LA Freewaves, also known as Freewaves, is a
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
-based
nonprofit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
organization that advocates for, and exhibits, new, uncensored, independent media. It hosts an online media archive as a resource to facilitate the exchange of media art internationally.
Anne Bray, with representatives of other communities, founded LA Freewaves in 1989 and she has worked to administer the non-profit since it was launched at the
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Leade ...
's National Video Festival.
Bray serves as director of the festival
and has been working in the field of
media arts
New media art includes artworks designed and produced by means of electronic media technologies, comprising virtual art, computer graphics, computer animation, digital art, interactive art, sound art, Internet art, video games, robotics, 3D pri ...
for many years as an artist and teacher.
Freewaves holds the biennial L.A. Freewaves Festival, which presents independent and experimental media in venues throughout Los Angeles
and hosts a variety of speakers on the topics of education, art, technology, and media.
The
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...
described the festival as "The internationally renowned festival of independent film, video and new media."
It has also been described as an "important voice for social justice and change in L.A.",
and "the largest theatrical exhibition of alternative video in the greater Los Angeles area".
Festival
Freewaves was launched at the
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Leade ...
's National Video Festival in 1989.
In 2004, the festival expanded to include international submissions.
Freewaves typically features independent and experimental media, and exhibits a resistance to
corporate capitalism
In social science and economics, corporate capitalism is a capitalist marketplace characterized by the dominance of hierarchical and bureaucratic corporations.
Overview
A large proportion of the economy of the United States and its labour marke ...
.
Along with static installations, the largest of which show at the
Museum of Contemporary Art Museum of Contemporary Art (often abbreviated to MCA, MoCA or MOCA) may refer to:
Africa
* Museum of Contemporary Art (Tangier), Morocco, officially le Galerie d'Art Contemporain Mohamed Drissi
Asia East Asia
* Museum of Contemporary Art Shangha ...
,
they present road shows that travel throughout the state of California; they also broadcast on cable television,
and on the
internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
.
Media artists including
Bill Viola
Bill Viola ( , ; born 1951) is an American contemporary video artist whose artistic expression depends upon electronic, sound, and image technology in new media. His works focus on the ideas behind fundamental human experiences such as birth, d ...
,
William Basinski
William Basinski (born June 25, 1958) is an American avant-garde composer
Avant-garde music is music that is considered to be at the forefront of innovation in its field, with the term "avant-garde" implying a critique of existing aesthetic c ...
,
Yes Men
The Yes Men are a culture jamming activist duo and network of supporters created by Jacques Servin and Igor Vamos. Through various actions, the Yes Men primarily aim to raise awareness about problematic social and political issues. To date, th ...
,
Brad Neely
Brad Neely (born October 26, 1976) is an American comic book artist and television writer/producer known for his work on television series such as '' South Park'', ''China, IL'' and '' Brad Neely's Harg Nallin' Sclopio Peepio,'' the web series '' ...
,
CrimethInc.
CrimethInc., also known as CWC, which stands for either "CrimethInc. Ex-Workers Collective" or "CrimethInc Ex-Workers Ex-Collective", is a decentralized anarchist collective of autonomous cells.
*
*
* CrimethInc. emerged in the mid-1990s, initial ...
and
Jennifer Steinkamp
Jennifer Steinkamp (born December 22, 1958) is an American installation artist who works with video and new media in order to explore ideas about architectural space, motion, and perception.
Life and career
Born in Denver, Colorado in 1958, St ...
have shown works in Freewaves programs. The organization also presents specialized versions of its festival, for example, festivals that focus on
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
.
In 2000, Freewaves hosted Air Raids, a citywide festival of experimental, documentary and new media works by artists, activists and media makers.
The festival featured an opening at the
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) is a contemporary art museum with two locations in greater Los Angeles, California. The main branch is located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, near the Walt Disney Concert Hall. MOCA's o ...
, thematic video bus tours, "TV or Not TV" a 10-year LA
media arts
New media art includes artworks designed and produced by means of electronic media technologies, comprising virtual art, computer graphics, computer animation, digital art, interactive art, sound art, Internet art, video games, robotics, 3D pri ...
retrospective that aired on
KCET
KCET (channel 28) is a secondary PBS member television station in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is owned by the Public Media Group of Southern California alongside the market's primary PBS member, Huntington Beach–licensed KOCE-TV ...
, online exhibitions, as well as screenings and installations at multiple Southern California venues.
The ninth festival, ''How Can You Resist?'' was held in 2004, with over 150 works of video, film and digital media chosen to address the question "How Can You Resist?"
References
{{reflist, 2
External links
Freewaves Official Website
Experimental film
1989 establishments in California
Experimental film festivals
Organizations established in 1989
Organizations based in Los Angeles