Does whiling away a weekend with reggae images and sounds accompanied by a barbecue and cocktails sound relaxing? Or is getting tranced-out by sound art performances and electronica more to your liking? This weekend at the Nanhai Gallery (南海藝廊), you can check out the celebration of music and film that is part of the gallery's ongoing Mixing Membrane (連橫合縱同流膜) project that intends to create a platform for young artists to strut, chill out and connect.
Aiming to establish its appeal, the venue has put this occasional event onto its regular schedule since April, making room for experimental sound art every Friday, student and underground bands on Saturdays and indie film productions on Sundays.
"We are here to promote cross-over artistic expressions and team up with different projects. It's a place where the alternative, experimental and rebellious spirits can thrive," said curator Meta Hung (洪優純), adding that due to the venue's limited space and lack of soundproofing, heavy-metal and loud rock bands will not be included in the lineup for the time being.
This weekend, Tweenie and Digihai (低級海) take the stage playing techno and punk eletronica while electronica outfit Nylas warp minds with weird and wonderful tunes.
The Lacking Sound Festival (失聲祭), a monthly event, will make its debut next Friday and features young sound artists experimenting with interdisciplinary art forms. The venue will bring in celebrated groups from central and southern Taiwan starting next month, so Taipei denizens can get a feel for the lively rhythms from the rest of the country.
For reggae illiterates, this Sunday's Jamaican party will bring beats from the Caribbean island one step closer with a feast of food and music in the courtyard where visitors can swing to mixes of DJ@Ilenblow and DJ Shorty.
On the second floor, the history and spirit of Jamaican music will be traced out with Ted Bafaloukos' 1978 classic film Rockers, which stars celebrated reggae musicians such as Jacod Miller and Robbie Shakespeare and tells a story that boasts an outstanding reggae sound track. Jeremy Marre's groundbreaking documentary Rebel Music: The Bob Marley Story, which reveals the depth and range of Marley's political, philosophical and religious beliefs through the man's words and music,
will also be screened.
"For the Sunday film section, we plan to reach out to student films made at home and abroad, introduce foreign works to local film students and get local productions shown in foreign countries. We'd like to become the venue for exchange and continue what is left of the Golden Lion Awards at National Taiwan University of Arts (台灣藝術大學) [Taiwan's only student film festival] that was canceled due to budget cuts," said Hung, adding that the gallery is calling for entries for music performances and films all year round.
For more information on upcoming events and submissions, visit blog.roodo.com/nanhai
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