bluedot announce headline Lovell Telescope projection artist and arts and culture programme
Daito Manabe, Compagnie de Quidams, The Kazimier, Handmade Parade and more join the line-up.
Renowned Japanese artist Daito Manabe is set to deliver a unique projection-mapped artwork at this year’s bluedot. In a world first use of live astronomical data, and working with the scientists at Jodrell Bank, he will transform the iconic Lovell Telescope into a vivid spectacle from 23:00 until 03:00 each night. This collaboration between world leading scientists and the award winning international artist will be the centrepiece of bluedot’s remarkable fusion of art, technology and the exploration of space.
The upcoming commission is part of Abandon Normal Devices’ COSMOS project – a flagship international art-science residency at Manchester’s Jodrell Bank Observatory.
The award winning Tokyo-Based Media Artist, DJ and Programmer, Daito Manabeand technicians from Rhizomatiks Research have been working with scientists during a residency at Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics in May 2017, before returning to Japan to create a new artwork to inspire audiences at bluedot festival in July.
Marking the 50th anniversary of the discovery of pulsars in 1967, the artists will use live data collected by the telescope to create a generative audio-visual artwork.
Gabrielle Jenks, Director of Abandon Normal Devices, said: “We are very excited to launch this international commissioning programme which celebrates the importance of artists in translating scientific data and asking critical questions about how our universe operates.”
Professor Teresa Anderson, Director of the Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre, added: “We are thrilled to be welcoming COSMOS, our new artist residency programme to Jodrell Bank Observatory. Working with the teams at Abandon Normal Devices and bluedot, the programme provides an innovative and inspiring approach to engaging visitors directly with research taking place here at Jodrell Bank. As we mark the steel giant’s 60th year, we are thrilled to showcase the Lovell Telescope in a unique marriage of art and science.”
Said bluedot organiser Ben Robinson: “The announcement of this commission signifies an outstanding commission concept, fusing audio and visual art, scientific data and computer programming. We are honoured to welcome an international artist of such standing to bluedot. Coupled with the use of live data from the cosmos, this truly represents an artwork of global ambition.“
Elsewhere across the arts and culture programme is internationally acclaimed French theatre company, Compagnie De Quidams, who will host their ephemeral performance ‘Herbert’s Dream’ on the opening night of the festival. Illuminated, unearthly and entrancing, and appearing on the Friday night only, this unique and other-worldly parade is certain to be a bluedot highlight. Joined by UK company Handmade Parade, who will be working with local Crewe school Beechwood Primary in the creation of pulsar-inspired lanterns for the procession, festival-goers can expect a truly luminous display following Friday’s headline set by the Pixies.
Last year’s popular Outer Space area returns to the Arboretum with new multi-sensory artworks and installations. Outdoor Arts experts Walk the Plank are once again producing this immersive celestial experience and inviting festivalgoers to get closer to the cosmos with fire, sound and light installations.
This year the unique area breaks new ground, premiering three new commissions; a bespoke fire installation, created by Walk the Plank with Hannelora Johansson, Night Chorus by Kazimier Productions and TrOnion by Ian Broscomb’s.
As night falls explorers will be able to navigate an atmospheric fiery terrain, as Walk the Plank bring their pyrotechnic expertise to the Outer Space. Fire installations flicker like solar flares on the sun’s surface and the Circle of Fire will provide a space for late-night stargazing and cosmic reflection.
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Taking place 7-9 July at Jodrell Bank, the Cheshire observatory at the cutting edge of humanity’s quest for knowledge, bluedot is a three-day festival of discovery that promises to fuse a complex mix of artists, speakers, scientists and performers into an event unlike any on earth.
Full weekend camping tickets are now on sale and start from £159 outright cost or £59 for an individual day ticket.
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