Plastik is a Dundee based art collective which produces a publication with content generated by an open submissions process. It is published bi-monthly with the next issue due out at the end of August.

Originally a bedroom zine project initiated by Kieran, the members of the collective have had a couple of different iterations but currently consist of Aylson Stewart, Emma McCarthy and Kieran Milne who all study at Duncan of Jordanstone.

I started Plastik in the winter of 2013 as a solo project to pass the time during the winter holidays. I had recently started my undergraduate degree at Duncan of Jordanstone and had a number of 35mm photographs which I wanted to use for a project. The original intention for the zine was going to be a monthly publication of my own work but after finishing the production of the first zine I realised it would be too much work on top of my studio practice. I started a Facebook page and opened the next issue up to submissions relating to the theme of “Animals”. I got a pretty good response but was still having to add my own work into the zine anonymously to bulk out the issues. It was around this time that the Dundee based zine collective Yuck n’ Yum were holding a “Zine Idol” event and one of the requirements was that there had to be three or more members to apply. I ended up enlisting the help of other Dundee based artists to assist in the production of the publication. We didn’t end up winning the competition but the guys at Yuck n’ Yum have become sort of “Dundee Zine Scene” mentors to us. With the other people on board the work load became easier to deal with and we hosted our official launch party at Generator Projects. We had two issues and the event would act as the launch of both the 3rd issue and the collective as a whole. The Plastik launch party consisted of a group show at Generator Projects and included the work of past contributors – if you had sent work for the zine, then you could put anything you wanted in the show, no questions asked. It was a great success and placed us firmly on the radar of the Dundee creative scene.

After our success at the Generator event we became good friends with the Committee of the artist-led space and have used it for pop-up events such as the Scumbag Filmclub and also collaborated with them with a film screening for the BFI Days of Fear and Wonder Science Fiction festival. We have also collaborated with Yuck n’ Yum for the Dundee based NEON festival closing party where we produced a series of publications made during the party which were filled with content from the night and printed on site.

We plan on continuing to produce Plastik bi-monthly and still engage with the arts scene in Dundee, facilitating discussion and engagement with a variety of cultural and artistic practices.

We are currently taking submissions for our 9th issue, the theme is The Body/Bodies and submissions can be sent to plastikzine@outlook.com. You can read past issues of Plastik on Issuu here.

For more from Kieran, have a look at his recent DJCAD Degree Show review on Central Station here.

More: Website | Facebook | Issuu

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Find more zines we’ve featured here.

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EAF Film Club has seen a varied programme of screenings curated by organisations from across the country this year. There have been serious, thought-provoking films, there have been refreshingly lighthearted ones, but what has particularly stood out so far is the use of performance and interaction to heighten the experience, encouraging spectators to become participants.

This is in keeping with this year’s Film Club theme, “Interval As Integration”, focusing on encouraging interaction between the artwork itself and the audience as well as between artist spaces, artists, curators and the viewer.

The first week saw a takeover by The Royal Standard from Liverpool who showcased a selection of films under the title ‘I like the way you move’. Candice Jacobs’ I get Things Done felt somewhat like an endurance test, looking into power structures and work place monotony. This was counteracted later in the evening with the playful, interactive nature of Lucy Pawlak’s Arriving Without Leaving.  Complete with goody bags, Pawlak’s film instructed the viewers through a series of tasks; rubbing peaches on their hands was just one of these. Both bizarre and wonderful it united the audience in the experience, breaking the structure of passive viewing and reminding us of the potential madness of the everyday.

Generator Projects from Dundee showed work by many different artists. The name says it all with Dorian Brauns’ Give Away Wooden Propellers. The audience were invited up on their feet; playful chaos followed.  Ben Skeas’ Trace was striking, filmed in two locations over the course of the year, focusing on nature but full of imagery that was not recognizably so, cleverly manipulated and calming to watch.

Last week The Telfer Gallery presented Bruce Asbestos’ Social Media Takeaway, a flamboyant expression of multi-media art, focusing on the role of social networking in society. Though hilarious and lighthearted, it also reflected on how social networking has taken over, explained in a whirlwind of performance and film.

The Film Club takes place in New Media Scotland, complete with cushions and a handy bar for the intervals. Our concluding Film Club is today (28 August) at 7.30pm and is curated by Circa Projects from Newcastle. Expect to see works by Steina and Woody Vasulka, Zoe Williams and many more – and all for free! To book your place please follow this link: http://eaffilmclubcircaprojects.eventbrite.co.uk/

New Media Scotland
1 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB
www.mediascot.org

More: Website | Facebook | Twitter

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After the success of the 2012 Film Club, the 2013 edition of Edinburgh Art Festival (EAF) will again run a project presenting emerging artists’ film, video and performance every Wednesday evening during the Festival. This year’s Film Club is aiming to step outside the city of Edinburgh and collaborate with emerging artists and spaces from the rest of Scotland and the UK. Each event will be curated by a different emerging artist/space who will share films, videos and performances with audiences from Edinburgh and beyond and will be shown at Edinburgh’s New Media Scotland.

Galleries that we have invited include The Royal Standard, Liverpool; Generator Projects, Dundee; The Telfer Gallery, Glasgow and CIRCA Projects, Newcastle.

This year’s Film Club with its theme – Interval As Integration – will focus on merging the boundaries and encouraging interaction between artist spaces, artists, curators and viewers, as well as between the screen – the artwork itself – and the audience.

Invited spaces have developed programmes of film, video and performances which will challenge the receding position of the viewer as a passive consumer of sensations and encourage their active participation. The interval will be treated just as in linguistics, as an element necessary for comprehending the meaning of the text. It will enable both the artists and the audiences to engage in a critical dialogue. The interval will not only expand the limits of the screen or the stage, but will also call for merging the boundaries between individuals. Having invited artists and spaces from outside Edinburgh and outside Scotland to take part in the project, this year’s Film Club will support and encourage the common, yet often dismissed within the art world, activity of networking and see it as an activity that is both extremely helpful and necessary, especially for emerging artists and spaces.

The Transmitters by Serena Korda, HD video still, courtesy of the artist.

The first Film Club event, on 7 August, is curated by The Royal Standard, Liverpool. Their film night looks at notions of melodrama, dance, hysteria and glamour. Special entertainment and services will be available during intermissions.
Selected artists include Catherine Payton, Andrew Gannon, Serena Korda, Karin Kihlberg and Reuben Henry, Romany Dear, NOW NOW Collective and Ursula Mayer.

For the 14 August Dundee’s Generator Projects have prepared a selection of artists’ moving images from Reluca Iancu, Jack Paton and Dorian Braun, Angel Zorn, Jack and Dorian, Sarah Lundy, Pawel Grzyb, Sam Spreckley, Bryan M. Ferguson, Maeve Brennan, Christopher McGinnis, Ben Skea, Adam Knight and Aaron McCarthy.

SMT, Bruce Asbestos, video still, courtesy of the artist.

The Telfer Gallery from Glasgow is the third space invited to participate in this year’s Film Club and for the evening of the 21 August, they have invited a Nottingham based artist, Bruce Asbestos, to show another episode of his Social Media Takeaway, Special Episode: Networked. The Social Media Takeaway is Bruce Asbestos’ series of short, whirling and buoyant videos made for YouTube. It is reflective of his approach to art that is intrinsically multi-media and collaborative, positioning artwork firmly in the public domain. His YouTube Channel uses the quick fix, low-brow, throw-away nature of YouTube as site for narrative, pop, performative and discursive work.

Bruce will be producing a Special Episode for the film club on and for the 21 August.

Our last Film Club will take place on 28 August and it will present a programme of screenings selected by curators from CIRCA, Newcastle. Olivia Dunbar, Zoe Williams, Craig Mulholland, Adham Faramawy, Richard Whitby, Jon Rafman, Steina and Woody Vasulka are some of the artists whose work will be presented. This screening will then be shown at Filmwerkstatt, Düsseldorf.

EAF’s Film Club 2013 will be hosted in New Media Scotland between 7.30-9.30 on the following evenings: 7 August, 14 August, 21 August, 28 August. Tickets are available at www.edinburghartfestival.com.

New Media Scotland
1 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB
www.mediascot.org

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[Brochure a collaboration by Lyall Bruce & Johanna Basford]

On Sat 6th Feb 2010, Censta and members went on Dundee Popup, a tour round the city’s creative people and places.  Artists, designers, illustrators, film-makers all gathered for a day of behind the scenes studio tours at Dundee Contemporary Arts, Duncan of Jordanstone and WASPS, private artist talks with Martin Boyce and Daziel and Scullion, plus an exclusive preview of the soon to be opened McManus Gallery after a 4 year refurbishment.

Members were blogging, tweeting and documenting in stills each part of the day, so you can take the tour for yourself.

As well as a day for members, and the city’s creatives to meet and discuss their work and practice, Dundee Popup created some LTD edition artworks. Censta members  SooperDD and Johanna Basford worked together to produce the booklet detailing the day, and Superfly worked with artists from the site to create a poster gallery round the city. Read more about it here.

To top it all off, we had an evening of talks from members, followed by wine and some rather fine Central Station cakes, created by Nikki McWilliams.

To see some of the photographs from the day look here. Read the rest of the blog to find out more about the day, and click here to find reviews and thoughts by the members who joined us.

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What? A tour of the creative world of Dundee, Central Station style. Private talks, tours and presentations. As well as lots of members meeting & discussing.

Where? Dundee

When? 11am – 8pm Saturday February 6th

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[SuperFly poster by Jen Collins - part of a series]

11am:
Meet us at the Reception entrance of Duncan of Jordonson College of Art & Design. We’ll have a quick chat…and then the tour begins. Join us for some or all of it and come visit us at The Rep for a coffee stop.

11:30am options:
i) See the new exhibition at Cooper Gallery, Public Image, accompanied by a Curator talk & listen to sculptor student Julie Duffy talk about her practice

ii) Meet some graduates from DJCAD who’ll talk about how they’ve got themselves noticed since leaving

iii) Have a private tour of Dalziel + Scullion’s studio space

1pm options:
i) Go to Generator Projects for a private talk and tour

ii) Go to WASPS for a private studio tour

iii) Go to a screening of a film selected by Martin Boyce, with a live soundtrack by saxophonist Raymond MacDonald (please note there is a charge for this event & booking is necessary)

2pm options:
i) Get a rare private walkround of Realtime Worlds

ii) Have an exclusive peek inside the newly renovated McManus Galleries

3pm options:
i) Pop along to The Visual Research Centre

ii) Go to the DCA Print Studio for a private tour

3.45pm:
Hear an exclusive Martin Boyce talk about his No Reflections exhibition at the DCA

5pm options:
i) See the SuperFly Pop-up exhibition at the Hannah MacLure Centre

ii) Hear Yann Seznec talk about his Gelkies exhibition at the Hannah MacLure Centre

iii) Take a look at Handmade Heaven’s handmade wares at the Hannah MacLure Centre

6 – 8pm:
Join us for This is… Sit back and listen to a selection of our members giving quick-fire presentations about their work & practice. Then a chance to chat, mingle, drink and nibble

[Cupcakes by Nikki McWilliams]

Highlights of the day for me were hooking up with old friends and acquaintances, and of course meeting new people, putting names to faces and faces to names. I really enjoyed the studio visit hosted by Matthew Dalziel, it was great to hear about their current projects and I think it always helps to illuminate an artist’s practice when you hear it straight from the horse’s mouth. Makes it all the more real, and clearer as to the reasoning behind the work etc. Next up, a visit to Generator Projects and a slide talk with the current committee, who have recently been upgrading the building. Its good to see how they have been building and expanding on the reputation already achieved, punching above their weight as ever!

Managed to miss the preview tour of the McManus but caught the end of the Realtime Worlds Studio Tour, – interesting to see the set up but ultimately ‘not my bag’. Then on to the Visual Research Centre at DCA for a tour of the Centre for Artists’ Books and the Rewind Micro Cinema, the cutest cinema I ever did see, with seats that looked damn comfy after all the legwork of the previous few hours. On to “No Reflections” in the gallery, with Martin Boyce in conversation with Tricia Fleming. I didn’t make it to Venice so it was a good opportunity to see the work albeit in a very different context.

Finally to the Hannah McClure Centre for exhibition talks by Yann Seznec and Jon Gill of Superfly, talking about their work/projects and then “This Is..” with guest speakers from Yuck & Yum, Gen Ryan & Jo Swingler; Lyall Bruce & Johanna Basford; Arika; Colliderscope and Georgina Follett from the V& A Project. All in all giving an interesting and varied overview of things happening or about to happen in Dundee.

Its encouraging to see Dundee burgeoning with projects, opportunities and possibilities for the future, and that the arts and the creative industries are at the forefront of this change.

After all that a glass of vino and a chance to chat, was a well earned finale to a busy and thought provoking day.

Thanks to all the CenSta team for inviting me along, I really enjoyed seeing Dundee from this perspective.

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To find out what Dundee Popup was all about or to read more reviews & blogs  from the day, click here.

It’s already looking like a great day and a great turnout of people, but don’t fret if you can’t be here. Along with some of Censta’s members we’ll be blogging and tweeting the day. Watch out for blogs in the Dundee Popup group, follow @censta for tweets, tagged #dundeepopup and there will be photos uploaded by Ross_McLean all through the day and footage coming from Andy later in the week.

Posters by Superfly have been spotted all round the city, and the LTD edition booklets by SooperDD and Johanna Basford are already a coveted item.

The blogs as they come in…… and the tweets for the day.

And here’s the first blog … read all about Public Image at the Cooper Gallery @DCJAD.

Lots of people meeting, eating and blogging in between tours at the Censta hub at the Dundee Rep.

Emlyn Firth gives the lowdown on the DJCAD graduates showcase, including a live link up on Skype.

Our very own Suzy Glass gives her view of the Dalziel & Scullion studio tour.

Ever been inside the coveted doors of Realtime Worlds? Jon Carlos went along, what did he see?

Censta and members got a very special sneak preview of the soon to be re-opened and very much renovated McManus Gallery. Gillian Easson gives you an idea of what’s in store.

Heidi Proven disappeared into the Visual Research Centre at Dundee Contemporary Arts, and thinks you should too.

JonGill took in the DCA Print studio, screen printing, etching, block, lino and litho. Jessica Ashman gave us her account of the DCA Print Studio tour too.

Martin Boyce took members round his No Reflections instillation at the DCA, and explained the challenges of exhibiting the work in two different spaces. Here and at Venice Biennalle. Curator Donna HolfordLovell takes us through the talk.

Superfly has an obsession, find out what it is.

Artists and makers from Handmade Heaven, showed off their wares and Censta members a plenty bought things. See what Hellojenuine liked.

Then it was time for This is… at the Hannah Maclure Centre which went like this:
Yuck & Yum told us about the ways they distrubute art without using gallery spaces
Johanna Basford & Sooper DD entertained us with stories of collaboration
Arika went through their KYTN 2009 plans and how you can get involved
Genevieve Ryan & Jo Swingler talked us through recent illustration & creative writing collaboration
We heard and saw music & animation from Colliderscope‘s Fiona Soe Paing
Georgina Follett let us know about the V&A Dundee developments.

These were covered by Htothep, suzy.glass & DJCADExhibitions.

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To find out what Dundee Popup was all about or to read more reviews & blogs  from the day, click here.