selected
group of dedicated artists, to meet others who share these views and to create
the solid platform which could provide the chance to the world to see and feel
how far can we really get by using technology creatively.

For us it is also very important to work on changing the wrong public
impression that electronic art is soulless. This basic idea is one of the key
elements to all kosmoplovci public activities, including this festival.


c o n t a c t
----------------------------------
KDES
mailto:kdes@kosmoplovci.net
http://kdes.kosmoplovci.net

Helmut Schäfer
mailto:red.cross@nextra.at
http://www.post-concrete.com/helmut/

kosmoplovci
mailto:kosmoplovci@kosmoplovci.net
http://www.kosmoplovci.net

in-dust
http://www.in-dust.org

Karl Jensac
mailto:Karl.jensac@gmx.at

Stephen Barkley
mailto:pencilfight@yahoo.com