KO Video – 1st Durban Video Festival
The KO Video – First Durban Video Festival is brought to Durban by PULSE the artist run initiative run by Durban based artist Greg Streak. The KO Video Festival runs from 1-31 October, 2005 and sees some 300 contemporary video works from 28 different countries shown at 5 different venues across the city of Durban.
Video, as a contemporary art form has been difficult for most gallery goers to come to grips with. This is often the case with things that are unfamiliar. Contemporary video art is challenging and often makes direct socio/political comment and or evokes a sensibility that is very close to the technological realities we find ourselves living in. Video Art has been part of the western art history cannon since the late fifties but only really made any significant impact on the South African art scene from the early nineties. With little exposure to the medium it is very difficult to develop a relationship with it.
The works are shown in cinema-type screenings with each country represented by a DVD loop of work. There are video works from Argentina, Brazil, Germany, India/Pakistan, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, South Africa and a host of other countries. The works are spread out across Durban at the following venues : Durban Art Gallery, KZNSA Gallery, Imagination Lab (Westville), artSPACE durban and Ikhaya Media Lab (Kwa-Mashu).
Selection of videos compiled by Open Circle, India, Ruangrupa, Indonesia, Trama, Argentina, Joacelio Batista / CEIA, Brazil, Medien Kunstpreise, Germany, Video center Tokyo, Japan, Pulse, South-Africa, Fernanda Mejia, Rene Hayashi, Miguel Rodriguez Sepulveda & Eder Castillo, Mexico and Rijksakademie, the Netherlands.
A conference will be held on Friday 14th October, 2005 at the Ikhaya Media Lab in Kwa-Mashu from 9h30 am. It includes critically acclaimed UK filmmaker Owen Oppenheimer, Greg Streak, Jose Ferreira, Storm van Rensburg and Minnette Vári – one of South Africa’s premiere video artists. All screenings and the Conference are free of charge and open to everyone.