News – Attaya Projects

Corners Project ‘Oh My Home – Lost & Found’ at Dokufest 2015

Lalya — Tue, 04 Aug 2015 14:05:38 +0000

As part of its European tour and after premiering in Stockholm last May, the project ‘Oh My Home – Lost & Found’ will be presented in the arts programme of the International Documentary and Short Film Festival DokuFest 2015 in Prizren, Kosovo, between 8 – 14 August.

Oh My Home is a collaboration between digital media Lalya Gaye from Attaya Projects, street artist Saadia Hussain from Sweden and cross-media artist Ixone Ormaetxe from the Basque Country. It is developed within the framework of the Corners Project, which Lalya has been part of since last year through the Newcastle-based arts organisation ISIS Arts.

OMH consists of a public space installation, performance and series of participative activities based around the notion of ‘home’ in relation to borders, migration and the domestic. A good fit to Dokufest’s theme for this year’s festival which is ‘migration‘, and to the location since the installation uses a large number of “cabas Barbès”, also known as “immigrant bags”: these were first mainly associated with African immigrants in France but are now widespread across the globe and used for a variety of home- and migration-related purposes and contexts, including the Kosovo exodus in the 1990’s. The bags therefore have a strong connection to this place and we are looking forward to see how the installation resonates with people in this context.

DokuFest is one of the most exciting film festivals there is. We’re very happy to take part in it and look forward to engaging with the local population and festival visitors through this project!

Links
Corners at DokuFest (in Albanian here)
Corners about going to DokuFest
The Guardian about DokuFest
Oh My Home website
Oh My Home ‘Storyteller’ (project documentation)
Reflections about migration from the Puglia Xpedition in 2014

Hashtag: #dokufest2015

If you would like to know more about the ‘cabas Barbès’, here is a very nice short documentary about its history and cultural significance, created by Alice Diop and Elsa Perry for arte TV (in French)

l'objet : le cabas Barbès from Elsa Perry on Vimeo.

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Spotlight on Jonathan West – Northern Design Festival

Lalya — Sun, 13 Oct 2013 14:09:28 +0000

This Monday, it’s Jonathan West‘s turn to take over the spotlight at Attaya Projects showcase at Northern Design Festival! Jonathan is a Gateshead-based artist who subverts objects to create uncanny sculptures. He is interested in making technology perform tasks it was never meant to!

Jonathan will be showing the following pieces between 14-16th October:

Gigglebox, 2013 – sees the meeting of a fan motor, a laughter track and a feather set together in an infinite loop.

Untitled (Ponytail), 2013 – made of human hair and stretched PVC the piece is reminiscent of a hunter’s trophy.

Untitled (pink), 2013 – sees pure abstract form and a queer sensibility come together in a clinical mash-up.

Pop by to see his work as well as the rest of the showcase! We’ll also display some of the outcome of our DIY workshop from Saturday. Oh how much fun Saturday was!

Time: 14-16th October
Location: B&D Studios, 3rd Floor, Commercial Union House, Pilgrim Street, NE1 6QE Newcastle upon Tyne
Entrance: Free!

Find out more about Jonathan’s work at jonathanlloydwest.com

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Spotlight on Teresa Almeida – Northern Design Festival

Lalya — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 18:29:03 +0000

Another Attaya Projects collaborator featured in our showcase at Northern Design Festival is Teresa Almeida. Teresa is an artist, designer, researcher, and educator whose main interests are wearable and soft technology, craft, tangible and embodied interfaces, ecology, sustainability, and design for empowerment and social innovation. She is currently a PhD student at the Digital Interaction Group at Culture Lab, Newcastle University.

Teresa is showing some of her work with e-textiles throughout the festival and holding a workshop about DIY creative electronics, together with Lalya Gaye, on 12th October between 11.00-14.00 at B&D Studios. Outcome of the workshop will be displayed at the showcase during the rest of the festival.

Pop by on Saturday to check out what we are doing at the workshop and throughout the festival to have a look at her work!

Time: 10-19th October
Location: B&D Studios, 3rd Floor, Commercial Union House, Pilgrim Street, NE1 6QE Newcastle upon Tyne
Entrance: Free!

Find out more about her work at www.banhomaria.net

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Spotlight on Victoria Bradbury – Northern Design Festival

Lalya — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 10:17:24 +0000

Victoria is one of the Attaya Projects collaborators who will be showing some of their work at our showcase at B&D Studios for the Northern Design Festival. She is a visual artist who weaves participation, code, body and object. In her studio, she oscillates among her favourites: programming, physical computing and making handmade (often soft!) objects. She is also pursuing a PhD at Sunderland University as part of the CRUMB group (Curatorial Research for Upstart Media Bliss).

Two of her pieces will be on display at the showcase, from 10th-14th October:

Witch Pricker (2013) developed from a story from Newcastle’s past when, in 1649, 30 women were brought forward and tested by a witch pricking expert. Those who bled when pricked with a pin were human, and therefore not witches, those who didn’t were considered guilty and executed on the town moor. Because the Witch Pricker was paid by the witch he found, 27 of the 30 were found guilty. Here, the artist uses Arduino, C++ code and soft-sculpted strawberry-witches to allow you, the visitor, to take the role of the witch pricker. See how many witches you discover!

Electronic Ginseng (2012) are sculptural fabric ginseng with embroidered leaves, stems, and roots. The plants are still until the leaves are touched, when the berries’ LEDs light to show their magical properties. Wild ginseng challenges an east toward west production and trade model. The plant can be elusive and is thought to have magical properties that help it to evade discovery and harvest. This project nods at ginseng’s tricky biological, mythological and economic lore. Lilypad Arduino and electronics mediate the interaction.

Victoria will be around to talk about her work and creative process using code and physical computing, at the opening on Thursday 10th from 17.30, on Friday 11th from 16.00 to 19.00, and on Saturday 12th from 11.00 to 17.00.

Find out more about her work at www.victoriabradbury.com

Time: 10th-14th October
Location: B&D Studios, 3rd Floor, Commercial Union House, Pilgrim Street, NE1 6QE Newcastle upon Tyne

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Creative Uses of Mobile Phones in the Arts and Social Sector – Northern Design Festival

Lalya — Sat, 05 Oct 2013 10:34:54 +0000

On 17th October, drop in at B&D Studios and play a game of 100 Things (there is a delicious prize for anyone who can’t take part), have a cup of tea and a chat with Andrew Wilson about using all sorts of personal mobile technology in the arts and social sector, and in all sorts of contexts from mental health to Augmented Reality games for family groups.

Andrew has been using mobile technology creatively since 2000, and he’s learned from a lot of mistakes along the way.

The previous record for 100 Things is 35, set in London. Can Newcastle beat that? Come along and take part!

This event is part of the Attaya Projects showcase at B&D Studios for the Northern Design Festival.

Time: 14.00 – 18.00, 17th October
Location: B&D Studios, 3rd Floor, Commercial Union House, Pilgrim Street, NE1 6QE Newcastle upon Tyne
Free of charge
Workshop outcome will be presented at the end of the day at 5.30pm
Instructions: here

Find out more about Andrew’s work at www.foldup.org

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