From: Victoria Wolfe (email suppressed)
Date: Tue Aug 22 2006 - 11:41:27 PDT
You might consider getting my show back up on the archive. I can send
screenshots of
the original webpage. Perhaps coming in late, you can make amends for
the bad work
of those who preceded you.
On Tuesday, August 22, 2006, at 11:34 AM, Susan Agliata wrote:
> I have only recently taken on the task of programming the New York
> Experimental Film + Video series at The Tank and am not familiar with
> either the founding members of the collective or previous
> screening/exhibition programs. I deal only with the film/video
> director
> on a limited basis and the screenings that I organize are completely
> independent from their other programming. I regret to hear of any
> negative professional experiences with the organization.
>
> I would like to emphasize that at New York Experimental screenings the
> proceeds of the ticket sales that are due to the artist/filmmaker are
> given directly to them at the event. Furthermore, no artist will be
> turned down if they are unable to pay the submission fee. Beyond my
> own
> volunteer programming work I know nothing of the other activities of
> The
> Tank.
>
> My only goal in this endeavor is to screen experimental films and
> videos,
> with a focus on emerging artists, to the general public at an
> affordable
> price. I do this on a volunteer basis simply because of a love for
> experimental film and video, and as previously stated reap no financial
> benefits. If at some point attendance to the screenings increases and
> is
> consistent perhaps the submission fee could be reconsidered, but at
> this
> point that does not seem to be a possibility.
>
> Each filmmaker/artist has different expectations and requirements in
> regards to festivals and screenings. Many are willing to pay $40.00 to
> submit to the Ann Arbor Film Festival and others are not. Each
> individual
> will find the festivals and screenings that appeal to them in regards
> both
> cultural context and personal conscious and that is what makes an
> artistic
> community diverse.
>
> While I understand that dialogue concerning submission fees and
> professional relationships with such organizations is integral to the
> greater community, I do hope that this small screening series can be
> appreciated for what I hoped it would be: an opportunity for the
> general
> public to see underrepresented moving picture works and provide an
> opportunity to emerging and established artists, no more and no less.
>
> --
> Susan Agliata
> The Tank: New York Experimental
> email suppressed
> www.thetanknyc.org
>
>
>> Just so you all know, I once curated a video art show at Spaceworks @
>> the Tank and was guaranteed
>> payment for two artists. The rest of my money for the exhibition came
>> out of my pocket. One was an artist
>> who had recently moved to the U.S. from Asia and who was supporting a
>> new family, the other someone who couldn't
>> afford airfare and who flew in to perform an evening of music upstairs
>> at the Tank that brought in a full paying
>> audience. They did not pay either one the nomimal fee promised, and
>> that happened after both artists participated
>> in the show. I happen to know that one of the members of the
>> collective had made some big mistakes with
>> money in unrelated matters. Not only did this harm my professional
>> reputation -- somehow the collective at
>> the Tank managed to portray me as being in the wrong. The shows was
>> popular - the opening screening had
>> many who stayed and watched for hours. Additionally, the staff
>> waited
>> until just days before the event to clean up the room for
>> the screening, and installation-wise they did not follow through with
>> anything near what they had promised in the
>> weeks and weeks of meetings and prep together. The Tank not only
>> never paid the artists what they had
>> promised, they removed the show, Dialogue with Pop, from their archive
>> listing because I was so mad about this.
>> Meanwhile I had to scramble to do damage control. Fortunately I have
>> screenshots that it existed.
>>
>> One of my worst professional experiences.
>>
>> On Monday, August 21, 2006, at 10:46 AM, Susan Agliata wrote:
>>
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> I would like to clarify the mission of The Tank and address some
>>> issues a
>>> few individuals seem to have with the submission process:
>>>
>>> The Tank is a not-for-profit organization for the visual and
>>> performing
>>> arts and operates with an almost entirely volunteer staff to program,
>>> manage, and maintain the venue. New works find a home here, artists
>>> find
>>> an environment where they can create as well as present, and
>>> audiences
>>> find welcoming ticket prices to a dynamic schedule that has given
>>> unconventional programming a stage in the heart of Manhattan.
>>>
>>> The Tank keeps only a very small percentage of the ticket sales to
>>> the
>>> screenings and the remainder is given DIRECTLY to the
>>> artists/filmmakers.
>>> Once again, the programmers/organizers do not receive financial
>>> compensation.
>>>
>>> A submission fee for festivals and screening opportunities is
>>> standard
>>> practice and is necessary to pay bills and rent for running a monthly
>>> screening in Tribeca. All submission fees go directly towards
>>> maintenance
>>> of the venue and once again the organizers are not compensated
>>> financially
>>> through these fees.
>>>
>>> It is truly disheartening to me that this has been met with such
>>> cynical
>>> criticism. The Tank is merely one venue of a community of non-profit
>>> organizations dedicated to screening underrepresented experimental
>>> film
>>> and video to the public on a continuing basis, and it is integral
>>> that
>>> this endeavor is sustained through the support of the greater
>>> experimental
>>> moving picture community.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Susan Agliata
>>> The Tank: New York Experimental
>>> email suppressed
>>> www.thetanknyc.org
>>>
>>>
>>> __________________________________________________________________
>>> For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.
>>>
>>
>>
>> __________________________________________________________________
>> For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.
>>
>
>
> __________________________________________________________________
> For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.
>
__________________________________________________________________
For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.