Sydney's Gloom Festival

Responce to Arts Hub article

2010-05-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

http://www.artshub.com.au/au/news-article/opinions/performing-arts/shining-a-light-on-vivid-sydney-181351

Thanks for your critique on Vivid Festival, it’s the reason I started the light hearted satirical stab at Vivid’s hype through Gloom Festival. Really what I was getting out besides the hypocrisy of the hype was trying to address the need for some degree of equity and the need to meaningfully engage with local artists.
However I am completely reconsidering the whole Gloom thing in light of recent events: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/mates-race-45m-deal-snares-mp-20100528-wldb.html
At least events NSW is spending $8m on arts instead of $45m on V8 super cars!
Even though Vivid is not ideal, I just realized how much worse it could be!
Cheers
Gloom Sydney

Dropping Gloom

2010-05-29T01:18:00.000-07:00

I am thinking of dropping my whole Gloom
campain against Vivid fest cause things can and are SO MUCH WORSE.Sir
Lunchalot McDonald is up to his old tricks, spending NSW dollar$ giving
to his mates and bringing such great events as V8 super cars to
Sydney.Compared to V8s, Vivid is positively brilliant. Oh the state of the
state is despicable.
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/mates-race-45m-deal-snares-mp-20100528-wldb.html

MACQUARIE’S BRASS PLATE

2010-05-17T17:57:00.001-07:00

Dates: 27 May - 20 June 2010

Discover our City as you’ve never thought of it, as you venture along the theatrically lit Macquarie Street and surrounding historic buildings.
Discover the sites of massacres and mayhem, of rum filled rape and defilement. From St Mary’s Cathedral and Hyde Park Barracks to Parliament House, the State Library and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, these Grandes tarts of Sydney architecture are rendered with extraordinary Darkness.

GLOOM Sydney strives to uncover the dark secrets in the shadows of history and revels in all its insidious debauchery. This on-foot nocturnal adventure starts with the horrid light spectacle at St Mary’s Cathedral. Stones of the Cathedral will appear to literally rise out of the ground as the story of “zombies defiling the Nation” unfold. Gloom exhumes the ghosts of our history and forces them to fess up, on all the dirt. Follow the dark trail along Macquarie Street with historical and contemporary themes revealed in the shadows.

Taking approximately one hour join the free public walk will be a storytelling journey using iconic Macquarie era buildings and Royal Botanic Gardens as the backdrop, on the way to Sydney Opera House and Circular Quay,
Happy Gloomers will don their breast-plates and shout out the stories of death, plague, rape and massacre.

Vivid’s Macquarie Visions celebrates the 200th anniversary of Australian visionaries Governor Lachlan and Elizabeth Macquarie – Gloom derides the Macquarie’s as ultimate Sydney wowsers they were and brings to light the darkness inherit in our history.

Gloom Sydney asks people to don a brass plate (as the above photo), as Macquarie asked Aboriginal leaders to do (Well the one’s he assigned as leaders), he did this so he could identify them, apparently they all looked the same. He was not content in building monuments to himself and naming them all after himself, he asked Aboriginals to bear their name embossed in brass on their breast plate, and add their own dark stories to this horrid site.

IGNITING THE SAILS

2010-05-03T21:15:00.000-07:00

Gloom Sydney once again highlights the architectural vandalism of
Vivid’s Lighting the Sails, which features the spectacularly horrible
illumination of the Sydney Opera House sails. Not since they changed the lighting on the bridge in the 90s has an aesthetic defacing been so horrible, this is state sponsored vandalism!

Gloom Sydney will play on this willful defacement of public property and seek to publicly highlight not only aesthetic crime but the willful
waste of money this vandalism costs. Energy Australia is sponsoring
Vivid Sydney to waste enormous amounts of electricity on this venture.

After all the good will and energy saved during EARTH HOUR the NSW Govt. thought it a good idea to use all that energy. How much does this cost?
And how many Sydney artists are being kept in the DARK by lack of
resources?!

Igniting the Sails- Seeks to address the thought that “Architecture can only be appreciated in a building that is burning”. While we would never invite a literal interpretation of this, we do seek visual analogies that best exemplify the above statement.

With this in mind we are calling non-permanent graffiti artists to
overlay the Opera House Projection or any Sydney building already
projected on and defaced by Vivid Sydney,
ideas could be:
Video projection, light projection, laser projection, invisible ink,
chalk…..

Why all the GLOOM?

2010-04-27T17:18:00.001-07:00

Why all the GLOOM?
The NSW government through Events NSW is producing a new Festival- Vivid Sydney. This Festival is hypocritical in that the NSW Government through Events NSW is celebrating how wonderfully creative Sydney is and at the same time the NSW Government through Arts NSW is increasingly not supporting the Arts, especially the small to medium independent sector and that sector is really struggling.
The small to medium independent sector is vital to the arts culture of Sydney. It breeds innovation and is the cultural undergrowth that sustains and nourishes the arts sector as a whole. How can you celebrate something you don't support at a grassroots level? The marketeers and the spin-doctors at Event NSW can talk up how wonderfully creative Sydney is but their rhetoric is clearly transparent hype; that arts prosper despite not because of the NSW government.
The NSW Government has summarily lumped the arts in with design, fashion, advertising, architecture, television, film and publishing and branded it “creative industries”. This cannot deflect from the Government’s responsibilities towards each of these individual industries or hide, in this convenient amalgam, its failures in the arts sector behind successes in other more commercial industries.
The labelling of all these industries as “creative” diminishes the word creative beyond its’ meaning and so renders it banal. That is not to say practices in these other industries do not involve creativity, they do. There is a long tradition of philosophical discussion on the definition and distinction, of what is the difference between art and other utilitarian industries? That is to say that some of the above industries do involve some degree of art and some art practices do involve commercialisation. My answer cannot be complete within the small confines of this article. However to me, within the arts there is a greater imperative that transcends the everyday and the utilitarian, beyond any economic rationality.
There is always a tension between the respectable legitimisation of the artist and artist keeping their sense of irresponsible illegitimacy. The basis of this tension is economic. Artists have to survive economically in a society that it often critiques. How much can artists bite the hand that feeds it? But the artist’s role is often seen as saboteur of society. Artist’s aim is often alienation of its audiences; an act of defiance that at once marks their individual freedom and announces the limits of societies capacities of inclusion, acceptance and understanding.
This underlies a greater cultural problem in the arts in Australia, of the overly paternalistic attitude towards artists. Artists cannot be trusted: to self manage, to self-assess, make their own decisions, to run their own spaces and create their own festivals. This has created an overly top-headed arts cultural beast, where funding is centered on the top - in management, or over-management, and little trickles down. By the time funding reaches the artists there is not much left. Artists generally don't get paid in NSW. Artists are relegated to 'hobbyists' in NSW.
Diverse cultural experiences that originate locally, beyond what is piped from elsewhere is also important in encouraging a sense of community and identity in Australia, it also allows young people here to make their own culture rather than be merely passive consumers. This is a privilege available to young people in most countries and one that Australian governments must provide its citizens. This is a democratic dividend- people as makers of culture not just consumers.
This distinct lack of imagination and creativity in Sydney is due to State Government back sliding on arts agendas, its’ distinct lack of vision. Why can’t we provide Sydney and its children vibrant cultural experiences and opportunities to build a new 21st century arts industry, get skills to participate and gets jobs in the arts and be competitive on the world stage?

GLOOM Sydney 2010 is Happy!

2010-04-27T03:50:00.000-07:00

GLOOM Sydney 2010 is Happy!
27 May - 20 June 2010
The main theme for GLOOM 2010, besides the overjoyed happiness of being an artist in NSW, is the introduction of a new way of being an artist in NSW.
This new way is called PARA_SITE art,
A PARA-SITE artist is a positivist.
That artist assumes s/he has been invited, assumes s/he has been included.
It is the naïve assumption that we would never be excluded, that ALL are included.
There is no exclusion in PARA_SITE art. Everyone is part of the art.
There are no invitations to GLOOM 2010, everything that has been programmed in VIVID Sydney has been programmed expressly for GLOOM Sydney, programmed for YOU!
VIVID and GLOOM are symbiotically linked.
Happy GLOOM Sydney is the PARA_SITE of VIVID Sydney 2010.
If you do not appear on the VIVID program this has been an OVER_SITE
You just need to claim that space and join in,
WARNING: A good PARA_SITE does not halt or stop its host, this would harm not only the HOST but also the PARA_SITE.
So treat lightly and gently and take your place.
This is NOT a protest, it is an art movement of inclusion and you are ALL invited to join!
For every Vivid Sydney event, Gloom Sydney happily joins in to take its place.

The New Gloom Festival- Sydney Happy Gloom Festival 2010

2010-02-16T16:27:00.001-08:00

The New Gloom Festival- Sydney Happy Gloom Festival 2010

Like the New Tories in Britain with their oxymoronic “Conservative Progressives” Sydney Gloom Festival has taken the advice of many and sort to re-brand itself in a brighter light. It is now for 2010:
The Sydney Happy Gloom Festival.
The Sydney Gloom Festival is spending (like Sydney University) millions of dollars re-branding itself. We have gotten rid of our Latin insignia of “Ab absurdo”, (which loosely translates life is shit and then you die).
We are currently engaging the services of international marketing firm Lickman, Hernia and Shmelnick to totally re-conceptualise the market positioning of the festival, to really open it up, especially to young people, who found the old festival too negative.
We are currently doing extensive community consultation, engaging with the Creative Community of Sydney to get a grass-roots appraisal of the feeling “on the street”.
As one Creative Sydneysider noted:
“ Creative people want happy, positive works that showcases the talents of young artists and brings communities together”
Debra Whitegoods, Cleo Magazine

Be a white sheep! And join our community

Stay tuned for News on the New Happy Gloom Festival...

Bring On the Slime!

2009-11-02T19:45:00.001-08:00

After events NSW huge success of closing the harbor bridge so they could put grass on it for an elite few to picnic, they will next be closing sydney harbor to put blue-green algae on it, the algue will grow crusty and you'll be able to picnic on the harbor, but only 100 people will allowed to do it, for ohas reasons, get your lottery tickets now for the opportunity to be a part of this great event!

Spinning Shit!

2009-06-09T03:46:00.000-07:00

Did anyone read this shit! This man can really spin some bullshit.
Why has the NSW Govt. abdicated responsibility for the state and given so much money to this bullshit artists? The NSW govt. can't spin their way out of their shitfull mess.
What happen to the light on the hill?
Instead they give a multi-million dollar torch to a spin doctor who shines the light into our eyes trying to distract us from whats going on. what is going on? A huge waste of money.
What if the NSW Govt gave this guys wage and budget to artists?
Imagine that!
Instead we have this bullshit:
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/even-sydney-needs-a-little-lipstick-20090607-bzqj.html

Thanks to the dead

2009-05-29T17:58:00.000-07:00

A huge thank you to the 6 hardy souls, who braved the rain and the confusion surrounding the "unofficial" Gloom festival. We lay on the floor, with artists on our forehead and got the attention of many curious people, Police did ask us to stand, so we stood still for some time, talking to people about the reasons for being there and the issues we were trying to address. Hope to see people tonight at Bill and George for Gloom conversation.
cheers
Jeff

Legal at unoffical gloom

2009-05-28T20:02:00.000-07:00

If you want to do the action at the Opera House tonight legally, you can do the action at the bottom of the stairs, just outside, it will still have impact.

THE UNOFFICIAL GLOOM FESTIVAL!

2009-05-28T19:59:00.000-07:00

In case things are NOT clear about the cancellation of Gloom Festival.

I can no longer OFFICIALLY endorse the activity related to Gloom Festival.
However if individuals do engage in activities suggested by Gloom Festival of the their own volition because they believe that the ideas and actions proposed by Gloom Festival, that is up to individuals. I personally as an individual citizen of my own accord will be engaging in the activities suggested by Gloom Festival, while I do not encourage such activities, if other individually are motivated to do so that is up to them.

I met with Opera House staff relating to emergency planning and response. While the staff member was polite and amenable and respected our right to fee speech and protest, there are rather strict rules related to such activities. This has a lot to do with both the perceived threat of terrorism and the premier position the Opera House holds in the national landscape.
The Opera House did not want to allow any activity in the foyer and in fact prohibits it. This is also for “public safety” as the foyer is being renovated and space is restricted and restrictive causing potential OHAS issues. They have insisted that all activity happen outside.

I also contacted local police command and they had wanted the event to be registered under- SCHEDULE 1, SUMMARY OF OFFENCES ACT 1998.

This would have required me as the organizer of the event to sign the above document to take responsibility for the actions of all people engaged in the event. Which makes me personally liable for the actions of everyone involved. I do not have public liability for this event and therefore that was not an option. To not sign the document would render the activities in the Gloom Festival illegal and still render me liable.

This also would have brought to the attention all the other proposed activities of Gloom Festival and caused the close monitoring of the activities by authorities. This would have potentially caused a threat to Bill and George, in that there is not the appropriate licensing for the proposed activity and I did not want to risk that great artist’s space.

In the short time that I put Gloom Festival forward there was a great response of goodwill from artists and supporters, however not enough time to really organise people’s engagement and register people’s commitment. By that I mean people’s commitment to action.
If anything, Gloom Festival was not only asking people to engage in ideas around issues but a call to take action. Not sure if the suggested actions were the best? But they intended to be a light-hearted way to address the real issues at hand.

What is the real issue?
EQUITY

The NSW government, through Events NSW is spending $7 MILLION dollars on the VIVID Festival. This is when Arts NSW funding is at an all time low.
The argument that the NSW are spending this money “creatively” does not wash.
Not one Sydney dance, theatre, visual artists is being showcased, employed by VIVID Festival,
In a festival that highlights how wonderfully creative Sydney is.
BULLSHIT!
OK- the Opera House looks pretty with lots of lights on it,
OK- Brian Eno and co are wonderful artists
OK- Lets talk about the issues at Creative Sydney BUT no amount of taking can hide this fact that this festival is a farce. Like the Federal government’s 20/20 summit what will happen? Talk, talk, talk……. And then nothing. We still get fucked over by the government.
I have had enough of talk and complaining and have sort to take action, rightly or wrongly?
If people feel passionate about the above issues then feel free of your own volition to take action.

GLOOM FESTIVAL IS OFFICIALLY CANCELED!

2009-05-27T18:33:00.000-07:00

The over my dead body event is officially canceled. The organsiers of Gloom Festival no longer officially endorse this activity and ask the public officially not to engage in such activity. Those members of the public still wishing to engage in such activity unofficially, do so under their own volition. Please if you do engage in such activity, do so with care of public safety and please take advice from Opera House staff.

The Darkness performance event at Bill and George is officially canceled.
Bill and George will be open from 8.30pm for those still wishing to unofficially gather and discuss the gloom festival and issues it provoked.

The Bonfire of the Vanities is officially canceled.

Those still wishing to engage in elephant in the room activities should feel free to do so under their own volition- unofficially, however the organisers of Gloom Festival do ask that you respect the people talking at event and to please do not disrupt Creative Sydney too much.

Gloom Festival wish to thanks to those who did pledged their support to Gloom Festival and the many letters of support.

We hope we got the message across and that artists and the public continue to engage in the issues provoked by the Gloom Festival.

COME ON PEOPLE!

2009-05-25T19:21:00.000-07:00

Good intensions, “my thoughts are with you” or “I will be there in spirit” just does NOT cut it. Here is an opportunity to stick it to the man- to the NSW government! We can have polite conversation later but lets get the point heard NOW!

COME ALONG AND HAVE A SAY BY JOINING IN ON THE MANY FUN WAYS TO TELL THE NSW GOVT. THAT THEY ARE NOT DOING ENOUGH TO SUPPORT THE ARTS AND CULTURE IN SYDNEY AND NSW BY
PARTICIPATING IN THE COUNTER FESTIVAL- GLOOM

4 fun things to do to be part of Gloom Festival
1) Come dress as an elephant or make elephant sounds at Creative Sydney at the MCA. Also download elephant sounds to your phone and play.
2) On Friday night at 7.15pm come lie on the ground in the THE OPERA HOUSE foyer of the Opera Theatre for 15mins with artists written on your forehead (artist stickers will be available for those who don't want to write it from gloom operatives lurking in the foyer from 6.45pm).
3) Bring a torch and come to perform and hang out under candle light on Saturday from 8.30pm at Bill + George Studios: Level 1/10 - 16 Williams St Redfern NSW 2016; www.billandgeorge.org
Register online to perform at www.gloomfestival.org go to contacts to email your interest or call Jeff.
4) Come burn an art object at a bonfire on Sunday night at a secret location. Register online to receive notification of location.

Register online at www.gloomfestival.org
Any questions contact Jeff Stein on: 0433661311

Join the Gloom

2009-05-21T01:04:00.000-07:00

The NSW government through Events NSW is producing a new Festival- Vivid Sydney.
The Vivid Festival is hypocritical in that the NSW Government through Events NSW is celebrating how wonderfully creative Sydney is and at the same time the NSW Government through Arts NSW is increasingly not supporting the Arts, especially the small to medium independent sector.

How can you celebrate something you don't support at a grassroots level?
The spin-doctors at Event NSW can talk up how wonderfully Creative Sydney is but that is mostly despite not because of the NSW government.

The small to medium independent sector is vital to the Arts culture of Sydney. It breeds innovation and is the cultural undergrowth that sustains and nourishes the arts sector as a whole. That sector is on the brink! Right now, this sector is facing an unprecedented crisis. Not only from diminishing State government funding, but also severe rent hikes leading to an exodus of artists from the city. This is compounded by the strangulating risk-adverse culture in Sydney.

According to their press release:
“VIVID will feature a four-prong bombardment of exciting arts events.”
LETS BOMBARD BACK AND TELL THEM WHAT WE THINK ABOUT STATE OF ARTS IN NSW!
JOIN IN THE COUNTER FESTIVAL- GLOOM