Ottawa Downtown Rideau BIA - Ottawa Events and activities

Tape Heads: Video Art & Technology in the 1980s | May 11 - July 1

SAW Video Media Art Centre presents the historical exhibition Tape Heads: Video Art & Technology in the 1980s at City Hall Art Gallery from May 11th to July 1st, 2012. This exhibition highlights the early days of video art in Ottawa, looking at how video technology evolved during the first decade of SAW Video’s existence, and how its first generation of video artists used their creativity and imagination to overcome technological limitations and produce visually dynamic and challenging work. The videos on display in the exhibition all stem from Videosync, a cable-access TV show produced by SAW in 1983, and most of these videos have not been shown or seen since then. Thanks to a recent restoration of the original archival tapes, these exceptional video art pieces can be witnessed and enjoyed for the first time in nearly 30 years. Also on display will be a wide variety of cameras, recorders, editing equipment and types of tape, some from the collection of the Canada Science and Technology Museum. The exhibition will be complemented by a panel discussion called Keeping Time / Time Running Out: Preserving Video Art and Technology in and out of the Archive on June 8th investigating the growing urgency to preserve the legacy of video practice and production in Canada.

Vernissage
Thursday, May 10th 2012
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
City Hall Art Gallery
110 Laurier Ave. West, Ottawa
Free Admission

Exhibition
May 11th – July 1st 2012
open daily 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
City Hall Art Gallery
110 Laurier Ave. West, Ottawa
Free Admission

Panel Discussion:
Friday, June 8th 2012
6 p.m. – 8 p.m
Club SAW
67 Nicholas St., Ottawa
Free admission
Plus reception, 8 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Exhibition tours:
Saturday, May 12th 2012
2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Friday, June 8th 2012
5 p.m. – 6 p.m.