Big bash

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This article was published 16/01/2024 (801 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A 50-inch television, a chandelier and a five-layer cake.

These are a few of the prizes up for grabs at a cathartic fundraising event hosted by Video Pool Media Arts Centre on Friday.

But the items aren’t for keeps — they’re for smashing.

The Y2K Smasher’s Bash marks the finale of Video Pool’s year-long 40th anniversary celebration, which has featured a series of “midlife crisis”-inspired workshops, installations and parties. It’s a fittingly cheeky theme for a Winnipeg arts organization focused on play, experimentation and a willingness to fail.

“It was a fun way for all of us to discover some of the history of the organization,” says executive director Emma Hendrix. “It hasn’t all been roses, there have been things that have been less than ideal and we didn’t want to shy away from that.”

Video Pool was born out of the video program at the Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art. It was launched as a separate entity on Jan. 19, 1983, by Winnipeg artists Ryan Takatsu, Grant Guy, Alex Poruchnyk, Vern Hume, Gerry Kisil and John Tupper.

The goal was to promote video as an artistic medium locally through equipment rentals, training opportunities, production and gallery space. Since its inception, Video Pool’s distribution department has amassed more than 2,200 titles representing about 600 Canadian artists.

The previous 40th anniversary events have offered a playful look at the organization’s past through the various stages of a midlife crisis: denial, passion, replay, depression and withdrawal.

Friday’s bash is all about acceptance, “a stage of cathartic liberation and a bold embrace of what lies ahead.” As such, Video Pool is inviting attendees to break stuff in honour of the organization breaking new ground — literally and figuratively.

The centre recently revamped its membership and equipment acquisition process and is in the midst of expanding its footprint on the second floor of the Artspace building to accommodate a new digital classroom and projection screen.

“With this organizational transformation that is happening right now, it feels fitting to welcome the community in to participate in this shift,” Hendrix says.

“And it’s just so satisfying to break something.”

Admission to the Y2K Smasher’s Bash is by donation. Those who contribute $10 or more will be entered into a draw to destroy one of the aforementioned items with a sledgehammer in a dedicated “rage room.” Guests can also enter the draw by competing in a virtual reality video game contest.

It’s not all smashing and games, though. The event will also feature 10 video installations that capture Video Pool and Manitoba during the 2000s and 2010s. Artists include Colleen Simard, Kelsey Braun, David Garneau, Scott Leroux, Clint Enns, Rick Fisher, Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan, Freya Björg Olafson, Nicole Shimonek and Victoria Redsun

Work produced during “naughty aughties” and “transformative tens” focused on body politics, climate change, decolonization and new digital technologies, says Hendrix, whose pronouns are they/them.

“It was people taking video of mundane things and turning them into interesting artworks that often have a comment on popular society. There’s social media and the YouTube phenomenon and how these sorts of things affect video art and experimental art,” Hendrix says.

The Smasher’s Bash will include food, drinks, a Speaker’s Corner-style confessional booth and music by Vav Jungle and DJ Beekeeni.

eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com

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