TV SWANSONG
www.swansong.tv

LIVE WEBCAST 20th March 2002
3.45 - 9.00pm

On Wednesday the 20th March 2002 Somewhere (a new art organisation led by artists Karen Guthrie & Nina Pope) presented the innovative broadcast TV swansong - a homage to TV past, present and future - live on the Internet.

The first project of its kind, TV swansong brought 8 specially-commissioned art works by 11 UK artists live to the desktops of the world, and to special events at thirty UK & Ireland venues which offered free public web access for the day.

TV swansong artists were: Jordan Baseman, Graham Fagen, Rory Hamilton & Jon Rogers, Chris Helson, Nina Pope & Karen Guthrie, Giorgio Sadotti, Jessica Voorsanger and Zoë Walker & Neil Bromwich.

With a budget of over 200k raised independently from national and local public funding, the project's uniqueness lay in its global yet local achievements - bringing live events from all over the world together using the latest-emerging technology, yet also running kids' workshops and artists talks up and down the UK.

Highlights of the web cast included:
Giorgio Sadotti's Virtual Bootleg, where a live ballroom dancing event in the legendary Blackpool Tower was webcast via high-tech wireless cameras attached to the dancers.

Down in Sutton-on-sea (Lincolnshire) Zoë Walker & Neil Bromwich inspired the town's youth club to dedicate an evening to TV nostalgia, which was web cast live with their own film In Search of a Small Planet - a homage to the Clangers and the Dukes of Hazard - two favourite childhood TV shows.

For The Act artist Chris Helson focused on the 24hr rolling news phenomenon which dominates so much current cable TV, and flew out to a late-breaking news site only the day before the live web cast - Corihuayranchina in Peru, where a vast, newly discovered Inca city was being bought to the attention of world media. He undertook a gruelling 4 day trek in the wake of explorer Peter Frost to webcast his stunning material live to TV swansong from the peak of Mount Victoria in Vilcabamba via a satellite phone.

In rural Oxfordshire, Generic Sci-Fi Quarry by Rory Hamilton & Jon Rogers (with former members of BBC Radiophonic Workshop) took place over three nights - a stunning quadrophonic sound and video projection extravaganza re-creating much-loved 70's sci-fi special effects.

Free to the public, the events were attended by over 2000 people.

All the TV swansong commissions are now archived and available to view at 3 speeds on this site .

For all press enquiries contact TV swansong

For more background information click here
To see the Launch Party photo's click here
Check out the artists TV moments