[spectre] 6th VIDEOMEDEJA, Novi Sad, 26-28 April 2002

[VideoMedeja]

JUGOSLOVENSKO UDRUZENJE ZA VIDEO UMETNOST VIDEOMEDEJA

YUGOSLAV VIDEO ART  ASSOCIATION  VIDEOMEDEJA

Dear, =20

I am writing to you in order to inform you that  The  Sixth International
Video Festival VideoMedeja will take a place in  Novi Sad from 26-28 April
2002.     Suggested but not obligatory subject of VideoMedeja  2002 is
TRANSITION.   Please enclose  entry form together with your material.   For
futher information about Programme 2002 see  below.     =20

VideoMedeja site will soon be updated with all the  information regarding
this year festival. Information about festivals 1996-2000 you can  already
find on: http://www.videomedeja.org.yu =20

Yours sincerely, =20
Ivana Sremcevic co-ordinator YVAA  VideoMedeja



JUGOSLOVENSKO UDRUZENJE ZA VIDEO UMETNOST VIDEOMEDEJA
YUGOSLAV VIDEO ART ASSOCIATION VIDEOMEDEJA

Katolicka porta 5, 21000 Novi Sad, Yugoslavia
fax:+381 (0) 21 611 028
tel: +381 (0) 64 137 20 88
e-mail: videomed@neobee.net
http://www.videomedeja.org.yu




=85 V i d e o M e d e j a  i s  t h e  o n l y   i n t e r n a t i o n a l
f e s t i v a l  o f   v i d e o  a r t
i n  F R Y  a n d  h a s  b e e n  s u c c e s f u l l y   r e a l i z e d
f o r   a l r e a d y   f i v e  y e a r s



Yugoslav Video Art Association VideoMedeja is an independent,
non-governmental, non-profit and non-partisan association of citizens. It
was established in 1998. in Novi Sad with following goals:

=85 afirmation, presentation and popularization of video art and new forms o=
f
art, with a particular interest in works of female artists
=85 technical and technological improvement in video and other art productio=
n
in FRY
=85 enhancement of distribution of Yugoslav artists' work here and abroad, a=
s
well as distribution of foreign artists' work in FRY
=85 publishing and production of videos of Yugoslav and foreign artists
=85 co-operation and association with related organizations in FRY and abroa=
d

 Basic programme activities of VideoMedeja are:
=85 organization of festival, para-theatrical events, performances,
installations, multimedia spectacles, expert's  conferences, councils,
workshops, study visits in VideoMedeja domain
=85 publishing activities (publication and distribution  of catalogues,
magazines, books, CDs, movies, videos and audio tapes)


THE FIFTH VIDEO SUMMIT VIDEOMEDEJA:

In co-operation with Cultural Centre Novi Sad, YVA VideoMedeja realized The
=46ifth International Video Summit VideoMedeja from 1. to 3. december 2000.

In categories already typical for festival (video, video performance, video
installation, CD ROM and web presentation) 43 works were presented in
official programme while 54 works of artists from Europe, America, Asia and
=46RY were presented in accompanying non-competitive programme. In the
off-programme following projects were presented;

authorial presentations:

Breda Beban (HR/UK) and Perry Bard (USA)
Isabelle Froment (FR) and Dragana Zarevac (FRY)


presentations:

CD C3 Centre for Culture and Communication from Budapest/ Andrea Sekeres (HU=
);
Catalogue and CD " Videodocument" /Zemira Alajbegovic (SLO);
project =ABCo.operation=BB /Rosana Ratkovcic (HR);
distributor =ABHeure Exquise=BB / Thierry Destriez (FR);
Centre for Contemporary Art from Belgrade/ Dejan Sretenovic;
selection of festivals "Videoarcheology" from Bulgaria and "VideoGONG" from
Slovenia.
Videos =ABSerbian millenium bug=BB by Aleksandar Karisik and Dragan Zivancev=
ic,
and "Life" by Szilard Antala (Hammer Creative from Novi Sad) were premiered
during the festival.

Taking into consideration numerous problems of cultural life during
transitional period, two sessions of round-table discussion with six
different subjects were held:

=85 Creation of destruction - the art of former Yugoslavia (introduction by
Dejan Sretenovic and Zorica Jevremovic)
=85 International forum of feminist art and theory (introduction by Rosana
Ratkovcic)
=85  Feministic theory and practice in local politics' network (introduction
by Svenka Savic)
=85 Cultural institutions today - their transformations and models of
presentation (introduction by Dragan Sreckov)
=85 Possibilities of introducing video into mediamarket of new Yugoslavia:
ways and consequences (intoduction by Thierry Destriez)
=85 Ethics of future: art and capital in post-industrial society
(introduction by Biljana Tomic, Perry Bard and Zemira Alajbegovic)

The jury consisted of Perry Bard(USA), Thierry Destriez(FR) and Milica
Mrdja Kuzmanov(FRY) awarded the following authors:
The Sphinx statuette award for the authorial opus was awarded to Breda Beban=
;
Isabelle Hayeur(CAN), Renata Poljak(CRO) and Gabrijela Vasic(FRY) received
VideoMedeja plaquette.
The =ABBogdanka Poznanovic=BB award for the best young author went to Mia
Stojanovic(FRY)


MONOGRAPH =ABVideoMedeja 1996-2000=BB:

As an evidence of five years of VideoMedeja activities we published
collection of texts =ABVideoMedeja 1996-2000=BB (300 copies) about festival
itself - authopoetical essays written by the most prominent authors -
participants of the festival, and theoretical essays on new media arts. The
presentation of this monograph will take place at festival in 2002.

=46ESTIVAL'S ACTIVITIES NETWORK:

Important part of VideoMedeja's activities are presentations of the
festival. VideoMedeja has been offered to co-operate with leading European
distributors which is an outstanding opportunity for the festival and its
participants to promote not only their activities but our country also. We
consider it of a huge importance to continue and intensify  this kind of
practice, so making a permanent effort in order to develope a network of
familiar organizations, which aims are similar to VideoMedeja's ones, is an
inevitable part of VideoMedeja's activities.
Sudden upsurge in interest  of other cultural centres followed with
numerous presentations of VideoMedeja:
VideoMedeja was presented in Great Britain on one of the most prominent
European video festival =ABVideoPositive=BB in Liverpool and Manchester; It
also took part in off-programme in FIAT Podgorica, all night programme in
BITEF theatre, Konkordija in Vrsac; As the only programme from former
Yugoslavia we took part in Meeting Point in Sarajevo; VideoMedeja
participated in The First Symposium of European Video Festivals in Hungary,
Sofia, Labin, Bucurest; In INTERSTANDING festival in Estonia VideoMedeja
was presented among others credited for development of video art.
We should also mention programme co-operation with Goethe Institute, French
Cultural Centre, REX and Remont from Belgrade and support given from
Executive Committee of Novi Sad Assembly, KulturKontakt, Mamacash
=46oundation and Fund for an Open Society.

ANNUAL PROGRAMME:

During 2000 VideoMedeja, in co-operation with Photo Video Cinema
Association of Vojvodina, organized weekly programmes. A large number of
people who regulary attended these events suggested us that this kind of
practice should be revived. Unfortunately, those programmes were stopped
due to breaking the terms of contract which regulated use of the premises.
Annual activities of VideoMedeja will include complex contents such are
presentations, projections, lectures and workshops which will take place in
the new premises. Many Yugoslav and international artists, lectures and
analysts are expected to take part in those programmes in order to realize
VideoMedeja's primar aims which consist of explanation of basic notions in
video art and presenting the possibilities of new media. The large
VideoMedeja's archive, established as a gesture of participants' good will
as their reaction on VideoMedeja's obeying copyrights laws, will be at
disposal.

programmes realized from October 2001 till January 2002:

premiere "Be My Guest"- Tanja Ostojic                (video performance)
"Documents from Tokyo"- Mileta Postic               (video, photos,
broshures, lecture)
web.art- Andrej Tisma                                         ( internet
art presentation)



VIDEO PRODUCTION:

=ABAmarisima=BB- Milica Mrdja Kuzmanov, 1999.
*video is dedicated to art scene of 70's - with the stress on Katalin Ladik
whose activities largely contributed to authenticity and reputation of that
scene and who anticipated new forms of art, which presents the starting
point of nowadays highly respected and influential form of art - video art.

Apart from the festival preparations, our premises, due to permanent
co-operation with professional camerman Zeljko Mandic, will be used at the
same time as a studio (light, background) with professional equipment for
video production (DV camera) and post-production (DV editing), and for
various programmes hold during the year. Special part of VideoMedeja
activities is production of video works by artists from FRY which will be
premiered on festival 2002.

Creating conditions for production, VideoMedeja offers possibilities for
realisation of its basic concept - in form of video art, video
installations, video performance, new media.

During January 2002. VideoMedeja produced new video by Tanja Ostojic =ABI'll
be your Angel=BB
*video resulted from archive materials from Venice Bienalle 2002. and will
be premiered in Zagreb (March 2002.), and in FRY on festival VideoMedeja
(April 2002.)


PROGRAMME CONCEPTION OF THE SIXTH INTERNATIONAL VIDEO FESTIVAL VIDEOMEDEJA
2002:

APRIL 26th 27th and 28th  2002; CULTURAL CENTRE NOVI SAD

subject: TRANSITION
>>            Association/Festival VideoMedeja has realised its first five
>>editions in specific socio-hystorical context, and, due to this, it was
>>forced to develop, beside professional, an enthusiastic way of
>>functioning. This meant reliance on the support from international
>>organizations dedicated to activities towards democratization of a
>>society, help from critics and artists friendly oriented towards our
>>situation which sometimes caused ad-hoc preparations of the festival and
>>making last-minute decisions. Since social conditions has been thoroughly
>>changed, VideoMedeja must become truly professional institution, governed
>>by internationally recognized artists, professional and skilled in
>>matters of organizing artistic events and manifestations. These changes
>>in Association's functioning are reflection of transitional processes in
>>specific Yugoslav social context. At the same time, there is a clearly
>>visible need that this period of socio-economic changes should reflect on
>>festival also, as primar activity of Videomedeja. Transition is here
>>understood in its wider meaning , not only as an economical and political
>>process, but also as numerous phenomena which relates on the way of
>>creating, presenting of work of art and defining the art market, change
>>of artist's role in a society , change of content of the work of art, and
>>finally change of artist's personality and there attitude towards world,
>>body, gender and art.
In that way, transition is, in both formal and essential meaning, the
crucial moment of this year festival.

Tradition of holding the festival every first weekend in December was
interruprted due to Associations's decision not to go into realization of
the festival without essential working conditions (premises, telefon).
Owing to city's Committee for Culture and Cultural Centre of Novi Sad,
Association was enabled to continue with its activities in premise of
Cultural Centre of Novi Sad, so the festival has been postponed for 26th,
27th and 28th April 2002.

Regarding programme, sixth video festival VideoMedeja keeps its basic
festival focus: presenting new videos and related media forms. Due to
succesfull attempt in 1997. (in 1996. only videos made by participants from
Central and Eastern Europe were presented, while since 1997. list of
participants includes artists from all over the world) we are planning to
continue with these practice, not only because of comparisons of artistic
achievements and gaining an adequate and realistic picture of state of
video art nowadays, but also for pointing out the most important features
of current technological development of this media, which proved to be
benefitial for Yugoslav and other Eastern European artists. Besides this
programme dimensions which drew attention of public, authors and critics,
we will make an endavour regarding strengthening infrastructure of the
festival (premises+phone+stuff) in order to keep festival's continuity. The
forthcoming festival is opportunity to present monograph =ABVideoMedeja
1996-2000=BB.
In comparison with previous festivals various inovations will be introduced:

highly selected and segmented main programme (official selection in
competition for awards) and equally structured, problematically based
accompanying programmes.

presentation of the new tendencies which are noticeable in bringing few
media together with stress on more popular forms which would be a
contribution in the creation of contents familiar to young audience from
whom is expected an active participation during the festival (for instance,
mix of electronic music and video, computer animation, video games,
examples of interactive installations etc.) It is our aim to break existing
taboos conected with new techologies and to make youth familiar with new
media.

curator: Dragana Zarevac
the board of the festival: Vera Kopicl, Zoran Pantelic and Dragan Zivancevic
co-ordinator: Ivana Sremcevic
contact person: Ivana Sremcevic  tel: +381(64) 137 20 88; e mail:
ivasfilm@yahoo.com