Art Not Oil

1.) http://climatechangeartists.com

 2.) DARK MOUNTAIN:

Dear friends,

Today, a small and possibly foolhardy group of us are going public with a new project we've been working on - an attempt to coax into being a new literary and artistic movement for an age of massive global change. We call it the Dark Mountain Project.

We are living in insecure and unprecedented times. A collapsing economy and a collapsing environment are turning all our assumptions on their heads. Nothing that we currently take for granted is likely to survive the 21st century unscathed. Civilisation as we have known it is coming apart at the seams.

We don't believe that anyone - not politicians, not economists, not environmentalists, not writers - is really facing up to the magnitude of this. We are all still wedded to the idea that the future will be an upgraded version of the present. It is in our cultural DNA. Perhaps this is why, as the warning signs flash out ever more urgently, we still go shopping, or plan for more economic growth, or campaign for new energy technologies, or write novels about the country house or the inner city.

A civilisation is built not on oil, steel or bullets, but on stories; on the myths that shore it up and the tales it tells itself about its origins and destiny. We believe that we have herded ourselves to the edge of a precipice with the stories we have told ourselves about who we are: the stories of 'progress', of the conquest of 'nature', of the centrality and supremacy of the human species.
We believe it is time for new stories. The Dark Mountain project aims to foster a new movement of writers, artists and creative thinkers, a new school of writing and art for an age of massive global disruption. We are calling it Uncivilisation.
Soon, we'll be launching the Dark Mountain Manifesto, as a hand-crafted pamphlet and on the web. At the same time, we will launch our website, an online gathering-place for discussing and plotting and crafting a new way forward. If enough people seem interested, we then plan to begin publishing a journal of Uncivilised art and writing.
For the moment, though, we are looking for support, potential collaboration and expressions of interest. The Dark Mountain Project is not a prescriptive attempt to tell people how to write or think, but the raising of a flag around which we hope like-minded people will gather. So we are looking for people who might want to be involved: writers, artists, illustrators, designers, thinkers - anyone with whom this strikes a chord.

If you think you are one of them, or if you'd just like to be kept informed about what we're up to, please visit our pre-launch website, where you can register your interest - or just reply to this email. You can also, if you are so inclined, join our Facebook group. And you can read more about the project on our fundraising site, where you can also, if you are feeling generous, make a contribution to the project. Every little will really help.

Thanks for reading.
Paul Kingsnorth & Dougald Hine
The Dark Mountain Project
www.dark-mountain.net

 

3.) Here is the blurb re. PLATFORM's involvement in DIY6:

PLATFORM's CLIMATE FOCUS
Usually, the DIYs are a completely open brief, but because of the huge
challenge and media focus on climate this year due to COP 15, PLATFORM
approached LADA with the proposal to support TWO projects which will focus
on climate justice. One can be from anywhere in the UK and the other
should come from the Bristol area.

We have an opportunity to share what is experienced and learnt on this
during our season of events at Arnolfini, Bristol in October (hence one
project to be emerging from Bristol area).

Take a look at the material below and the website, and we look forward to
reading your proposals.

DEADLINE 11th May. Spread the word.

------------------

Call For Proposals
DIY 6: 2009
Professional development projects BY artists FOR artists

Deadline for proposals: 11 May 2009

DIY 6 is an opportunity for artists working in Live Art to conceive
and run unusual training and professional development projects for
other artists.

DIY 6 builds on the strengths of previous DIY schemes which have been
rewarding experiences for project leaders, participants and organisers
alike.

DIY 6 is a Live Art Development Agency initiative developed in
collaboration with Artsadmin (national), New Work Network (national)
The Basement (South East), Colchester Arts Centre (East England),
Nuffield Theatre & LANWest (North West), and PLATFORM (South West and
national).

We want to hear from you if have an idea for an exciting, innovative
and idiosyncratic Live Art professional development project that
offers something new and is geared to the eclectic and often unusual
needs of artists whose practices are grounded in challenging and
unconventional approaches, forms and concepts.  If you think you can
initiate and run a DIY 6 professional development project then read
the full application guidelines on www.thisisLiveArt.co.uk

•    We are planning to support nine DIY 6 projects across England with
awards of £1,000 each.

•    Of these nine projects there will be one each specifically based in,
and/or stimulating and benefiting artists from, the North West, South
East, and East England. In a special one off initiative for DIY 6 we
are also seeking proposals to lead two DIY projects in collaboration
with PLATFORM which will address and revolve around the issue of
climate change and climate justice, one of which must take place in
Bristol. All other DIY 6 projects can take place anywhere in England.

•    All DIY 6 projects must take place between 1 August and 30 September
2009.

Full application guidelines are on www.thisisLiveArt.co.uk

Email versions of the guidelines can also be requested from
diy@thisisLiveArt.co.uk

I believe 'DIY for artists' is a really productive form of training,
as it is so specifically tailored to what I need.  I've been on many
training courses before but none that felt so relevant to me.  To
carry on the tailoring analogy - it's the difference between a bespoke
suit and an off the peg outfit!!  (Clare Thornton, DIY 1 participant)

I’ve learnt more in these three days than in the past six months.
(Casper Below, DIY 2 participant)

The workshops have refreshed my outlook and contexts for making and
performing artwork. (Jenny Edbrooke, DIY 3 participant)

As a way of creatively engaging with others this was very different
from anything I have experienced before. (Sarah Bell, DIY 4 participant)

We were invigorated, perplexed, well fed, exhausted, annoyed,
talkative, fit and sporty. We made some new friends and strengthened
our relationships with the others we knew from before. We worked hard
and had some fun. We wondered and wandered together. We considered
resistance and hope and are left with more than enough food for
thought. (DIY 5 participants on First Retreat then Advance!!)

Reports on all previous DIY schemes found on www.thisisLiveArt.co.uk

DIY 6 partners:

www.thisisLiveArt.co.uk
The Live Art Development Agency offers resources, professional
development schemes and curatorial and publishing initiatives to
support Live Art practices

www.artsadmin.co.uk
Artsadmin is a national resource offering advice and professional
development for artists within in the areas of live and performance
art, based in Toynbee Studios, London.

www.colchesterartscentre.com
Colchester Arts Centre: Never knowingly understood

www.nuffieldtheatre.com
The Nuffield Theatre Lancaster is a key UK venue for nurturing,
presenting and commissioning artists working in experimental theatre,
contemporary dance and live art.

www.thebasement.uk.com
The Basement is a dedicated innovative and experimental live art venue
with a regular programme for presenting national and international
performance.

www.platformlondon.org
PLATFORM combines art, research, campaigning and activism towards
social and ecological justice.

www.newworknetwork.org.uk
New Work Network supports the development of new performance, live and
interdisciplinary arts practices by nurturing arts practitioners
through the creation of innovative professional development activities
that focus on networking, exchange and collaboration across the UK and
internationally.

--

Lois Keidan
Live Art Development Agency
Rochelle School
Arnold Circus
London E2 7ES
United Kingdom

+ 44 20 7033 0275

lois@thisisLiveArt.co.uk
andrew@thisisLiveArt.co.uk
maria@thisisLiveArt.co.uk
info@thisisLiveArt.co.uk

www.thisisLiveArt.co.uk
www.thisisUnbound.co.uk

The Live Art Development Agency is an impressive, idiosyncratic
example of what a small organisation can achieve as collaborator,
conduit and cultivator. (Real Time, Sydney, Australia)