York Mediale to return 21-25 October 2020 — York Mediale

Festival

York Mediale to return 21-25 October 2020

A 365 day countdown has begun to the second biennial York Mediale, the UK’s leading celebration of digital and media arts. The festival will begin activity in the city very soon, with the culminating celebrations taking place over four days, from 21 – 25 October, with a packed programme of exhibitions, installations, talks, music and live performance across the historic city.

Ambitions for the festival are high, with the inaugural Mediale presenting artists including Suzanne Ciani, Matthew Plummer-Fernandez, Moses Boyd and Deep Lab. Headline events for 2020 are set to be announced in the spring, with the full programme released in early summer.

“We learnt a lot from the first York Mediale, and one piece of feedback from visitors was that key events were too far spread across 10 days, so the 2020 festival will have a similar amount of content packed into a long weekend. There will be opportunities to experience ground-breaking media arts from the moment you open your eyes in the morning to when you crash into bed after another amazing gig in the early hours of the following day,” comments Creative Director for York Mediale, Tom Higham. He continued, “We’re working hard to build an exciting, engaging and fun programme. This time, the festival will have a direct focus on York citizens. We will be involving them even more in the development of commissions and projects; creating world premieres of new artwork made in, by, and with, York.”

 

“This time, the festival will have a direct focus on York citizens. We will be involving them even more in the development of commissions and projects; creating world premieres of new artwork made in, by, and with, York.”

Tom Higham

Creative Director, York Mediale
Strata - Rock - Dust - Stars at York Art Gallery © York Mediale
Strata - Rock - Dust - Stars at York Art Gallery © York Mediale

The nature of York Mediale – looking ahead at trends and technology that allow us to see the art of the future today – will ensure that the 2020 festival continues to showcase innovation and the remarkable application of technology to the arts in a way that is not presented anywhere else in the UK. The 2020 event will also highlight how York Mediale itself is proving a catalyst for development, with the team working closely with artists behind the scenes to push boundaries further, and continue to develop works for international display that premiered in York.

“Arts festivals usually involve work being commissioned, which goes on display, then disappears – a relationship that ends when the event closes. The York Mediale team, however, works year-round with artists to further develop pieces that they have shown, or to help them achieve ambitions for their next projects where our own skill-base in presentation, touring and event management is helpful,” explains Tom. “Our position as an independent organisation, committed to furthering the development and understanding of media arts, puts us at the centre of a remarkable, global network – and shines a spotlight on how this historic city continues to push the boundaries of what is possible in the digital world.”

 

York Mediale to return 21-25 October 2020 — York Mediale

The team has continued to work with world-renowned choreographer, Alexander Whitley, who has toured his Strange Stranger commission – a live interaction between dance and light – around the country, and Deep Lab member Tamara Al-Mashouk, who has developed a series of smaller works that build upon on her 10.5 hour epic live performance, Can You Die if You Don’t Exist, which will soon be toured around the world.

York Mediale has brought significant investment into culture in the city, including an Arts Council National Lottery Project Grant of national significance, in addition to funding from within the city from Make It York. The festival continues to support local artists in interim years; having recently commissioned a series of arts projects for the Castle Gateway area of the city, which will be realised over the coming months, featuring artists from the 2018 Festival, including Hannah Bruce & Co. and Common Ground Theatre, who will create an audio experience for one of the city’s most fascinating sites.

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