The Dallas Medianale will consist of installations, screenings, and intermedia performances in the galleries and black box theater of the McKinney Avenue Contemporary, showcasing the work of internationally renowned artists working in film and video. These works will range from iconic works of early video art to immersive performances with radical repurposing of obsolete video technology.

The event will revisit pioneers of early computer films alongside bleeding-edge experiments in moving images and interactivity. Artists featured in the various exhibitions and events will include Bruce Naumaen, Joe Sola, Francis Alÿs, Gary Hill, Owen Kidd, John Whitney, James Whitney, Jennifer Reeder, Kyle Evans and James Connolly of Cracked Ray Tube, Sean Miller, Liz Larsen of LZX Industries, William Sarradet, Andrew Blanton and many more.

The Dallas Medianale will begin on the weekend of January 9 with two days of screenings and performances in the black box of the MAC, curated by Dallas-based artist and educator Michael A. Morris. These screenings will include recently restored 16mm prints of pioneering filmmakers and technologists John and James Whitney, who utilized analog computers to create alchemical experimental films throughout the '60s and '70s. This first weekend will also feature audio/visual performances by local and national artists including Austin/Chicago-based duo Cracked Ray Tube, Denton-based artist and technologist Liz Larsen of LZX Industries, Dallas-based artist and musician Sean Miller, San Francisco-based artist Andrew Blanton, and Dallas-based artist Half Asexual (Willian Sarradet). These works will be screened on Friday January 9 and Saturday January 10 alongside contemporary digital videos and films.

On the afternoon of January 10, The Dallas Medianale will collaborate with Oak Cliff alternative arts education institution Oil and Cotton to present a workshop by Kyle Evans and James Connolly of Cracked Ray Tube. Kyle and James will instruct students in building DIY audio/video synthesizers and analog video transmitters to create their own audio/visual works of art. More information about the workshop and signup can be found here:

In the galleries of the MAC, an exhibition entitled “Call and Response” will take place. There will be two openings of video and film installations co-curated by Charles Dee Mitchell and Danielle Avram-Morgan. These will take place on January 17 and February 13, with new works to be added at the later date. These exhibitions will include works by artists Bruce Nauman, Joe Sola, Francis Alys, Gary Hill, and Owen Kydd, among others. To coincide with the opening of the second exhibition, there will be screenings in the black box theater of the MAC which will include a selection of Austin-based experimental films selected by Experimental Response Cinema, an experimental film collective based in Austin.

The Dallas Medianale will close with a special program curated by Carolyn Sortor in the MAC’s black box theater on the evening of Feb 28.