Up Here 8

Of Time

The Then, The Now, The To Be

To some, time is circular—looping like cycles stretching millennia. To others, it is the linear methodic ticking and tocking of an old grandfather clock. It can heal all wounds, it can change everything, and if you stick around long enough, it can literally kill you. Up Here 8 will look back on the then, be in the now, and dream about the to be.

All we really have is time, anyway.

Our perception of time has been altered by the pandemic. At times, it froze, and other times, it flew by. Artists applying to participate at Up Here 8 are invited to explore the theme Of Time and to take it where (and when) it will take them: decolonizing the future, time-travelling through wormholes, exploring the Indigenous concept of deep time, stepping into Afrofuturist portals, dreaming about Einstein’s thought experiments, whatever, whenever.

Come explore the fourth dimension with us. The theme is meant to serve as a loose inspiration for artists submitting mural and installation projects to the festival. Take it literally, take it figuratively, take it wherever it takes you (or completely ignore it if you just have a really cool project you want to propose).

Up Here festival, a laboratory of possibilities

Up Here is a multi-venue music and urban art festival with a focus on exciting and provocative emerging artists. We are dedicated to the presentation of underrepresented genres, and to the curation of pieces of contemporary public art. We are looking for musical projects, muralists and installation artists to help shape the festival experience.

Spotlight on Indigenous Artists

The 2022 edition of the festival will put a spotlight on Indigenous art. First Nations, Inuit and Métis artists are particularly encouraged to apply. 

Up Here stands in solidarity with the Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island. We encourage all our settler friends to join us in the continuous learning, adapting, sharing, supporting, and fighting required to end systemic racism in this country and move toward true reconciliation.

Up Here takes place on the traditional lands of the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek and that Sudbury also includes the traditional lands of the Wahnapitae First Nation. We pay tribute to all First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples who we see as stewards of the past, present and future of this land.

Submit before midnight on Friday, March 18, 2022.

All submissions are reviewed by artistic discipline by the Up Here Programming Committees. The evaluation process is based on artistic merit, the timing of latest releases, the pertinence of the project with this year's theme (slightly less relevant for musical projects) and pairing with other artists in the lineup.

We receive over 500 artist submissions every year. All submissions will be reviewed thoroughly but due to the high volume of submissions, only successful applicants will be contacted.

 
“Time is the substance from which I am made. Time is a river which carries me along, but I am the river; it is a tiger that devours me, but I am the tiger; it is a fire that consumes me, but I am the fire.”
— Jorge Luis Borges

Inspiration

 
 

Imagining the next seven generations, a TedX Talk by Skawennati. What can you do to bring about a brighter future? A decolonized future? How about imagining Indigenous people in spaceships? Contemporary artist, Skawennati, tells it like she sees it.

Today, Einstein's goal of combining the physical laws of the universe in one theory that explains it all is the Holy Grail of modern physics.

Anishinaabe scholar and author Grace Dillon talks about Indigenous Futurism, a term she coined to describe Indigenous art, literature, and media expressed as science fiction with an emphasis on science.

The earliest time measurements were observations of cycles of the natural world, using patterns of changes from day to night and season to season to build calendars. More precise time-keeping eventually came along to put time in more convenient boxes. But what exactly are we measuring?

 
“My people will sleep for one hundred years, but when they awake, it will be the artists who give them their spirit back.”
— Louis Riel
 
 
“Begin anywhere.”
— John Cage
 

Artist Sarah Sze takes us on a kaleidoscopic journey through her work: immersive installations as tall as buildings, splashed across walls, orbiting through galleries -- blurring the lines between time, memory and space.

Space is the Place (1974). Musician Sun Ra, who would later be called a pioneer of Afrofuturism, made this film in the in the mid-1970s, and shows The Arkestra in Oakland in the mid-1970s in full space regalia, replete with science-fiction imagery as well as other comedic and musical material. Watch the full film here.

Lisa Jackson's Biidaaban sees a future where Indigenous values, language and land are all integral to survival.

 
 
“Time is an illusion.”
— Albert Einstein
 

An ethereal portrait of the landowners, officials, and oil workers at the center of one of the most prolific oil booms on the planet. With a focus on the relationship of the Indigenous peoples of North Dakota to their surging fossil wealth, Deep Time casts the ongoing boom in the context of paleo-cycles, climate change, and the dark ecology of the future.

What would it be like to have a limitless memory? Can the meaning of life be found in an infinite library? Is time a labyrinth or a single moment? Jorge Luis Borges explored these questions of infinity in his many works. His body of essays, poems and stories pioneered the literary style known as magical realism— and each was just a few pages long. Ilan Stavans dives into the world of Borges.

Follow two astronauts into outer space to explore time dilation and Einstein’s theory of relativity through the Twin Paradox thought experiment.

 
“Are you machine or being?”
”I am both… and neither. I am my own beginning, my own ending.”
— James T. Kirk questioning the Guardian of Forever,
 
 

Potential Presentation Spaces for Art Installations

Up Here makes use of specific venues and temporary infrastructure on the street.

We work with installation artists to find interesting and fitting spaces to showcase their work. Although it is not a requirement for submitting a project, installation artists are invited to think about how their project could be integrated within specific festival infrastructure.

The Dome prior to a pop-up show during the festival

The Dome

Up Here’s signature geodesic dome is a central piece of the festival experience. A freestanding 35-foot tall structure, the Dome is used as a venue to present pop-up shows, dance parties and all-around good times.

Since 2016, it has been used as a canvas for digital projections, for hung installations and for some of the festival’s most memorable musical performances.

Artists are invited to consult the Dome Construction Manual and submit projects that can be installed in the Dome.

 

The shipping container during the festival setup on Durham Street.

The Shipping Container

This large metal 20 ft rectangle sits on Durham Street during the event. It’s a party in a box that acts as storage for the festival throughout the year and is moved to the street during the festival setup. The standard container is 20 ft long by 8 ft wide by 8 ft 6 in tall.

Artists are invited to submit projects that play with and integrate the container.

 

Stunning immersive installation by Kristina Rolander at the Townehouse Tavern during Up Here 4.

Late-Night Stages

Late-night venues are smaller than our main venues and space on stage is often limited but if you’ve got a project in mind that can work with these constraints, we want to hear from you. We love allowing visual artists to turn our stages into immersive experiences for both artists and festival-goers.