Sara Kolster

SARA KOLSTER

Contact information:
sara@umatic.nl

blog.sarako.net
www.sarako.net

Kolster [NL 1978] is a video and media artist with a background in web / graphical design and web-based projects. The focus of her work shifted more towards video and film; capturing details from urban locations, visualizing fragments of stories of these environments. She uses different strategies, from time-based media (video, film) to appropriated research methods belonging to different observational disciplines (journalism, documentary & archeology). Recently, her work concentrates on the integration of sound and image, using different techniques - from medium format slides, 16 & 35 millimeter film and video to database-systems, live processing programs such as Pure-Data and web-interfaces.

" I choose my images carefully, with a main focus on details and close-ups. The camera observes, looking for stories behind objects and locations. In my work, i emphasize the uninhabitated environment in which human appearance seems to be even more accentuated. This environment, obviously designed by humans, shows inevitably their traces. Questions as, who lived there or what has happened, i leave to be answered by the viewer."

Her work - including the performance ResonanCity - has been presented in many venues and festivals in Europe, the US and Brasil including FILE (Sao Paulo, BR), WRO (Wroclaw, PL), Netherlands Film Festival (Utrecht, NL), Garage (Stralsund, DE), Videomedeja (Novi Sad, SCG), BEK (Bergen, NO), Transmediale (Berlin, DE), RAM6 (Vilnius, LT), Arts+Communication (Riga, LV), Kuda.org (Novi Sad, SCG), Kunstraum (Innsbruck, AT), Art Museum of Nantes (Nantes, FR), Montevideo (Amsterdam, NL), Denver University (Denver, USA), SARAI [Delhi, IN] and others.

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE PROJECTS
For recent works see: www.sarako.net

Performance: resonancity
Performance: resonanCITY Sara Kolster (visuals) & Derek Holzer (sound)

Many sounds and images in our everyday lives slip past our notice simply because they are too small, or because we lack the proper receivers to pick them up. The resonanCITY performance is created from field recordings, found objects, photography and video collected in various locations around the world. Using these sounds, objects and images, Sara Kolster and Derek Holzer create a live audiovisual improvisation which amplifies and transforms the smallest and most unnoticed details. The result--a live cinema performance something between a dream and a roadtrip.

resonanCITY has been performed live in Holland, Brasil, France, Austria, the USA, Canada, Serbia, the Baltic States and at the Transmediale 05 in Berlin. resonanCITY also took the Second Prize at the 11th International WRO Media Art Biennale in Wroclaw, Poland in May 2005.

http://www.sarako.net/resonancity.html

RECENT PROJECTS

2006

Awards

Dec - NetArts.Org Grand Prize 2006 for Soundtransit.nl, Tokyo, JP

Installations

Dec - Soundtransit.nl [w/ D. Holzer & M. Boon], Art Center Nabi, Seoul, KR
Oct - RoomService MetaVille, Venice Architecture Biennale, Venice, IT
July - Soundtransit.nl [w/ D. Holzer & M. Boon],Govett-Brewster Gallery, New Plymouth, NZ

Pure Data Workshop [w/ Derek Holzer]

Sep - Sibelius Academy, Helsinki, FI
Jun - SCANZ, Auckland, NZ
May - Videographe, Montreal, CA
May - SAW Gallery, Ottawa, CA
Mar - Apoteke, Portland, OR, USA
Mar - Video In Studios, Vancouver, CA
Mar - Film Department, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, USA
Feb - Denver University, Denver, USA

resonanCITY Performance [w/ Derek Holzer]

Jul - HAPPY Bar, Wellington, NZ
Jul - SCANZ Moving Image Center, Auckland, NZ
May - The Upgrade!, SAT, Montreal, CA
May - SAW Gallery, Ottawa, CA
Apr - Zentrale Randlage, Berlin, DE
Mar - Apoteke, Portland, OR, USA
Mar - Video In Studios, Vancouver, CA
Mar - Hotcakes Gallery, Milwaukee, USA
Feb - Denver University, Denver, USA

33.99 Records Instant Record Label [w/ Derek Holzer, Jan Zimmermann, Meik the Mischer]

Feb - Club Transmediale, M12, Berlin, DE

Residency -- SARAI

SARAI [Delhi, India] Artist in Residence

2005

Performances

Dec - (w/ Derek Holzer) Apo33 event, Art Museum of Nantes, Nantes, FR
Dec - (w/ Derek Holzer) Fresh Trips, Kunstraum, Innsbruck, AT
Nov - (w/ Derek Holzer) FILE festival - Sao Paulo, BR
Oct - (w/ Derek Holzer) Dutch Filmfestival- Re:visie, Centraal Museum, Utrecht, NL
Oct - (w/ Derek Holzer) Videomedeja, Novi Sad, SCG
Jul - (w/ Derek Holzer) Garage Festival - Forget It!, Stralsund, DE
Jul - (w/ Derek Holzer) Netherlands Media Art Institute, Amsterdam NL
May - (w/ Derek Holzer) BEK, Bergen, NO
May - (w/ Derek Holzer) Awarded Second Prize @ WRO Biennale, Wroclaw, PL
May - (w/ Derek Holzer) Festival Pomladi, Ljubljana, SI
Feb - (w/ Derek Holzer) Transmediale, Berlin, DE

Web Projects [w/ Marc Boon and Derek Holzer]

Jul - Soundtransit.nl - Garage Festival - Forget It!, Stralsund, DE
Feb - Berlin.Soundscape-FM.Net - Transmediale, Berlin, DE

Workshops/Lectures

Dec - Artist Presentation (w/ Derek Holzer) - Apo33, Nantes, FR
May - Pure Data workshop (w/ Derek Holzer) - BEK, Bergen, NO

Grants

Startstipend - BKVB - Dutch Fund for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture - bkvb.nl
Project grant - FAPK - Fund for professional Performing Arts - fapk.nl
Travel grant - Prins Bernard cultuurfonds - cultuurfonds.nl
Project grant - Gemeente Utrecht (PanDev) - utrecht.nl
Project grant - Digitale Pioniers (soundtransit.nl) - digitalepioniers.nl
Project grant - Mondriaan Foundation - mondriaanfoundation.nl
Support - De Waag (soundtransit.nl) - waag.org

2004

Live performance

Nov - Piksel04-festival - (w/ Derek Holzer) Bergen, NO
Okt - Pushing the Medium - (w/ Derek Holzer) - Mooste, EE
Sep - Arts & Communications (w/ Derek Holzer) - Riga, LV
Sep - RAM06 (w/ Derek Holzer) - Vilnius, LT
May - Mikrostraava Electoaucostic Music Festival - (w/ Paulo Raposo) - Riga, LV
Mar - Umatic - (w/ Yannick Dauby, Derek Holzer) - Utrecht, NL

Web-projects

July / August - Soundscape-fm.net - (w/ Marc Boon, Yannick Dauby and Derek Holzer) Garage Festival - Stralsund, DE - soundscape-fm.net
Nov / Dec - VisibleSound/AudibleImage - LV/EE/LT - audibleimage.nl
Jan - Impaktonline - Utrecht, NL
Jan - Hella Haasse (w/ Machteld van Gelder - Amsterdam, NL - sarako.net/vergezicht.nl

Workshops / Masterclasses (attended)

June - July - Iceland inside out - Reykyavik, IS
March - Pixelache locative media workshop - Helsinki, FIN
Nov/Jan - Stifo Masterclass (w/ Sandberg Institute) - Amsterdam, NL

Pure-Data Workshops (organized)

Sep - RAM06 - Vilnius, LT
Okt - Daugvapils, LV
May - RAM05 - Riga, LV
May - Montevideo - Amsterdam, NL

Presentation

Feb - International Film Festival Rotterdam - (w/ Machteld van Gelder) - NL

Installation

Sep - Isolation - Mooste, EE - www.sarako.net/ isolation.html
June - urbanISM - BAK (w/ umatic) - Utrecht, NL

Grants

2003

Performance

Aug - FILE festival - (w/ Derek Holzer) Sao Paulo, BR

Video

June - Ossea' - IMPAKT festival - Utrecht, NL ossea
June - 'Snowflake' - Design

Web projects

June - VPRO Tegenlicht - nieuweboeren.sarako.net
March - VPRO Tegenlicht - midden- oosten nieuwsoverzicht - sarako.net/mo/mo_week1.html
Jan/June - Sarako weblog - sarako.net/sarako
Dec/Jan - karosta project (w/ Derek Holzer) - karosta.edworks.net

Artist-in-Residence

Dec/Jan - K@2 - (w/ Derek Holzer) Karosta, LV

2002

Web projects

Dec - VPRO Tegenlicht - 'Aanbouw Europa' - (w/ Ines Gall) sarako.net/vpro/index.html
March/May - Bellissima - 'Emotioneel Stadsplan' - emotioneelstadsplan.nl

Research documentaries

Sep/Dec - VPRO Tegenlicht - (w/ Shu Shen Tan) 'Hegemony of the US'
Sep/Dec - VPRO Tegenlicht - (w/ Hans Otten, Shu Shen Tan) 'Weapon inspections in Iraq'

2001

Projects

Nov - Design Solidario - DesignAcademy Eindhoven - MonteAzul, Sao Paulo, BR
July/Aug - Acoustic.Space.Lab - Riga/Ventsipls, LV
June - Pinhole project (w/ Brandy Fedoruk) - Vancouver Island, CA

Documentary

Nov - Wireless Taps - 'Latvian Waves' (w/ Derek Holzer) - Rotterdam, NL

Film

April - 'Typography' - super-8 - Vancouver, CA
March - 'TomatoMurder' - super-8 - Vancouver, CA