12noon until 6pm
Dear Serge is a FREE bi-monthly event at the De La Warr Pavilion showcasing the best in cutting-edge live music, performance and art.
Named after one of the forward-thinking architects of the De La Warr Pavilion, Dear Serge is an afternoon and evening of eclectic live performances. From live music, art, and live performance pieces to the more diverse artistic practices, you can’t afford to miss it. Dear Serge will take you on a visual, auditory and experiential journey with performances taking place in a variety of spaces around the building.
All welcome, free parking on seafront and bar/cafe open.
Cliff Stevenson’s Radical Gallery Activation Site Office will be open from 11am to 4pm daily from the 25th to the 29th May leading up to the event, located in the De La Warr Pavilion Meeting room. Please drop in and talk to the artist about the activation of the Radical Gallery Bexhill, and the wider Radical Gallery project.
Running Order – Saturday, May 30th
Spirit of Gravity, A day of curated performances – on Bandstand and in the Rooftop Foyer. – All day, 12 to 6pm
John Strutton Films – All day, 12 to 6pm (Q&A at 3:30pm) – In the auditorium
Bexhill College Student Works – All day, 12 to 6pm – Various locations
1pm and 3pm
Joe Snape Larmlicht#5
2pm and 5pm
Joe Snape Live Music
1:30pm and 4:30pm
Arcimago
11am / 12:30pm / 2pm / 3:30pm / 5pm
Radical GalleryTours
Ascend. Life is Difficult. (2014) from the Radical Gallery Tunbridge Wells
Cliff Stevenson (Radical Gallery Bexhill)
Cliff Stevenson will be at the De La Warr Pavilion conducting a residency leading up to the activation of a Radical Gallery Bexhill Space at Dear Serge. Following an imaginative exploration of the area surrounding the Pavilion undertaken in the week prior to the event, Stevenson will present a series of tours of the newly activated outdoor ‘Radical Gallery’, taking participants on a physical journey through the ‘Gallery’ and expanding on the themes being explored. (come prepared in case of inclement weather) Please come and visit the artist at the Radical Gallery Bexhill Activation Site office which will be open from 11am to 4pm daily from the 25th to the 29th leading up to the event.
The Radical Gallery Proposition came about through an investigation of what art is when the starting point is one that presupposes no distinction between art/non-art, gallery/non-gallery, artist/non-artist etc. If art is about the viewer’s personal experience, can this be activated outside conventional ideas of the difference between art and non-art? This is not just some fanciful or esoteric artwork. The implications of this work are radical. Amongst other things, through the experience of art, Stevenson is proposing new theories of urban regeneration, economic policy, self development and the meaning of life.
Stevenson has already activated Radical Gallery spaces in the centre of
Tunbridge Wells and Brighton.
Radical Gallery Tours at 11am, 12:30pm, 2pm, 3:30pm, 5pm on May 30th – sign up by emailing dearserge@dlwp.com
Image: Agata Urbaniak, 2015
The Spirit of Gravity
The Spirit of Gravity are a long running collective based in Brighton.
Formed in 2001 to promote live experimental electronic music, they have broadened their approach over time to take in Electro-acoustic, Sound Art, composed and more Audio Visual work.
They run two regular nights “The Spirit of Gravity” itself at The Green
Door Store, and a less formal Arts Lab night called “The Scope” at The Caroline of Brunswick. On top of this they have a label – Spirit of Gravity – with a mixture of physical and online releases, the latest of which is a 7″ vinyl recording by I’m Dr Buoyant and East of Eden sax player Ron Caines.
For this event they have a mixture of collective members, artists who have played at recent shows and the Electro-crèche, a collection of toys that are set up for audience participation instead of a DJ between acts.
Performers include:
Resonant Blue
Noteherder & McCloud
Olivia Louvel
Collectress
Nil
Antipattern: Alistair Strachan
Plus The Fort Process – a film by Ken Eakins – filmed last year at Newhaven Fort.
The right frequencies at the right volume to induce a state of no mind. Doom like drones join the dots with folk, new age and devotional music. Described by Turbulent Times fanzine as “harshly relaxing”. New album “First breath” is currently under construction and features the vocal talents of Lucy Day (The Knights Project).
Grey clad duo undertake sonic investigations. Channelling the sound of the late night stakeout; noir jazz and street noise combine with field recordings for an unusual fusion of saxophone and electronics.
French-born, British composer, producer and performer, who crafts electronic songs with laptop and voice. She works on the frontier of art and electronic music, often blurring the boundary between the two.
Her innovative and quirky songwriting brought her to perform alongside artists such as Planningtorock at the Earsthetic Festival, The Irrepressibles, both at the Brighton Dome and also Recoil (the musical project of former Depeche Mode member Alan Wilder) for various concerts on the European ‘Selected’ tour.
In 2011, she won the album of the year at the Qwartz Electronic Music Awards for ‘Doll Divider’, her third album. ‘Doll Divider’ . In 2014, she released ‘Beauty Sleep’, 11 songs complemented by a series of experimental short films shot in West Sussex, reinventing herself as a bird-woman. She recently produced for Electronic Beats an exclusive mix, “odd and fantastic”, which features an extended version of ‘O Don’t Worry’ from her album ‘Doll Divider’, edits of tunes from her latest release, ‘Beauty Sleep’, and a remix of AGF’s ‘Poemproducer’.
Described as a cross between the Elysian Quartet and possessed
Brontë sisters teasing an unsuspecting dinner party (Foxy Digitalis),
Collectress are a quartet of long-term multi-instrumentalist collaborators from London and Brighton. Making both composed and improvised music,
Collectress utilise voice, toy instruments and found sound samples
alongside layers of more traditional, often romantic, strings, keys and
woodwind – violin, viola, cello, flute, piano and guitar.
With a collective biography of collaborations which includes the likes of Bat For Lashes, Patrick Wolf, Philip Selway (Radiohead) and Penguin Café Orchestra, the four members of Collectress come together to craft music both daring and unique, but also compellingly familiar and filmic.
Collectress are:
- Rebecca Waterworth – cello, piano, keys, ocarina, book
- Quinta – violin, saw, piano, recorder
- Serafina Steer will be guesting on harp.
- Not present
- Alice Eldridge – cello, laptop, pump organ, brush
- Caroline Weeks – flute, voice, keys, pump organ, guitar
Nil is Chris Parfitt on wind instruments, voice and found objects and
Dan Powell on tuned percussion, found objects and voice. They combine acoustic free improvisation with elements of performance art and have performed at venues across the South East. Nil explore the boundaries between audience and performer, as well as the not very loud and the very quiet.
Image: Agata Urbaniak, 2015
Antipattern is a new solo project from Brighton-based cornet player Alistair Strachan. He uses domestic aquarium technology, hydrophones, electronics and brass to tease rhythm and harmony out of noise.
Alistair Strachan plays cornet and synthesiser in a lot of south coast groups from The Sons and Noel andAdrianand Mary Hampton to more freeform improv as a member of the Safehouse collective.
Joe Snape
We are delighted to present a performance of the sound and light work Larmlicht#5 byBerlin resident Joe Snape. This delicate and intriguing work is composed of light-bulbs both visually and sonically. Snape will also be performing his latest musical works in a separate performance on the day. Not to be missed!
Arcimago
Arcimago is Ugo Negroni, is a film-score composer for great lost works of Italian horror cinema. Performing a selection of his synthesiser work from the late 70’s and early 80’s, you can expect dark drones, nightmarish soundscapes, and a dash of Italian flair.
John Strutton – Films
Following a great performance with Riccardo Carbone at the last Dear Serge, we are presenting a curated selection of Strutton’s video works. Drawn from a growing archive of under 5 minute films made over the past decade, each work is a response to an often chance collision between an anecdote, situation, image or overheard phone conversation, expanded through a process of live footage, collage and low-fi animation. The soundtracks to each film are combinations of recorded and text to speech narrations with music drawn from a long standing collaboration between Strutton’s band “Arthur Brick” and Riccardo Carbone.
Artist Q+A 3:30 to 4:15pm
Selected Audio-Photographic Works From Bexhill College Media Arts Students
A selection of works combining Photography and sound by students on the BTEC Media Arts course at Bexhill College. Exploring digital narration and photography the students have been asked to combine a still image with an audio soundtrack to create a new work exploring the theme of childhood fears. Installed around the building and pushing at the boundary of image and movement these works offer a contemporary take on the relationship between photography, video and sound.
To keep up to date with artists and acts as they are announced, follow Dear Serge on Twitter or join the Facebook page
You can view videos of past Dear Serge artists in Dear Serge presents…here at dlwp.tv
Past Dear Serge events can be found on our archive pages here
