Curating the city, a museumnacht marathon on metropolitan museums, responsive heritage and the city as cultural platform

Doug Aitken's Sleepwalker was projected on the exterior walls of the MoMA

This Saturday the 10th annual museumnacht (museum night) will be organised in our hometown Amsterdam. Non-fiction will take part with a special marathon on museums and the city, in their basecamp De Verdieping. A wide group of institutions, designers and thinkers will join us at the table to discuss how pervasive urban museums are, and how the city can become a interactive museosphere.

The programme starts at 7 pm and goes on to 12, after which Viral Radio will take over with wall-surpassing bass and rhythm collections compiled by Juha & Cinnaman with Mamiko Motto. Outside, the facade of the building will be used as an urban screen for the duration of the museumnacht by students of MediaLAB Amsterdam. Inside, artists Amie Dicke and Sarah van Sonsbeeck will host the workshop ‘Build your own mobile museum’.

Tickets are available through n8.nl, make sure you get them soon: the previous 7 editions sold out before the start.

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Programme:

19 – 00 Interview Marathon >> with Michiel van Iersel and Juha van ‘t Zelfde
We will navigate through the night together with our guests, visitors, Hyvers and Twitterati, to try to articulate the future of museums in the city.

19 – 20 MyMuseum >> Blikopeners, Zichtbaar Afwezig and Urban Screens
Students of the Rietveld, Sandberg, UvA and HvA will talk about appropriating, editing and remixing the museum.

20 – 21 Museums And The City >> Stedelijk Museum
Curators Bart Rutten, Leontine Coelewij and Marten Jongema will look back at Stedelijk in de Stad and will look ahead towards a new Stedelijk Museum.

21 – 2 The Mobile Museum >> De Appel, Platform21/Supermaker, NIMk, Mediamatic
Representatives of various art institutions in Amsterdam will talk about their transient adventures in pop-up structures and mobile pavillions.

22 – 23 The Digital City >> VURB, The Mobile City, Nationaal Historisch Museum, Habbekrats
Now things will get unphysical, with VURB and The Mobile City talking about urban informatics and the city as an interaction platform. The Nationaal Historisch Museum will talk about being a distributed museum, and design firm Habbekrats will elaborate on how cities are embedded in (music) videos on YouTube.

23 – 00 Museum = City >> everybody everywhere
How will the museums in the future inhabit the city? How can it go beyond its walls? What is a museum without a building? How can visitors become users and producers of a museum? Can a city be a museum? These questions will be addressed in the round-up discussion with all logged in.

00 – 05 Viral Radio x Beat Dimensions >> Juha & Cinnaman and Mamiko Motto.
Rhythmculture, bass experimentation and computer improvisation to ground the night after such abstraction. With Amsterdam’s digital duo Juha & Cinnaman, and the one-woman social music revolution Mamiko Motto.

Viral Radio returns with CDR and survivors of the demilitarized zone

A few months ago we asked our good friend Aardvarck, if he was given the chance to invite someone for Viral Radio, who he would choose. “Mala,” was his immediate answer, followed by an endless stream of unintelligible animal noises, “hoer” and “zijn we er al?” Mala will now play alongside Aardvarck, Cinnaman and Juha at the sixth Viral Radio event at TrouwAmsterdam. He will be joined by his friend, brother-from-another-mother and fellow demilitarized zone pacifist Sgt. Pokes.

In the evening, starting around 8 PM, Viral Radio will present the second CDR night. Adopted from London, the night is intended to create a social network, platform or hub for aspiring producers, avid supporters and kindred spirits who enjoy new ventures into electronic music. Hosted by Juha, Cinnaman and Mamiko Motto, a line of guests will be interviewed about their music practice, amongst whom Mr. Aardvarck himself. Visitors can bring their music on CDRs, which then will be played on our professional club soundsystem, while their names and track titles will be beamed on the wall.

CDR has been adopted by De Verdieping as a monthly night to share ideas and music. It has been transferred from the Wednesday to the Friday, to connect with Viral Radio and to benefit from the presence of international artists as Hudson Mohawke, Mala, Nosaj Thing, Harmonic 313, and all the others that come through the Viral Radio hub.

Viral Radio starts at 10.30 PM. Tickets are 12 euros, and are available at Rush Hour, online and at the door of TrouwAmsterdam. CDR starts at 8 PM. Tickets are 5 euros, but entrance is free of charge with a CDR of your music. Visitors of CDR can stay for Viral Radio without paying any more.

On second day, Viral Radio goes from CDR to MAX/MSP

Viral Radio invited CDR to kick off the Viral Radio Festival 2009

The first night of the Viral Radio Festival 2009 was a modest, albeit incredibly inspiring, success. An intimate crowd of producers, DJs and family and friends visited the first CDR night at De Verdieping. Thanks to everyone for their support, and Gavin, Tony, Mamiko, Hudson Mohawke and Icarus for their involvement. We look forward to the next one, which will most likely take place in August.

The second day of the festival will take place at the Bimhuis tonight, with Icarus hailing from London and Melbourne to bring electronic music by the guidelines of the International Standards for Jungle Music: 175 BPM straight for 12 years now, engineering their hyperrhythmic speed beats with MAX/MSP like scientists at the CERN Hadron Collider. They will be joined by another electroacoustic duo from the UK, Furt. ‘One of the most blisteringly energetic and experimental partnerships over the past twenty years.’ (The Guardian). In the cafe around the concerts we will hear Mrs. Mohawke herself, the ubiquitous Mamiko Motto (Samurai FM/Kindred Spirits).

We hope to see you tonight.

Viral Radio Festival starts at De Verdieping tonight

Air strike one. Tony on the alley.

UK clubnight CDR takes its successful innovative format overseas with the premiere of a new bi-monthly session at De Verdieping in the basement of TrouwAmsterdam. Joining CDR’s Tony Nwachukwu and Gavin Alexander will be local Dutch deejays and producers Cinnaman (Beat Dimensions/Viral Radio) and Juha (Viral Radio/Beat Dimensions), plus special guest Hudson Mohawke (LuckyMe/Warp) bringing his distinct head-moving electronics.

CDR’s open session invites music producers to bring their tracks along on CD, giving those in attendance the opportunity to hear works-in-progress. In addition the night will begin with a conversation with Hudson Mohawke and Cinnaman about their beat-making ways, plus tales from Tony and Gavin about CDR and the burntprogress story so far. Taking over the booth to close the occasion Beat Dimensions and Red Bull Music Academy alumni Hudson Mohawke and Cinnaman join forces showcasing their crowd-pleasing record selecting skills.

Building on CDR London and Midlands residencies (plus past nights in Paris, Berlin and Sydney!) these new Amsterdam sessions will begin a burntprogress partnership between the UK and Netherlands, with local musical artists crossing the North Sea to check out their neighbours. With free entry for all, get set to savour a taste of underground sounds like no other: crossing genres, changing tempos and inspiring all.

Furthermore, Hepcat Radio host Mamiko Motto will present the Friday artists of the Viral Radio Festival from 8-10 PM at Rooms of Redbull. She will play the best tracks of the CDR night, and host exclusive sets by the guests of the festival. The line up of the Viral Radio Festival consists of Daedelus, Hudson Mohawke, Icarus, Furt, Bullion, the Blessings, Cinnaman and Juha.