But Samson has widened the zone of contributions for this occasion including such soloists as Wayne DeFehr, IVI, Amir Salimi, Stephen Sereda and Hitoshi Sugiyama offering their own take on sound exploration. He’s also added improvisational acts Pizzarrhea and OSO & OPO to the lineup as well as more dance-oriented electronic players Noah Weninger and Golden Grey.
“This is my first time performing at a BEAMS event, but I know they support a diverse range of local art and music,” said Golden Grey. “I’m honoured to celebrate Art’s Birthday and support BEAMS at the same time.”
Samson’s also opened the door to international performers, who have contributed
experimental music videos to the proceedings. Featured between live sets will be works by Hari Maia (Brazil), Mental Escape Pod (Austria), Paul Morris (England), Philippe Neau (France) and Dawn Tuesday (United States). Local videos will also be prominent with projects by Christine Miller, m.o.a.i.n, SWILL and Voice Industrie included in the lineup.
“BEAMS is a very welcoming and inclusive society that supports artists of all kinds in Edmonton and abroad,” said Samson. “So we try to incorporate all the artists who submit.”
Art’s Birthday Edmonton 2019 marks the 10th time BEAMS has hosted the annual event, which first hit the city in 2008 when public film making society FAVA facilitated the show, followed by the Edmonton Arts Council’s sponsoring the party the following year. BEAMS has host Art’s Birthday ever since. And while BEAMS might be an old hand at showcasing the project, Samson believes there’s room for other types of art in the celebrations.
“Art is a very vibrant spectrum so live performances and audio-visual pieces can take on many forms,” he said. “BEAMS does everything it can to facilitate this spectrum.”
Golden Grey
Raylene Campbell