Bidston Observatory Artistic Research Centre

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24–26 June 2022

Fri 24th June

17:00
Arrivals

19:00
Ritual fire + communal meal

Sat 25th June

10:0
Open Offerings

15:00
Sound, Re-Dug day event [link]

Sun 26th June

10:00
Open Offerings

11:00
BOARC Substrate meeting

12:00 – 15:00
Synth workshop

15:00
Open Offerings

Summer Solstice: Substrate Weekend

Friday 24th June – Sunday 26th June

We’re delighted to usher in the summer with our Summer Solstice: substrate weekend. Like our Annual General Exchange in October, there are planned moments in Solstice events, and moments left open to offerings of participants.

Sound, Re-Dug, is Saturday’s rescheduled listening event with interdisciplinary performances and speakers. In sharing sound, we visit the in-between, making contact with an invisible but connected world; join us for a communal moment that honours presence by listening closely.

Sunday’s BOARC Substrate meeting opens BOARC as an organisation to an extended network of users, stayers and affiliates. We will expand discussions to shape the space in the upcoming months.

The Synth Workshop will be open by appointment all weekend for those who are synth-savy, or join us on Sunday from 15:00. This will include an introduction to synthesising sound and the opportunity to play and experiment with a variety of different analogue synthesisers with the assistance of Thomas Cuckle (Kunstraum) and Quieting. Analogue synths can be a little daunting, with so many adjustments you can make to the sounds they produce, but with Quieting and Soundscapes' Thomas on hand you will 'beeping' and 'booping' in no time! We will be set up for jam sessions for anyone who wants to make sounds together, and we will be recording what comes out to put together an open-source sample pack.

About Open Offerings: This is our usual practice of sharing interests / workshops... come with ideas, interventions, excitements! There will be space for communal focus.

There is a sliding scale of fees:
£45 / £65 / £85 per person for the weekend. These rates are dependent on personal funding and resources - please self-select the rate you'd like to pay.

Rooms are allocated on a first come, first served basis, and most rooms are shared.

This includes:
- Accommodation on Fri 24th and Sat 25th June
- all meals included from Friday tea - Sunday lunch

To reserve a place, email: enquiries@bidstonobservatory.org

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an artistic research centre?

In the arts, just like in the sciences, research is conducted in the process of making or experimenting. Practitioners take time, and focus attention on the way that they conduct their practice – however it fits into a discipline, or sits outside many. The process of doing research in the arts varies greatly, and there is no one methodology which applies to all. This artistic research centre is a space where people can come to explore different methods of working, have time for reflection, and get feedback from other practitioners.

What do you mean by self-organising?

The stewards are here to support the building and its resources. The building and its resources are here to support you and your work. While the project is all about trying to make things possible, stewards are already fully occupied with administration and practicalities and can not be expected to support the needs of your personal practice too.

Why is it only possible to stay for a minimum of two nights?

It’s not possible for people to stay for one night only, as this tends to take away from the community’s resources rather than add to it - not to mention the extra laundry costs!

Why is it only possible to stay for a maximum of one month?

In order for this resource to be shared by multiple different groups and individuals, stay is capped at one month. This keeps the space flowing and stops areas becoming territorialised unintentionally. As this is a study site, it is not possible to just live here, though we understand study takes many different forms and doesn’t always appear “productive”.

Why is there a sliding scale?

Many of the decisions we make here at BOARC focus on keeping this resource available for practitioners. The sliding scale helps us to offer a subsidised rate to people who would benefit.

Why is it important to read the values?

through the values carefully and make a decision for themselves about whether they feel aligned. It is not important to share all of these values exactly as they are written, but you should be aware that this is an actively anti-racist, anti-ableist, intersectional feminist site, and there are accountability guidelines in place here for users, stayers, stewards and organisers alike.[Link to values here]