Chicago Art Parade

We posted some Chicago Art Parade pics at Flickr. Enjoy.

Versi9n flickr pool

Version Flickr Pool

On to day three of Version!

So far our opening events have been fantastic. WPA show rocked.
The Audacity of Art show opening was off the hook..Now we need to rock the benton house.
See you at the NFO XPO!

Version Officially started (for us)

Our friends Niels Post and Jeroen Kuster have arrived from The Netherlands yesterday.

They have already started blogging their adventures at trendbeheer.com, their artblog based in Rotterdam. We have already put them to work building the NFO XPO. Some holiday guys...

April 17, 2009 Big raffle art auction dealy

Friday April 17, 2009 7pm to midnight
@ Country Club
1100 N. Damen Ave
Chicago, IL 60622

The event is officially called "The Version Festival User-Directed Super Raffle and V-Bay Buy-it-Now Art Auction!"

We are holding an event this Friday to raise funds to pay for Version festival. http://www.versionfest.org.

The awesome must-have works and services are available due to the generosity of Version festival friends and participants. You can win something pretty amazing for just a few bucks. Or buy the work right off the wall. Check out the work here.

Featuring work by:
Cody Hudson
Juan Chavez
Michael T. Rea
Tyson Reeder
Aron Gent
John Duda
Rod Hunting
JJ Stratford
Rand Sevilla
Logan Bay
Adrianne Goodrich
Conrad Freiburg
Mathew Hoffman
Benjamin June
James Jankowiak
Mike Genovese
Albert Stabler
Stephanie Burke
Peter Skavara
Emily Clayton
Chris Robertson
Chad Kouri
Dave the Lightbulb Man
Seripop
and many others

The deal: Donate at the door and get raffle tickets ($5 for 2 tickets/ $10 for 5 tickets)
Put tickets in the envelopes underneath the items you want (art, objects, dates, services.) At 10:00 pm or so, winners will be drawn from each raffled item. You must be present when your ticket is drawn, or another winner will be chosen.

Or, if you really must have it, pull the ticket with the "BUY IT NOW" price, bring it to the Reception desk and pay cash (or check) on the spot.

Posters and postcards

Stop by C-PS on Saturday April 11, around 3pm-4pm to pick up some postcards and more event posters! we need those on the streets and on the floors of shops, cafes and bars everywhere!

Version is now officially in production. If you want to help us out please sign up at our Volunteer Site!

Version Meeting today Sunday April 6, 2009

We will meet at 5pm at the Co-Prosperity Sphere for a logistics meeting and to hand out Promotional material. LINKS TO promotional posters for the festival.

Needs your trash

Forward from Paul Sargent, participant in Version >09

Dear Chicago friends,

On April 18th, I'll be rolling into town to build a river out of trash for this year's Version festival (will look like a ground-up variation on this: http://www.recycledcarbon.com/bigorbit/FREED2628small.jpg). I could use your help as I won't have lots of time to collect trash on my own. If you could save for me any water-bearing items like:

plastic milk jugs
detergent and juice containers
large cans
those obnoxious plastic grocery bags
old plastic paint tarp type stuff
5-gallon paint-style buckets
cheap plastic sleds
watering cans and plastic flower pots
discarded children's toys
plastic and foil serving trays
trash cans
and other stuff that would be light, can be easily drilled, cut or reshaped, and will hold or carry water (like a riverbed) without leaking.

To create the sort of mountain landscape on top of which the riverbed will sit, I'll also need:
medium to giant sized cardboard boxes
milk crates
items like trunks, tool boxes, suitcases, etc
and other odd items that'd make for a visually interesting addition to a giant landscape of trash.

And, lastly, I'm looking for two video projectors, 3 DVD players, and a decent stereo PA/speaker system that I could use from April 20th to May 2nd. I'd like to avoid my usual buy-and-return tactic if possible so any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you (and here's hoping for your sakes that the snow is done for the year!).

Best,
-Paul
paul sargent

CALL FOR ENTRY : Seeking Art Bargain Basement

CALL FOR ENTRY : Seeking Art Bargain Basement
NFO XPO, Version Fest ’09, April 25th & 26th

Artists, need CASH?? Do you have surplus ART?? Clear out your studios
and make way for new work by selling your outdated, rejected, and remaindered art for cash in the Seeking Art Bargain Basement!

Seeking Art Bargain Basement: The first bargain basements appeared in 1909 as an effort by department stores to move unwanted merchandise. Selling surplus goods at discounted prices cleared the way for new products, catered to the consumer's desire to acquire hidden gems for
less than their worth, and allowed lower-income shoppers to participate in the trendy new world of mass-produced goods. The Seeking Art Bargain Basement is applying the same economic and
psychological principles to the art market by uniting artist's leftover work with shoppers seeking affordable art. Come celebrate the 100th anniversary of the bargain basement by exploring the model of recycling unwanted objects and challenging the notion that certain items are only for the wealthy.

Details: All work will be accepted, including sketches, old prints, works-in-progress, and multiple submissions by one artist. Work may be priced at any amount under $100, with all money going to the artist. To submit work, include your name, the piece's name, name of
series or project (if applicable), date made, and price, with your piece and contact info or a SASE for the return of unsold work. Pick ups can be arranged within the Chicago area or mail work to: Seeking Art Bargain Basement, 7314 N. Bell Ave, Chicago, IL 60645.

For more information, visit versionfest.org or huimintsen.com.
Deadline: April 20.
Contact huimintsen@gmail.com with questions or to schedule a pick up.

King Ludd's Midway Arcade

Call for Submissions
For
King Ludd's Midway Arcade
Version Fest 09'
Curated by Material Exchange
**************************************************************

Calling all gamers, artists, engineers, tinkerers, hackers, manipulators...

The Midway Plaissance in Hyde Park was the home of the World's Fair of 1893, an international celebration of the landing of Columbus in North America 401 years earlier. It involved displays of world cultures, technology, food, the debut of the Ferris Wheel, and endless other amusements. It was a hopeful moment that looked fervently toward the future. Hope in our time may have to do with retracting high-impact commitments, resisting speed, slowing growth and expansion. To that end, King Ludd's Midway Arcade proposes an Antidote to the World's Fair with a call for proposals for home-made video games, parlor games, and carnival games that in some way challenge or offer an alternative to the dominance of high-technology.

*****************************************
Send Entries to info@material-exchange.org

*****************************************

The Games:
Games
may be analog, low–tech, mechanical, or hacker. They might be re-vamped arcade games, games called 'Sabotage' involving wooden shoes, or games with a carnivalesque feeling. You may want to begin with an existing video game console like a Pacman table, or re-imagine existing game rules and make them your own. We are not looking for board games. All games must involve some significant physical apparatus or console. Games must be portable, fully functional, durable, family friendly, and should not require excessive assembly on our end. We want to especially encourage science, art, and engineering students and faculty to build games together with a group or class.

History/Philosophy:
Our
interest in analog or low-tech arcade games began with the creation of our multi-player, analog pinball machine in 2007 (this game will be present at the arcade). We are interested in the multi-player, hand-driven, collaborative game apparatus as a site to investigate metaphors for social engagement inspired by game theory. In broader terms, they approach questions about the necessity of parameters or
rules for meaningful interaction and dialogue, or invention within non-parametric contexts.

Proposals:
Please send us a brief bio of yourself or your team and a description of your proposal for a game. Visual aids are encouraged. Deadline: Monday, March 22nd, 2008.

***************************************
Send Entries to info@material-exchange.org

***************************************

Transparency:
We intend to charge a minimal admission fee (around $5 for adults, $3 for kids) for entry as a way to cover our administrative costs. We also intend for the makers of the games to receive an ongoing royalty (albeit a small one) from the arcade if it travels to future locales. Our objective is to create an ongoing source of funding for our projects, and those of fellow makers.

This seminal exhibition of fully functional games will debut at the Experimental Station in Woodlawn, from April 24th to May 2nd, after which the arcade will travel to other locations yet to be determined. We will create a festival atmosphere likely to attract visitors from as far afield as Indiana and Wisconsin!!!

All entries compete for the King Ludd Award the people's choice favorite.

visit: www.material-exchange.org

Version Festival Fundraiser

March 21, 2009, 8pm

Co-Prosperity Sphere
3219 S Morgan St

There are way too many good reasons to come by Co-Prosperity Sphere this Saturday, March 21.

We are launching two new publications: Matériel and Pr.

They are awesome. And HUGE! Download this link for a sneak peak at Matériel:
http://lumpen.com/materielmag/Matériel_Mag_Issue_001.pdf

We are also raising funds for Version>09 Immodest Proposals our annual international art freak out. This is our only fundraiser that will pay for 10 days and nights of projects by over 350 people from around the world.

Bobby Conn is playing along with Casual Encounter, and a super secret internet famous band.


Matériel is an oversized broadside newsprint publication that’s a collection of the best/brightest designers/illustrators/photographers work we can find – creating a showcase for their submitted work. It’s a sister magazine to Proximity providing a ‘design’ counterpoint to Prox’s ‘art’ focus.

Pr is Proximty’s in-between issues poster letter featuring reviews, interview, a calendar and a sweet recipe for a healthy art ecology.

Both of these oversized publications are beautiful. Come and get one, and fund our soon to be epic festival.

issues are complementary with a $10 Suggested donation.

... Please repost and forward this transmission:

Sunday March 1 5pm meeting at C-PS

We will be reviewing submissions at the Sphere at 5pm. We will also give updates on Version programming and reveal an exciting new project Codenamed "the Cab Fair".
Stay tuned!

Please spread the word

Please send this call for participation to any interested individuals and networks.
At this time we are primarily seeking people that will create floats or projects for the Chicago Art Parade, host a booth or table at the NFO XPO, design and/or print posters for the Bridgeport WPA, and create murals, shelters or sculptures in the neighborhood of Bridgeport.

VERSION>09 IMMODEST PROPOSALS
April 23 - MAY 2, 2009
Chicago, USA

Deadline for submissions: March 7, 2009

A parade, temporary housing structures, contemporary art space networking, video sweat lodge, an artist run art fair, A New Deal/No Deal neighborhood public arts initiative, a social networked free public school, impressive musical performances, boring theoretical nonsense, the revamping of a local community center, mapping projects, tours, a design agency for social movements, and korean polish bar-b-qing are just a few of the projects and phenomena we will present during Version>09 : Immodest Proposals April 23 to May 2, 2009.

Version>09: Immmodest Proposals has been announced to take place in Chicago April 23 through May 2, 2009. We want you to send us your immodest proposals. Visit our call for participation site for descriptions of platforms and instructions to submit projects.
http://www.lumpen.com/V9/program.html

Inquiries and contact:
versionfest@gmail.com

Version Festival
960 w 31st street
Chicago Il 60608

Version is produced in part by Public Media Institute.

A status and organizational meeting will be held at the Co-Prosperity Sphere, Sunday February 22, 4pm-6:30pm.

Version Sunday Meeting.

February 22, 2009
Co-Prosperity Sphere
3219 S Morgan Street
Chicago Il 60608

You are invited to participate in our annual artist run festival and countercultural convergence. We will be hosting an open meeting about Version>09 Immodest Proposals on Sunday February 22 at 4pm at the Co-Prosperity Sphere. 3219 S Morgan St

We will present an overview of a working calendar of events and descriptions of platforms for participation. We hope this meeting will give you more specific ideas on how you can join us. This year's festival program is developing into a pretty amazing series of actions events and happenings. Don's sleep on this one.

Please email edmarlumpen@gmail.com if you plan on attending.

Chicago Art Parade Participation Details

Version is excited to announce the first annual Chicago Art Parade!

The Chicago Art Parade is a point of combustion. A flash moment of synergy, prosperity, and participation amongst Chicago's multi-faceted art communities. Doers, thinkers, subculture advocates and the mainstream masses alike will converge in an act of solidified networks. The most immodest proposals, creations, and collaborations will traverse Chicago's disclosed and eclipsed spaces.

Date: May 1, 2009

PARAMETERS
Nothing wider than 9'
No confetti, streamers, or anything left behind.

WHAT TO INCLUDE:
Contact Info
Detailed description of concept
Initial drawings or renderings
Number of participants
Description of set up needs.

EMAIL SUBMISSIONS TO
chicagoartparade@gmail.com

Visit: http://chicagoartparade.com
PROPOSALS DUE MARCH 15TH.

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: SHELTER 1 PROJECT/ SHELTER CORPS

The Bridge and Sheltered working group has a new call for proposals for Version festival projects:

Based on both Post-Modern and Traditional ideologies that the most basic aspects of life and living are often the most expressive, we see art as a way of life and vise-versa. Thus, as the world once again feels the grinding gears of war and economic downturn, we have decided to take a new look at the function of shelter. As the most basic component of living, next to food, we see shelter as a symbolic and dynamic form of technology, art, and interaction. The goal of our project at the Co-Prosperity Sphere, aka Shelter 1, and the Vacant Lot Project, is to create a living structure that displays and employs the materials and theoreticals we see to be a part of the equation in this new and complex era.

Visit the new blog.

Updates

We wanted to let Version participants and co-organizers to know that many great submissions are coming in. Homeowners and business owners in the neighborhood are offering space for WPA murals and signs. We also just received word from the Art Car Musuem in Houston that they may attend and will be sending notifications to art car makers around the country to take part in the Chicago Art Parade. Some updates to Special Projects of Version >09 have been made. Please check out The Bridgeport WPA and the Chicago Art Parade for more specific information regarding how and what you can take part in.

Bridgeport WPA

Please check out and join the Bridgeport WPA project!
We set up a info blog for the project at http://bridgeportwpa.blogspot.com

Meeting rocked!

Sunday night's meeting was a great surprise. We are excited that so many are interested in participating and creating the next festival. We hope to have that online submission website up soon. Please contact edmarlumpen(at)gmail.com if you have any questions for now. The next scheduled meeting will be on Sunday February 22 at 6:30pm.

Call for Participation text

Here is a link to a temporary URL that hosts a description of the program platforms to be announced in a Call for Participation for Version>09: Immodest Proposals. Please share with your networks!

First Version>09 Meeting

January 25, 6:30pm
Co-Prosperity Sphere, 3219 S Morgan St

An art parade, temporary housing structures, independent contemporary art space networking, one day only exhibition formats, video sweat lodges, an artist run art fair, a reincarnation of the depression era Public Works of Art Project, a social networked free public school, impressive musical performances, boring theoretical nonsense, the revamping of a local community center, mapping projects, a design agency for social movements, and korean polish bar-b-qing are just a few of the projects and phenomena we will present during Version>09 : Immodest Proposals April 23 to May 2, 2009.

You are cordially invited to join us for an informal presentation and meeting about this years Version. It takes place Sunday January 25, 6:30pm at Co-Prosperity Sphere, 3219 S Morgan St. If you plan on attending please email edmarlumpen(at)gmail.com so we know how much pizza to order.

Please re-broadcast this transmission to any interested parties.
a call for proposals will be issued after this meeting.

/// small print //////

Version is co-produced by Public Media Institute which puts out Proximity Magazine, produces the Select Media Festival and manages the experimental cultural center, Co-Prosperity Sphere.

Version focuses on cutting edge art, media, technology and social movements. It combines the visual and performing arts with social activism and creative uses of new technologies. It explores new aesthetic movements, strategies, and interventions for improving artist run culture.

Each Version features more than 100 projects and initiatives and 300-400 participating cultural workers, over 10-16 days.

Past Version themes include dark matter, digital commons, utopian and dystopian uses of technology, parallel art worlds, desire, and insurrection. Last year's Version: http://www.versionfest.org