BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 CALSCALE:GREGORIAN PRODID:adamgibbons/ics METHOD:PUBLISH X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VEVENT UID:20890@offbeat.amsterdam SUMMARY:Remembering Steve Kurz DTSTAMP:20260418T144120Z DTSTART:20260507T173000Z DTEND:20260507T193000Z DESCRIPTION:Remembering Steve Kurtz is an evening devoted to exploring and celebrating the\nlife and work of Steve Kurtz\, pioneer in bio art and tac tical media.\n\nAs co-founder of Critical Art Ensemble (CAE)\, an influent ial collective of\nradical experimental artists\, Kurtz was a frequent vis itor to Amsterdam\,\nengaging in festivals such as Next 5 Minutes and Worl d Information Org as a\nhighly influential contributor to the discussions which swirled around the\nsocial and technological revolutions of the 1990 s.\n\nKurtz and CAE’s radical approach questioned the very foundations of what it\nmeant to be an artist through a willingness to embrace “any kind of cultural\nhybrid\; artist\, scientist\, technician\, craftsperson\, the orist\, activist.” This\nhybridity however carried unexpected risks. And i n 2004 the danger of\nchallenging institutional boundaries became clear wh en Kurtz was targeted in an\nFBI investigation\, leading to a wave of gran d-jury subpoenas under the\nBiological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act\, that t ook years to fully resolve in his\nfavour. Our event will engage with this difficult phase in his life\, in part\,\nthrough screening key extracts o f the renowned film Strange Culture by Lynn\nHershman. We are fortunate in that we will be joined by Lynn Hershman and\nRichard Pell online from the US for discussion and reflection.\n\nWith books such as The Electronic Di sturbance (1994)\, Electronic Civil\nDisobedience (1996) and Flesh Machine (1998)\, Kurtz and CAE defined the artistic\nand activist responses to co rporate virtualization techniques. Were video and\nnetworks still possible as tools for cultural resistance?\n\nThroughout the evening\, we will hea r from many individuals who knew Steve\ndrawing on previously unseen film footage of interviews\, as well as live\ndiscussion with distinguished con temporaries. Our explorations will range across\nkey aspects of CAE’s’ out put. Finally we will launch the Dutch translation of\nUnreality and Its Di scontents: The Struggle Against Christian Nationalism\, the\nlast book tha t Steve completed at the very end of his life\, in an act that\ncouldn’t h ave been timelier or more urgent. URL:https://offbeat.amsterdam/event/remembering-steve-kurz GEO:52.3727735;4.9003436 LOCATION:Waag - Nieuwmarkt 4\, 1012 CR Amsterdam STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:amsterdam-centrum,books,discussion,electronics,experimental,fest ivals,film,live,nieuwmarkt/lastage X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

Remembering Steve Kurtz is an even ing devoted to exploring and celebrating the life and work of Steve Kurtz, pioneer in bio art and tactical media.

As co-founder of Critical Ar t Ensemble (CAE), an influential collective of radical experimental artist s, Kurtz was a frequent visitor to Amsterdam, engaging in festivals such a s Next 5 Minutes and World Information Org as a highly influential contrib utor to the discussions which swirled around the social and technological revolutions of the 1990s.

Kurtz and CAE’s radical approach questione d the very foundations of what it meant to be an artist through a willingn ess to embrace “any kind of cultural hybrid; artist, scientist, technician , craftsperson, theorist, activist.” This hybridity however carried unexpe cted risks. And in 2004 the danger of challenging institutional boundaries became clear when Kurtz was targeted in an FBI investigation, leading to a wave of grand-jury subpoenas under the Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act, that took years to fully resolve in his favour. Our event will engag e with this difficult phase in his life, in part, through screening key ex tracts of the renowned film Strange Culture by Lynn Hershman. We are fortu nate in that we will be joined by Lynn Hershman and Richard Pell online fr om the US for discussion and reflection.

With books such as The Elec tronic Disturbance (1994), Electronic Civil Disobedience (1996) and Flesh Machine (1998), Kurtz and CAE defined the artistic and activist responses to corporate virtualization techniques. Were video and networks still poss ible as tools for cultural resistance?

Throughout the evening, we wi ll hear from many individuals who knew Steve drawing on previously unseen film footage of interviews, as well as live discussion with distinguished contemporaries. Our explorations will range across key aspects of CAE’s’ o utput. Finally we will launch the Dutch translation of Unreality and Its D iscontents: The Struggle Against Christian Nationalism, the last book that Steve completed at the very end of his life, in an act that couldn’t have been timelier or more urgent.

BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:DISPLAY DESCRIPTION:Remembering Steve Kurz TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR