Y.A.K (Young Art Kommunity)

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WANTED! Call out for animal-human duets

Deadline 10th October 2016 ----------------------------------------------

We are looking for audio contributions for a sound installation at Firstsite gallery in Colchester. Using a group of transducer speakers, we will turn the gallery walls into a giant speaker, playing a collection of animal and human duets hidden within various surfaces - inviting visitors to explore the walls and discover the sounds hidden within. The installation will form part of Flipside exhibition, a two week audio visual festival which aims to transform your perspective of contemporary art and curated by YAK, Firstsite's resident young art community.

Your contribution could be using an instrument (acoustic or electronic), your voice or field recordings. This recording should be a duet with a human being and an animal!

It doesn't have to be musical, it could be a conversation with an animal, for example.

Participants can create their own recordings, or feel free to use one of ours made recently at Colchester Zoo. Link to Dropbox folder: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ibf6srdgzfon8bv/AAASa88OQhUZhP6ESzVfBt9Ka?dl=0

Take a look at this example online for inspiration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU1Z7QtyJVs

Recordings should be no more than three minutes long. Please use http://wetransfer.com/ to submit all entries and address them to [email protected]

All work will be credited and we look forward to receiving your contribution soon!

Contact Simon:  [email protected]

CLIP - Sound and music experiments is a weekly meet up for anyone with an interest in the more experimental side of music and sound.

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Digital Factory Workshop: Sound Factory

Join us in the Digital Factory for a day of sound exploration and take your ears on a sonic adventure! In the first room, you’ll get the chance to explore sounds from a variety of instruments and objects. In the second, you will be able to manipulate these sounds into unusual and imaginative soundscapes using an array of iPad apps and guitar pedals. Feel free to bring your own instruments and hear them transformed with the equipment at your fingertips.

Young Art Kommunity’s experimental sound group is led by Artists Simon Keep and Jos Down, alongside Y.A.K artists Frazer Merrick, Ross Mason and Lloyd Smith. On Friday 8th April we invited the group into the Digital Factory studio for a day of sound exploration. The group collaborated with our artists in residence as well as the general public. Read more below as Frazer explains a bit more about the session.

We transformed the Digital Factory and the adjoining Mosaic Space into two very unique sonic spaces. In the smaller room we filled it with instruments (in various states of disrepair) and encourage visitors to explore them, find what sounds they could make. Some notable mentions were putting a bell inside the type writer and bowing the glockenspiel. Inside this room we set up a handful of microphones, which were then being processed by various audio equipment outside.

Station 1: Pedalboards – A variety of delay and distortion pedals, but the most intriguing being the EHX Freeze pedal. When trigged it takes a snapshot of the sound (we’re talking milliseconds) and loops this, allowing you to create a drone from almost any source material. Fantastic for improvising over the top!

Station 2: Alesis AirFX – An infrared sensor that allows you to sculpt/mould sound with your hands. It maps the distance between your hand and the sensor with various filters/FX, adding a very performative element to sound design. 

Station 3: Gamepad – Here we used the analog sticks of a game controller and mapped them to FX settings within Reaktor (a software-synthesiser). Again, this is another example of how sound design can be very performative.

It was incredible to walk between the two spaces and hear how different and yet connected the two sonic worlds were. A small twinkling melody on a Kalimba became a thumbing beat through the computer. A twee nursery rhyme sang into the microphone suddenly sounded like a dystopian cinematic soundtrack with an ominous drone rumbling underneath it from the freeze pedal.

This disconnection between the two spaces was really interesting. Although the glass wall between the two spaces allowed for some visual communication we found people were more interested in acting individually or rather collaborating within those in each space rather than with those outside. The architecture of the spaces could definitely lead to more experiments in sonic communication, exploring ways of creating a dialogue between two sets of performers.

Thanks to Benjamin Beauchamp for the brilliant photos, you can view more from the session here.

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Digital Factory Workshop: Makey Makey

Digital Factory facilitator and Artist Frazer Merrick shares his Makey Makey workshop.

Part of my role on the digital factory project at Firstsite is to introduce the artists to new technologies, and let it influence their practice.

We began with some performance work, a simple choreography of ‘pat-a-cake’ alongside a banana piano, was a perfect introduction to what the technology is and how it works.

Then the group moved on to drawing games controllers with graphite and jumping onto the mini clip website, its incredibly rewarding to see your drawing come to life in such a simple way. I then showed them how it can trigger MIDI, so your drawings could control lights, music and so much more!

When it comes to using Makey Makey as part of an art installation, the biggest limitation I’ve found is that you have to be touching an earth and an input to create the complete circuit thats needed for a trigger/action. This can break the illusion a little, whilst also adding clutter. It means you can’t just run up to the installation and start interacting, it needs a small amount of explanation. However, during this workshop we did discover an interesting example of integrating the earth into the installation with our ‘Water Joystick’!

With the earth on the bottom of the cup, we taped three cables down the inside (left, forward, right). Now imagine you’re playing a racing game, if you tilt the cup right then the water will be touching both the bottom earth and the right. If you need to go forwards (accelerate) and right, then tilt it forwards and right…and it works!

I can’t wait to see how the artists embrace this technology in their practice!

Words by Frazer Merrick

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Digital Factory Residency

Welcome to the Digital Factory, an open studio and residency space for 6 young digital artists, who will be creating, curating and exhibiting digital artworks in response to Andy Warhol at Firstsite. As part of our monthly Float Digital sessions at Firstsite, we were excited to be given the opportunity to host artists in residency along side the new Andy Warhol Artists Rooms exhibition.

Working closely with the learning team, we took over Firstsite's Mosaic and University Spaces. The Mosaic space was turned into a hands on printing workshop and learning space. Transformed to form a tribute to Andy Warhols Factory space in New York. A space for families and young people to get involved making some Warhol inspired art.

The University space tucked behind the Mosaic was stripped out and rebuilt into a bespoke studio space. Through an open call we selected 6 young digital artists, who will be working in residency with us from 21st March - 12th June. The Digital Factory was born!

The Digital Factory is an open studio space, giving young artists a platform to create and explore new ways of working - with regular workshops, discussions, showcase and collaboration opportunities.

 We are excited to be facilitating this unique opportunity to showcase work alongside iconic works by Andy Warhol.

We are pleased to welcome Digital Artists -

Sian Fann Susi Disorder William Fulton Benjamin Beauchamp Jaroslav Kocis Reuben Martindale

This residency is designed to give artists an opportunity to develop their skills whilst being able to generate new work in response to the Andy Warhol exhibition at Firstsite. Exploring a range of digital media including filmmaking, video game design, glitch art, sound art and photography they will develop new artworks and curate their own exhibition.

Due to the open nature of the residency, we are encouraging our artists to engage with the public, using it as a platform for skill sharing and discussion. And fully utilising the studio as a dynamic and changing space.

Keep an eye out for updates over the course of the residency, and keep up to date with the ever changing Digital Factory space.

www.facebook.com/floatdigitaleast www.facebook.com/YoungArtKommunity

Join us on Friday 6th May, 6pm - 8pm, for the launch of the Digital Factory Exhibition.

We’d also like to open up the Digital Factory to other artists to showcase work, why not get involved and submit some work to one of our Float Digital open events taking place on 26th April and 24th May. Email [email protected] for more information.

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Still time to get in proposals for this months Float Digital exhibition at Firstsite. Email [email protected] for more info. Deadline Monday 15th Feb!

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No going back now... Festival planning is go!

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Massive thanks to Bmophoto for taking these amazing images of our Winter Gathering event last December!  www.facebook.com/bmophotog

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Further sound and music experiments last week. Look out for some upcoming performances soon!

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Ssshhhhh! Listen Up!

In November 2015 YAK Artists Ross, Lloyd and Frazer were invited to creative a sound performance/workshop for young children/families across 12 performances in December. Frazer has reflected on the production of the performance, and the importance of using your imagination.

Having been given such free reign, we immediately pulled out some A1 paper and started to brainstorm ideas. We knew we wanted it to be interactive and that it operate on two levels, stimulating both the young children and their parents.

The creation process was very organic and after many discussions we realised that we wanted to keep it low-tech whilst still remaining creatively impressive. We decided that foley from everyday objects would be the centre of the performance, with listening exercises alongside to introduce concepts and ideas that were more abstract.

Before we knew it, we’d written a narrative. The children had became sound explorers and upon entering our arctic laboratory they were there to help us (Dr Yeti, Dr Blizzard and Dr Oats) find the sounds for Dr Carrots nature documentary!

We used sand paper for skiing sounds, bubblewrap for ice cracking, paper bags for fire crackling…and so much more. Importantly however, there were no right or wrong ways to create the sounds. The purpose of the explorative workshop was to give the children the ambition and imagination to turn inanimate objects into weird and wonderful sounds. Stones in a box become a haunted garden path, rubbing a balloon became a fox howling in the night.

The event was a resounding success, with some parents asking how long we’d be performing as a theatre company…! Video to follow soon.

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Great experimental sound art session last week. We've been exploring the sounds within an old piano without any strings, soon to be destroyed... more info on that soon!

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Float. Digital Showcase #01 03/11/15

Float is a monthly open platform inviting young digital artists, designers, developers and performers. Setup and curated by Circuit Digital Creative Liam Roberts along side YAK Artist Bradley Parker. A space for sharing, discussing and developing ideas.

With Tristan Burfield, George Palmer and Julieta Ortiz + Stefan Klein.

Photo credit goes to YAK artist Jody Padmore.

( to get involved with future Float sessions, please email [email protected] )

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Fantastic performance from Salamanda Tandem last week at Firstsite Colchester! And we were lucky enough to collaborate with them at last nights sound session!

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The Winter Gathering returned to Firstsite on 20th December 2015.

A collaborative event from Y.A.K (Young Art Kommunity) and Refugee Action - Colchester As the nights draw in and temperatures fall, we reach a time of year to gather together and share our warmth. Young Art Kommunity worked in collaboration with Refugee Action - Colchester to bring a unique event brimming with warmth, love and light.  

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Float Showcase #02 - 15/12/15

Float is a monthly open platform inviting young digital artists, designers, developers and performers. Setup and curated by Circuit Digital Creative Liam Roberts along side YAK Artist Bradley Parker.
 A space for sharing, discussing and developing ideas. Calling Visual artists, VJ’s, Designers, Coders, Sound artists, Filmmakers, Performers. 


The second Float digital showcase event worked in the form of an open exhibition, along the lines of a Bring Your Own Beamer event. Hosting artists and their projectors. Featuring work from digital artists from across the region.

This special one night only exhibition featured work from these talented young artists - 
 // Reuben Martindale //

// Ross Mason //  

// Susi Disorder // 

// Frazer Merrick // 

// Maddie Wheeler // 

// Will Fulton //

// dodo // 

// Emanuela Cusin // 

// Zoe Wright // 

// Foundry // 

The next Float session will be taking place on 23rd February at Firstsite. If you’d like to get involved please contact [email protected] for more information.

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Listen Up! YAK Artists Lloyd Smith, Ross Mason, Frazer Merrick and Jody Padmore - busy working in collaboration with Circuit Artists Hester Chillingworth and Firstsite head of learning Judith Merritt. To produce an interactive sound workshop and performance, exploring foley sound design. For a series of performances for families, from 20th - 23rd December 2015.

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YAK Artist Isaac James and Circuit Associate Artist Mandy Roberts were asked to present at the 2015 Engage Conferance in Glasgow. They co-led an interactive session exploring a collaborative approach to practice, which involves artists directly working alongside young people. They reflected upon their research and practice learned from the 2013 Airlock project. 

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Limitless ALL STYLES Battles - 29/11/15