OTD in 2016—PMoCA unveils Slow Art Movement painting in honour of Park’s estivators
Slow artist Heike Slak’s “Beacon”
Tomorrow marks the official end of estivation. It’s time to welcome back the friends we haven’t seen for over two months and to move into The Park’s busy Autumn social season.
But even though a large number of Park Animals will be coming out of a state of torpor tomorrow, estivation traditionally has not received as much attention as its Winter counterpart, hibernation.
All that is set to change in the coming years and the Park Museum of Contemporary Art (PMoCA) is leading the way.
Tomorrow evening, in honour of our estivating citizens, the PMoCA will unveil a painting by slow artist Heike Slak.
The painting, which bears the title, “Beacon,” was commissioned last year by the museum.
“This is the first work by a slow artist that we have displayed. We are very proud to hang this painting in the PMoCA in honour of our estivators. and we look forward to a long and happy relationship with the Slow Art Movement,” the museum’s head curator Aamuun Maroodiga told the press this morning.
Slak, who will come out of estivation tomorrow, delivered the painting to the museum at the end of May. Maroodiga confirmed at the press gathering that Slak will attend the unveiling tomorrow evening.
OTD in 2016—The Beats gets bigger: lineup for music festival’s fourth year announced today
“Bigger” and “better” were the words most often uttered this morning as Beasts of Burden lead singer Alfredo Ox announced the lineup for the fourth annual Beats of Burden Music Festival.
“We know that bigger isn’t always better, but in this case it is,” Ox told the throng of reporters outside The Draft, the pub that he and his Beasts of Burden bandmates own.
“We asked ourselves, what could make this event better? How do we stay true to our purpose without this becoming just another music festival?”
The answer to that question, Ox said, was to bring the musical and other acts closer to that purpose.
“We want The Park’s refugees, who are the festival’s raison d’être, to always be within your sight or hearing. We want you —no matter what you’re listening to, no matter what you’re watching, no matter what you’re eating—to have our refugees front and centre in your mind. Yes, we want you to have a Whale of a time, and that’s no pun. NIML will be at the festival, down by the Tartan Crab Memorial Pond. But we also want you to remember that this is a charity festival, a festival with a purpose, not just a Porpoise,” he said, as the crowd groaned.
As far as the music lineup goes, many of these groups have performed at the festival before: Inktvis and Krake, Eggie and The Pigs, The Feral Four, The Canary Cousins, Banded Brothers, Spontaneous Generation, NIML, rapper Will.o.be., The Cynics, The Tweeters, Les Chiens Débraillés, GHC, Jargohead, Fish Rap, and The DomEstyx.
But there are newcomers, such as Belles and Whistles and Memes of Production and up-and-comers, including Erdferkel!, plucked just past Friday from the Beats in the Bar (formerly the Open Mic at The Draft), as well as last year’s pick, The Crumb Seekers.
Even bigger musical news comes in the form of Last Stand, the band whose members all hail from endangered species, and ZEAL, who begged off last year’s Celebration of the Winter Solstice because he refused to play at the same event as the SCENTient Beings’ Faramund Stinktier. The Beats will feature both, though they’ll play at different venues.
As well, Ox said he personally invited The Endeka Elephant Band, whose bassist, Zuberi Tembo, was killed this summer on a trip home to Africa. The band agreed to play on two of the three days of the festival, and Ox said he took that as a compliment.
“Zuberi Tembo was a refugee and I think the band wanted to honour that,” he said.
This year’s festival will introduce a new category, Spoken Word Extemporaneous (SWE), which Ox said he’s particularly excited about. And the comedy portion will feature Dalmanik and Woodruff Dalmatio, with a few “surprises” in store for Saturday.
Another first for the festival is the Rodent gymnastic troupe, “Out of the Box.” Ox was also proud to announce that the organizers of the annual Park ART Walk had agreed to resurrect their 2014 exhibit, “From Fear to Freedom,” which highlights the art of The Park’s refugees.
As usual, the Beasts of Burden will take the stage every day and night and they’ll be acting as auctioneers during Saturday night’s gala auction.
With all that, and the “long list of surprises” that Ox boasted about, it’s hard not to believe that this bigger Beats will be even better.
The Beats of Burden Music Festival will take place at venues throughout The Park 16-18 September 2016.
All proceeds from the festival go toward assisting The Park’s refugees.
OTD in 2016—WINK: Most controversial opening film ever for PIFF 2016
If controversy is a predictor of success, then award-winning director G.D Zebra’s WINK is set to be the most successful opening film ever at The Park Interspecial Film Festival (PIFF).
PIFF Communications President Leola Ocelot announced the opening choice this morning at a press conference outside the Park Cinema. It didn’t take long for the hoots and howls to begin.
Flanked by the film’s director and one of its stars, Willem Leopard, Ocelot fielded questions from Park media while she ducked stones, sticks, and balls of mud. It is not clear whether these were intended for her or for Zebra and Leopard.
The film, which was produced by Kevin Kodkod (of Black Cats Can’t Jump fame), follows a group of striped and spotted Animals for a period of three years—before, during, and after they have their stripes and spots removed. The film records for “posterity and illumination” the group’s experiences, feelings, and fears—both as Animals of pattern and then as solid-coloureds.
Included in the film are interviews with popular Park musician and anti-stripe-removalist ZEAL, anti-sortitionist and self-described “naturalist,” director Douglas Cheetah, and SCENTIENT Beings composer and father of Reekabilly music Faramund Stinktier, who announced his transition to a Zebra last year.
Ocelot said the October 1 gala screening would be the film’s début.
“There be no sneak preview or even a trailer release,” she said.
The Park Interspecial Film Festival (PIFF) runs from 1-5 October 2016.
OTD in 2016—Third time’s a charm as Open Mic at The Draft becomes “Beats in the Bar”
For the past two years, it’s been the beats before the Beats but from now on the open mic evening at The Draft will officially be known as “Beats in the Bar.”
“They say the third time’s a charm and we think so too,” the Beasts of Burden posted yesterday on their GooseBook page. The post also confirmed that the Beats in the Bar will officially become an annual event.
“The Department [of Holidays, Festival, and Celebrations] has put it on The Park’s official calendar and so should you,” the Beasts’ lead singer Alfredo Ox told Toro Talk Radio host Yannis Tavros yesterday afternoon.
And he emphasized that “the name has changed, but its purpose hasn’t.”
“We’re still looking for raw talent, unknown artists, and new beats. We still want to showcase the best of the pre-fest at our main event. So, come on out and show us what you’ve got,” he said.
In its short history, the open mic evening has become one of The Park’s biggest talent searches. But it didn’t start out that way, the Beasts’ manager Ignatius Herder says.
According to Herder, the open mic night was originally conceived as a way to “warm up” Park residents in advance of the Beats of Burden Music Festival, which was new and not very well known.
“So Alfredo put out the call to Park musicians and we thought we’d get what would amount to a pre-show, but we couldn’t have been more wrong,” Herder says. “These young, talented, untested musicians came in and blew the whole thing wide open.”
Since then, not only has the evening become a showcase for new talent, but Ox himself has become the mentor of five young artists.
“That was a total surprise,” Alfredo Ox told The Mammalian Daily last year. “Mentoring was the last thing on our minds when we started this thing.”
The rules for this year’s event are the same as last year: those who wish to play or sing are asked to add their names to a list that will be posted outside The Draft tomorrow morning.
“Whether or not you perform, you will be a great time,” Herder says. “But come prepared to stay out all night.”
OTD in 2015—UWT Art Gallery, Park Museum vie for art of endangered species
The soon to be opened new art gallery at the University of West Terrier is engaged in a battle with the Park Museum for the opportunity to house and display a selection of works by members of The Park’s endangered species.
Although some of the pieces in question formed part of the 2015 Park ART Walk in August, most of the artists whose works were displayed have to date refused invitations from The Park’s art galleries in favour of private showings, most often at their own abodes.
“Obviously, this would be a real coup for us, but that is by no means the only reason we want to house the art,” said Bibiano Montanaro, spokesAnimal for the President of the University, in an interview on TMD Radio yesterday.
“As an educational institution, we feel we are the appropriate place for this art and that’s why we are engaged in this battle. But, I must say, we didn’t think we would have to fight at all, let alone this hard,” he said.
For its part, The Park Museum maintains that its mission is to house as much as it can that is representative of life in The Park.
“That means, past, present and even future,” says curator Dorika Pumi, who failed in her attempts as curator of the Park Museum of Contemporary Art (PMoCA) to attract artists who were members of endangered species.
And although Pumi contends that this “isn’t personal at all,” many in The Park’s art world believe otherwise.
“I don’t blame her for trying to redeem herself, but I don’t think she should do it on the backs of endangered artists,” says Anastazja Koci, an alumna of the Hani Gajah School of Art. Koci, who was shortlisted for the position of curator at the UWT art gallery, says she was taught by Pumi and maintains the utmost respect for her.
“But I think she’s pushing too hard on this,” she says.
OTD in 2014—PIFF 2014 takes the political high road with choice of opening film
Director-turned-producer Ulla Kojootti’s engaging collage film, 32 Short Films About Zoocracy, has been selected to open the 10th annual Park Interspecial Film Festival (PIFF) on October 1.
PIFF Communications President Leola Ocelot made the announcement at a brief press conference this morning.
“We screened the film about a month ago and thought it would be perfect for the opening,” Ocelot said.
“It is a fine celebration of our struggle to establish and maintain Animal self-rule and it fits nicely with our own celebration of a decade of showcasing the work of Park filmmakers.”
The film is an unusual project for Kojootti, who is better known as a “lone Wolf” in the industry than as a collaborator. Her best known films, such as Coexistence, were written, directed and produced by her with no assistance from any other Animal.
Even so, Kojootti said in an interview recently, she was drawn to the subject “because I had been thinking about our life here in The Park and I wanted to know what others thought about it.”
She invited The Park’s film community to a discussion and, she says, “the idea began there.”
Kojootti invited 32 directors (one for each year of zoocracy in The Park) to make a short film about the subject either from their personal point of view or from that of their species. The result is what those who have seen it call a “brilliant, maddening, engaging, thought-provoking” film.
Ironically, Kojootti produced the work but did not direct any of the films. She has no regrets, though.
“Maybe we’ll do it again in a few years,” she says. “Then I will definitely save one [film] for myself.”
OTD in 2014—Beasts of Burden to hold pre-festival open mic night at pub they own
Beasts of Burden to host open mic at pub
Come one, come all! And bring your instruments, too!
The Beasts of Burden are planning to hold a pre-festival open mic night on August 31st at The Draft, the pub by the Wishing Well that is owned by the musical group.
According to their manager Ignatius Herder, the band wants to give Park residents a chance to “warm up” in advance of the Beats of Burden Music Festival, which they founded last year.
“It’s a party … to celebrate a party,” Herder said.
All Animals are welcome to join in the fun, but the Beasts request that those who wish to play or sing add their names to a list that will be posted outside the pub on Wednesday morning.
“It will be a great time but be prepared to stay out all night,” Herder says.
“And, if we find some unknown Park talents, we will invite them to perform at the festival.”
Open Mic night at The Draft on 31 August: Doors open at 6:00 p.m.
The Beats of Burden Music Festival: 12-14 September
OTD in 2015—Noreen in talks with TMD to curate new section of newspaper: gossip site
According to the gossip site headsNtales, Noreen is presently in negotiations with The Mammalian Daily to expand her rôle with the paper beyond that of dispensing advice.
In a post dated yesterday, the site claims that the advice columnist, best-selling author, and adjunct professor of Human Studies at the University of West Terrier has pitched the idea of creating and curating a new section of the newspaper called, “The Righteous Among the Humans.” The new section would shine a light on Humans who have done good works for Animals.
“Let’s face it; it would be a natural fit for Noreen,” says headsNtales co-founder Hortencia Guacamayo.
“Given that she’s spent her whole life studying Humans, both informally and formally… and add to that her newspaper and academic credentials…who better to do this sort of work than Noreen? I think it’s a brilliant idea and only Noreen could have thought it up!” she says.
Although no formal announcement has been made by the newspaper, Mammalian Daily managing editor Orphea Haas has been known as a champion of Noreen ever since she brought her to the paper over fifteen years ago.
“Haas encouraged Noreen from the get-go and she’s blossomed into a very powerful force in The Park. I can’t imagine her denying Noreen’s request. This new rôle will be good for her [Noreen] and for all of us,” Guacamayo says.
OTD in 2013—Douglas Cheetah to host “Cheetah Chat” during PIFF 2013
Renowned director Douglas Cheetah will host a chat and Q&A with film lovers during PIFF 2013.
Renowned director Douglas Cheetah will host a chat and Q&A with Park film lovers this October during PIFF 2013, it was announced today.
“We are pleased to announce that Douglas Cheetah has agreed to participate in a live chat and Q&A at the Park Cinema, following the debut screening of his new documentary,” PIFF Communications President Leola Ocelot said in a statement released this morning.
The chat, which has been dubbed the “Cheetah Chat” will be held live at the Park Cinema but will also be carried online, to allow those not able to attend to ask questions of The Park’s most celebrated director.
Cheetah, who is best known for his controversial 2007 (25 AZ) film, Black Cats Can’t Jump, has spent the last few years working on a documentary about the inner workings of the interspecial family, which he says he discovered exists both inside and outside The Park.
The film, entitled, Clutch, Flock, Litter, Pack: Relationships in the Age of the Interspecial Family, will screen October 2 and 4 at the Park Cinema during PIFF 2013.
The Cheetah Chat will be held on October 2.
The Park Interspecial Film Festival runs from October 1-5, 2013.
