GAS 2020 – a different kind of festival
GAS 2020 – a different kind of festival
The 2020 GAS-Festival takes place. That in itself is perhaps quite remarkable, considering the state of the world these days. And we are incredibly happy to be able to present a festival this year.
Considering the current situation, the theme for this year’s festival – which largely revolves around the physical aspects of a space and how this relates to and affect the artistic experience – has been strengthened by the limitation that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought on. From necessity, we’ve had to create a somewhat new festival format, where parts of the festival will take place on digital platforms. This allows us to do our audience outreach, which is about creating easier access to the festival for a wider audience, without any digital or geographical obstacles. We can be where both new and existing audiences are.
The 2020 festival presents artists in spaces that are, as always, meticulously chosen. But this year, there’s a whole new interconnection between time and space in the form of global concerts where musicians from the US, Australia and Europe meet in real time, where pre-recorded, concerts containing their own intrinsic spatialities, meet acoustic environments here in Gothenburg. Where the boundaries for what constitutes live music is moved into a new and unknown territory.
In the international networks that we as a festival is part of, we see a tendency that this approach, where the digital sphere becomes a more integrated part of the festival structure – and where the forms in which to exist as a festival and to present music – is becoming the norm. We see how this isn’t really considered as an obstacle, but rather as an opportunity to readjust to a more environmentally friendly production, to reach new audience groups and thereby create a broader accessibility to sounding art.
The 2020 GAS-Festival takes place from October 10-17 on a number of venues in Gothenburg, with artists from Scotland, The Netherlands, USA, Australia, Canada and Sweden. We have always been an international festival, this year more so than ever. This year’s festival will be different. But it will be good.
Staffan Mossenmark
Artistic Director
Staffan Mossenmark – Artistic Director
Swedish composer and sound artist Staffan Mossenmark is an often hired lecturer and leader of workshops at art, architect and design schools both in Sweden and internationally. A big part of his artistry and composing is the interest of our everyday sounds. By composing with sounds that you can easily recognize, he has managed to reach out to a general audience, outside the traditional music and culture audience. Staffan also teaches in soundart by the Academy of Music and Drama at the University of Gothenburg. Ha has been the Artistic Director for the festival since 2009.
Contact
info@gas-festival.com