In the grand scheme of the thousands of years of art history, video is still a relatively recent artform. In fact, it wasn’t until the 1970s that it began to be exhibited seriously, and even then critics and audiences didn’t quite know what to make of it. But it’s now one of the most popular forms for artists to work in all across the world – and is becoming more and more accessible as technology becomes more readily available – which is why the Channels Festival exists.
It’s returning for its fourth iteration in 2019, with exhibitions, screenings, performances and talks across many of Melbourne’s most important artistic spaces, including the National Gallery of Victoria, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Abbotsford Convent, the Substation, Blindside, Anna Schwartz Gallery and Blak Dot Gallery.
Highlights include: an exhibition at the Substation showing works by Australian artist Reko Rennie, alongside international duo Noor Afshan Mirza and Brad Butler, and Almagul Menlibayeva; David Rosetzky’s newly commissioned work exploring non-binary gender identities at the Abbotsford convent; a full-day program at the NGV which will include screenings of historical works from the 1970s by artists such as Mike Parr, Marina Abramovic, Joan Jonas, Peter Campus and Regina Vater presented alongside contemporary works; and daily screenings of video works at Anna Schwartz Gallery.
See the full program at channelsfestival.net.au.