WA’s newest multi-arts festival is the result of a partnership between the City of Swan and Artrage. Last year it was a satellite festival of the biennial Artrage, now Urban Edge is going annual in Midland, one of the fastest growing urban centres in WA. The program—built loosely around a wild west theme of “an imagined place of unlimited potential where the unexpected occurs and regular laws don’t apply”—comprises theatre, sound, visual arts, a huge street event and the Video Head project. The latter is a new media community project involving all the schools in the region. Artrage artists are working with 500 young people creating new animation and video works. As well, images of heads will be projected onto large inflated globes, attached to the roofs and exteriors of prominent buildings creating a new media installation, “with 500 young people seeing themselves inflated to the size of gods”. In a populist-cutting edge blend there’s a sound program mixing country music and some of the country’s leading improvisers. Nexus is a sound installation with “layers of interviews and cultural and social statistics and histories gathered from throughout Midland”. Swerve is an animation program created by Disability and Disadvantage in the Arts WA members working with digital artists. Core Sampler is a huge experimental dance/electronic sound/ digital projection event staged in an outdoor carpark with dancers, new media artists. Urban Edge shows new ways for the arts and communities to join in celebration. Nov 8-22
RealTime issue #57 Oct-Nov 2003 pg. 27