PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE: WHAT IS TIME-BASED MEDIA | MARCH 2019

"The perception of temporal duration is crucially bound up with memory. It can be understood as a feature of our memory of an event and it is perhaps specifically our memory of the beginning and end of the event that allows us to form a belief about its duration.” *

*(Adapted from “The Experience and Perception of Time”, Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy, Robin Le Poidevin, 2015)

Questions about the role and relationship of duration and memory have been, and will continue to be a central concern to artists working within time-based media, a term first coined by David Hall in the 1970’s. Since those early days when film cameras and video first became generally available, to the present day when new social platforms have become common place, publication and distribution of time-based mediais now in the grasp of everyone. Most people carry phones that record images, sound and moving image at a quality that is breathtaking, the means of production and distribution have become more accessible. (Needs a sentence relating this to contemporary arts practice?)

The afternoon began with a rough history of video art by artist and writer Chris Meigh-Andrews who also will chair the programme, followed by presentations by Larry Achiampong, Jane England, Keith Piper and Lois Keidan. The invited speakers were asked to present their own personal ideas and approaches to issues that are relevant to their practice. This will be followed by a discussion about past, present and future of time-based media. 

The strangelove project team 2019; Karen Pamplin-Browne, Faye Golley, Like Jones and Philippa Wall programmed and curated events, screenings and talks. This was the first strangelove symposium in Folkestone.

Chris Meigh-Andrews is an artist and writer and Professor Emeritus of Electronic & Digital Art at the University of Central Lancashire. He is the author of A History of Video Art, which explores the origins of video art and how new technologies continue to change and alter the way that artists and audiences engage with the media.

Larry Achiampong is an artist who’s solo and collaborative projects employ imagery, aural and visual archives, live performance and sound to explore ideas surrounding class, cross-cultural and post-digital identity.

Jane England is gallery director/curator of England & Co.  England will be discussing her work with with artist Tina Keane who is a forerunner of multimedia art in the UK, has worked with film, video, digital media, neon sculpture, installation and performance.

Keith Piper is a British artist, curator, researcher and academic. Piper’s work explores the issues of racial, gender and class identity using painting, sculpture and photography with digital and interactive technologies in his work and explore 

Lois Keidan is a co-founder and the Director of the Live Art Development Agency (LADA) which develops specialized resources, opportunities, projects and publishing activities for artists, audiences, students, researchers, teachers, writers, producers and promoters in the UK and internationally.

Thanks to Creative Folkestone for their support for strangelove and big thanks to Cheryl Pierce, Louella Ward and the whole team at the Quarterhouse.

Symposium was filmed and editied by James Smith