(No One Knows) What Will Be Happening?
The Unnoticed Art Festival takes place during an ordinary weekend in May, in an ordinary Dutch city.
The location of the festival will remain a secret, even to the performers, until the weekend itself.
The Unnoticed Art Festival involves a series of performances that are ‘hidden’ within every-day activities in public spaces.
Artists from all over the world responded to an open-call for performance concepts that explore the balance between public/private spaces and expected/unexpected behavior.
The chosen concepts are written in the form of manuals or instructions. A group of 35 volunteer performers will execute these performances, without knowing before-hand the location, or setting, of their act.
The performers have a double role: they are the participants, as well as the only audience that is aware that an art festival is taking place.
What Then? On the 31st of August, an event will take place in
the Pictura art space in the town of Dordrecht. During this event, we will hold a panel discussion on ‘Unnoticed Art’, and present some re-enactments of several festival performances.
A book on ‘Unnoticed Art’ will be distributed on the day, containing all the performance concepts that were put into action, along with the experiences of each performer. The book will also include an essay on the subject of ‘Unnoticed Art’, written by Dutch artist and festival director, Frans van Lent.
Although there will be no recordings made of the Unnoticed Art Festival – we will be making a video recording of the panel discussion, and making this available on the festival website.
Why is this festival significant?
This festival is significant because it serves as an experiment.
By revealing as little information as possible, the festival functions as a spontaneous performance, an ‘unnoticed’ public intervention.
The meaning of the festival is encapsulated in the experiences of the performers, as they explore through their act(s) the blurring contours between performer-audience, and the precarious balance between public/private spaces and behaviors.
How Can You Help?
For this festival to take place, we plan on camping with a group of 35 volunteers and the organizers, close to the city where the festival will take place. We need funds to cover: transportation, camping and food costs for those two days.
Because the Unnoticed Art Festival requires a level of secrecy, and also due to its experimental nature, we want everyone involved to be completely immersed into the experience for these two days. By traveling, camping and eating together, all the performers will be able to reflect upon their role(s), and how it relates to everyone else’s. With your support, we can strengthen the reach and impact of this festival to its full potential.
If you are intrigued and curious about art and performance mixing with everyday life in unexpected ways, please help us by making a donation and/or sharing our campaign. We appreciate all your help!
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Artists Involved:
Rafael Abreu Canedo (BRA), Sarah Boulton (UK), Derek Dadian-Smith (USA), Craig Damrauer (USA), Dino Dinco (USA), Mr. and Mrs Gray (NL), Linda Hesh (USA), Hiroomi Horiuchi (JPN), David Horvitz (USA), Daan den Houter (NL), Jeroen Jongeleen (NL), Ienke Kastelein (NL), Jonathan Keats (USA), Joke van Kerkwijk (NL), Kees Koomen (NL), Margreet Kramer (NL), Gavin Krastin (ZA), Steef van Lent (DE), Gretta Louw (AUS), Lilla Magyari (HU), Andrew McNiven (UK), Janet Meany (AUS), Tim Miller (UK), Marnik Neven (BE), Joyce Overheul (NL), Nico Parlevliet (NL), Malin Peter (SWE), Jess Rose (UK), Julie Rozman (USA), Roekoe M (NL), Joshua Schwebel (CAN), Jack Segbars (NL), Edwin Stolk (NL), Topp & Dubio (NL).