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2022 CFA Media Mixer!
On June 30th, 2022, CFA will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of its annual Media Mixer event with the premiere of three new Media Mixer pieces at Constellation.
A Look Back: Chicago Film Archives’ Media Mixer
In collaboration with Experimental Sound Studio, CFA is proud to highlight a few of our past Media Mixer pieces as part of their Quarantine Concerts series. Read More
2020 Media Mixer – Experimental Sound Studios’ Quarantine Series
On September 16th, CFA will live stream the premiere of three new Media Mixer pieces in collaboration with Experimental Sound Studios’ Quarantine Series. More details will be posted soon!
CFA Media Mixer 2019 (in review)
We had a fantastic time at the 8th annual Media Mixer on May 9 and are absolutely thrilled with the incredible work produced by this year’s artists! Thanks to everyone who came and participated!
If you couldn’t make it (or if you want to watch the work again!), we now have two of the pieces available to stream below. Read more about the artists here.
2019’s talented lineup (video + sound):
Brian Ashby + Bill MacKay
Emily Eddy + Natalie Chami (TALsounds)
Amir George + Lilianna Zofia Wosko
2019 CFA Media Mixer!
Come see the premiere of three new works created by Chicago-based artists using footage from the Chicago Film Archives collection!
The Media Mixer project started in 2012 as a way to open up CFA’s vault of archival footage to artists working in media, and to support the creation of a new video work by pairing these visual artists with artists working with sound. At the heart of the project is a desire to give CFA’s archival collections new life through the creative interpretation of contemporary artists. As a result, three new collaborative videos will be made using footage from the Chicago Film Archives collection.
This year’s artists are (video + sound):
Emily Eddy + Natalie Chami (TALsounds)
Amir George + Lilianna Zofia Wosko
Please join us at Constellation on May 9 for the world premiere of their collaborations - performed with live audio! Tickets are available for advance purchase here.
CFA Media Mixer 2019: Meet this Year’s Artists
We’re so thrilled to announce the amazing lineup of artists participating in this year’s CFA Media Mixer event. Now in its eighth year (!!!), the Media Mixer has grown to be one of CFA’s most anticipated and exciting public programs. The project began in 2012 as a way to open up our vault of archival footage to Chicago-based contemporary artists, and to support the creation of a new video work by pairing visual artists with artists working with sound. At the heart of the Media Mixer is a desire to give our archival collections new life through the creative interpretation of a new generation of makers.
This year’s artists are (video + sound):
Emily Eddy + Natalie Chami (TALsounds)
Amir George + Lilianna Zofia Wosko
Please join us at Constellation on May 9 for the world premiere of their collaborations - performed with live audio!
Tickets are available for advance purchase here.
Chicago Premiere of the International Media Mixer
The Chicago premiere of the International Media Mixer on July 17 was beyond our wildest imagination!
We couldn’t have imagined a better setting for the live performance of these stunning four works than the Jay Pritzker Pavillion. The evening was cool and clear with the lake just to the east and the glowing skyline of the city to the west. Archival images from CFA and Lab 80-Cinescatti in Italy were transformed by artists Giuseppe Boccassini, Lori Felker, Federico Francioni & Yan Cheng, and Domietta Torlasco and their sonic collaborators Alex Inglizian, Patrizia Oliva, Tomeka Reid, and Stefano Urkuma De Santis into new pieces – each of them magical, challenging, hypnotic, and deeply moving.
The project not only brought together artists working in different parts of the world to create these beautiful new films, it also drew out connections between our contemporary experience and the images that represent our history and our humanity. We already miss our Italian collaborators and friends (curator Karianne Fiorini, musicians Patrizia Oliva and Stefano Urkuma De Santis, and Gianmarco Torri) and are so thankful for the time they were able to spend with us in Chicago.
Thank you to everyone who came to the screening and to those of you who were there with us in spirit!
US Premiere of the International Media Mixer!
Video by Cerise Films / Original Track “Birdseed” by Salvatore Córdova
Chicago Film Archives is thrilled to announce the US premiere of our International Media Mixer project, which will take place on July 17 as part of the 2018 Millennium Park Summer Film Series produced by the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. The project is our largest and most ambitious to date – involving nine artists working in Italy and the US – and has been almost two years in the making.
Funded by the MacArthur Foundation’s “International Connections” fund, the International Media Mixer is a cross-cultural artistic exchange in which Italian artists were commissioned to make a new film using material from CFA’s collections and Chicago-based artists using footage from a regional Italian archive, Lab 80 film - Cinescatti.
The filmmakers were asked to explore, interpret and use this material—from another culture, another country and another era—as they liked. We then paired the US-based filmmakers with Italian musicians and the Italian-based filmmakers with Chicago-based musicians to create soundtracks for the new video pieces. This resulted in a truly collaborative project that brought together artists in Italy and Chicago, as well as our two regional film archives based in Chicago and Bergamo.
We are so lucky to be working with such talented artists on this project! Read more about each of them here.
Giuseppe Boccassini (IT) + Alex Inglizian (US)
Lori Felker (US) + Patrizia Oliva (IT)
Federico Francioni & Yan Cheng (IT) + Tomeka Reid (US)
Domietta Torlasco (US) + Stefano Urkuma De Santis (IT)
This project is one of 15 artistic partnerships supported by the MacArthur Foundation’s International Connections Fund.
Italian premiere of the International Media Mixer
The Italian premiere of the International Media Mixer project on Sunday March 11, 2018 was such a powerful experience—it’s difficult to put it into words. If you aren’t familiar with the project you can read more about it here. CFA’s Media Mixer project began in 2013 as a way to inspire the creative reuse of our films by contemporary artists working in video and sound. With the generous support of the MacArthur Foundation’s International Connections Fund, this was our first international iteration of the project, and it has been an enormous success!
Video documentation courtesy of the Bergamo Film Meeting
Read More
CFA International Media Mixer 2018: Meet the Artists!
We’re so thrilled to introduce the amazing lineup of artists who are participating in our first ever CFA International Media Mixer! If you aren’t already familiar with the project, please read more about it here.
Giuseppe Boccassini (IT) + Alex Inglizian (US)
Lori Felker (US) + Patrizia Oliva (IT)
Federico Francioni & Yan Cheng (IT) + Tomeka Reid (US)
Domietta Torlasco (US) + Stefano Urkuma De Santis (IT)
Italian Premiere of the International Media Mixer in Bergamo!
Video by Cerise Films / Original Track “Birdseed” by Salvatore Córdova
We’re thrilled to announce the Italian premiere of our International Media Mixer project in Bergamo, Italy at the Bergamo Film Meeting Festival on March 11, 2018. This very special screening will feature live audio accompaniment to four brand new commissioned videos that were made using archival footage from the collections of the Chicago Film Archives and Lab 80 film – Cinescatti. We are so excited that Alex Inglizian and Tomeka Reid, accompanied by CFA’s Michelle Puetz, will meet up with their Italian collaborators for the first time for this performance in Bergamo.
We are so lucky to be working with such talented artists on this project!
Giuseppe Boccassini (IT) + Alex Inglizian (US)
Lori Felker (US) + Patrizia Oliva (IT)
Federico Francioni & Yan Cheng (IT) + Tomeka Reid (US)
Domietta Torlasco (US) + Stefano Urkuma De Santis (IT)
Mark your calendars for the US premiere, which will take place in Chicago (outdoors on a very, very big screen!) on July 17, 2018.
You can read more about the process here & visit the Bergamo Film Meeting Festival’s event listing here.
This project is one of 15 artistic partnerships supported by the MacArthur Foundation’s International Connections Fund.
CFA Media Mixer 2017 (in review)
As 2017 comes to a close, we’re reflecting back on some of our favorite events and this year’s Media Mixer (our 6th annual) was a definite highlight! We had so much fun at the Hideout (as usual!) and this year’s videos were fantastic. They’re streaming below for you to enjoy.
2017′s talented lineup included:
Eric Fleischauer + Matchess
Samantha Hill + Haptic
Marianna Milhorat + Brian Kirkbride
More on this year’s artists here!
6th Annual CFA MEDIA MIXER FUNDRAISER
Come see the premiere of three new works created by Chicago-based artists using footage from the Chicago Film Archives collection!
The Media Mixer project started in 2012 as a way to open up CFA’s vault of archival footage to artists working in media, and to support the creation of a new video work by pairing these visual artists with artists working with sound. At the heart of the project is a desire to give CFA’s archival collections new life through the creative interpretation of contemporary artists. As a result, three new collaborative videos will be made using footage from the Chicago Film Archives collection.
This year’s artists are (videomakers listed first):
Eric Fleischauer + Matchess
Samantha Hill + Haptic
Marianna Milhorat + Brian Kirkbride
More on this year’s artists here!
The evening will be hosted by Alison Cuddy, and former media mixer artist Latham Zearfoss will be our guest DJ!
SO MANY GREAT RAFFLE PRIZES!
- An original photograph by artist Judy Natal from the “Future Perfect” series
- 1 pair of tickets to a Cubs vs. Cardinals game in July (Downstate Illinois rivalry!)
- 3 Weekend passes to the Pitchfork Music Festival
- 1-year dual membership to the Gene Siskel Film Center
- 2 $50 gift certificates to Dusty Groove
- A vintage bicycle (60-day warranty and can be exchanged to suit height)
- 2 Club Seat tickets to a Chicago Bears game
- An original Frank Sullivan reclaimed table
- $150 gift certificate to the Gundis Kurdish Kitchen
- A tattoo (1 hour) from Revolution Tattoo
- 1 bottle Aberlour Single Malt Scotch Whiskey, 18 year
- $100 gift certificate to Lula Cafe
- 5 nights at an apartment rental in Austin, TX
- 1 pair of Chicago Sinfonietta tickets to see Trademark performed by the Cirque Rivera Dance Theater on 9/18
and more …
RAFFLE TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE FOR PRE-SALE ($5 each / 5 for $20)
CALL THE OFFICE at 312-243-1808!
All proceeds from the CFA Media Mixer go to benefit the Chicago Film Archives and our efforts to identify, preserve and provide access to the Midwest’s audio-visual heritage. The Media Mixer gives CFA fans a chance to support the efforts of both CFA and local artists at the same time!
Watch the event’s trailer below!
In case you haven’t attended in years past, you can see some of the previous projects at the links below.
http://www.chicagofilmarchives.org/news/cfa-media-mixer-2016-in-review
http://www.chicagofilmarchives.org/news/cfa-media-mixer-2015-in-review
http://www.chicagofilmarchives.org/news/cfa-media-mixer-2014-in-review
http://www.chicagofilmarchives.org/news/cfa-media-mixer-2013-in-review
http://www.chicagofilmarchives.org/news/cfa-media-mixer-in-review
THANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS SPONSORS!
2018 International Media Mixer!
The Chicago Film Archives (Chicago, IL) and Lab 80 – Cinescatti (Bergamo, Italy) are thrilled to announce a new international artistic collaboration—the 2018 International Media Mixer! This project is one of 15 artistic partnerships supported by the MacArthur Foundation’s International Connections Fund.
The International Media Mixer is a cross-cultural “call and response” exchange, bringing together artists from two different countries to explore the process of creating hybrid works of media art. The project sheds new light on the international practice of media conservation and artistic creation.
Here’s how it works: Michelle Puetz, Curator of Public Programming at the Chicago Film Archives, and Karianne Fiorini, film archivist and curator associated with Lab 80 – Cinescatti, each commissioned two local video artists and two local sound artists to collaborate on the creation of four new videos using archival footage. Here is where the exchange comes in: the two filmmakers from Italy and Chicago create new works using digitized footage from the partner archive (Italian-based artists use footage from the Chicago Film Archives and Chicago-based artists use footage from Lab 80 – Cinescatti). Each new silent video is then scored by the sound artists/musicians from the partnering country. Upon completion, the four new pieces will screen in the US and in Italy with live accompaniment by the musicians who created the scores.
The artists selected for the 2018 International Media Mixer are:
Giuseppe Boccassini (IT) + Alex Inglizian (US)
Lori Felker (US) + Patrizia Oliva (IT)
Federico Francioni & Yan Cheng (IT) + Tomeka Reid (US)
Domietta Torlasco (US) + Stefano Urkuma De Santis (IT)
STAY TUNED FOR MORE UPDATES AND INFORMATION!
CFA Media Mixer 2017: Meet this Year’s Artists
We’re so thrilled to announce the amazing lineup of artists participating in this year’s CFA Media Mixer event. Now in its sixth year (!!!), the Media Mixer has grown to be one of our most anticipated and exciting public programs. The project began in 2012 as a way to open up our vault of archival footage to Chicago-based contemporary artists and support the creation of a new video work by pairing these visual artists with local sound artists and musicians.
This year’s artists are (video + sound):
Eric Fleischauer + Matchess
Samantha Hill + Haptic
Marianna Milhorat + Brian Kirkbride
The evening will be hosted by Alison Cuddy, and former Media Mixer artist Latham Zearfoss will be our guest DJ!
At the heart of the project is a desire to give our archival collections new life through the creative interpretation of a new generation of makers. Last month our three visual artists sent in prompts and ideas for their projects, and we pooled our knowledge of CFA’s collections to load them up with source footage (including rarely seen gems and a few staff favorites!). They are just starting to work on editing their pieces and are already in conversation with the three talented and diverse audio artists they have been paired with.
On June 8 you’re all invited to the Hideout to celebrate the world premiere of their collaborations and benefit your favorite Midwest film archive! Tickets can be purchased here. It’s CFA’s Media Mixer 2017!