🗓️ 6-8pm, Wednesday 27 March
📍 Blast Theory Studio
🎫 Free entry
Spring is near and things are opening, so let that be us too!
This next Pot Luck is all about new ideas or ideas that you are trying to develop.
🗓️ 6-8pm, Wednesday 27 March
📍 Blast Theory Studio
🎫 Free entry
Spring is near and things are opening, so let that be us too!
This next Pot Luck is all about new ideas or ideas that you are trying to develop.
Cat Royale is heading to Wales Millennium Centre.
🗓️ 6-9pm, Wednesday 24 January
📍 Blast Theory Studio
🎫 Free entry
RSVP
Out of the darkness we bring you Pot Luck: Light Making with recycled, upcycled (presents?) and re-used materials.
Find out more about the recipients of The Jamie Iddon Award
“It’s not ‘natural’ to speak well, eloquently, in an interesting, articulate way.
“Questions and answers depend on a game – a game that is at once pleasant and difficult – in which each of the two partners takes pains to use only the rights given him by the other and by the accepted form of dialogue.
Get your making chops on, we will be making Kimchi!
Learn how to make it or share your skills with others, but you will go away with food that is spicy and good for the gut, a recipe card and of course a warm glow.
Download a large text version of this webpage here
Download an audio version of this webpage here
We are very proud to announce a great opportunity for emerging artists.
We have a vacancy for a new studio tenant at our building in Portslade, Brighton.
Having co-founded Blast Theory in 1991, Ju Row Farr has decided to leave the group in October.
I am turning my tanker around and I don’t know where I will be heading exactly or even what my tanker might look like.
Ju has been at the heart of Blast Theory since the very beginning, so with Ju’s move to creating work independently, it seemed like a good time to think about how Blast Theory ticks.
Join Ray Adams Row Farr as she hosts a unique Pot Luck Takeover on Wednesday 6 September.
We’re grateful to have received support from the Mo Siewcharran Fund for a new Studio and Production internship starting in October.
Join Simon James and Angus Carlyle as they host a very special Pot Luck on Wednesday 26 July. They’ll be sharing some sounds recordings from their visits to the port and will be talking about their plans for this exhibition. What better location than overlooking the port itself?
We have a vacancy for a new studio tenant at our building in Portslade, Brighton.
We’re looking for people to help test the accessibility of our latest work, We Cut Through Dust.
21 June 2023 – 20 January 2024, Free Entry
Cat Royale returns as part of Science Gallery London’s latest exhibition, AI: Who’s Looking After Me?
We’re really pleased to welcome artist Odirile Khune Motsiri to the studio for a four-week residency as part of Culture ConneX, a unique multi-disciplinary arts programme produced by Urbanflo in partnership with Brighton Fringe.
Having performed in over 28 countries worldwide, Rider Spoke is back for a spring tour to Keswick, Darlington and Redcar as part of Eden Arts’ The 66 project.
We’re thrilled to be joining an incredible lineup at this year’s Manchester International Festival.
Join our latest artist in residence, Sigrún Gyða Sveinsdóttir, for an artist talk on Tuesday 14th March.
We are looking for a freelance Video Editor to work on one of our most ambitious projects yet.
We are looking for a Production Assistant to work on one of our most ambitious projects yet.
OBS Studio Technician (up to 4 days, up to £800 + VAT)
Vision Mixer (14 days, £2,800 + VAT)
Apply now: Cat Royale volunteer runner
Are you into tech, cats or both? Have you ever wanted to work with artists?
Cat Royale gets its world premiere this March at the World Science Festival in Brisbane.
As a part of Cat Royale, we have engaged an Audience Advisory Panel who are coming along with us on this journey, as we try to work out and develop the complex nest of subjects that is the project.
This month Blast Theory welcomed Icelandic artist Sigrún Gyða to the studio.
We’re looking for a computer vision expert to join the Cat Royale team.
Can you teach an AI what a happy cat looks like? Help us by tagging cat activity for our latest project, Cat Royale.
This year, we opened our studio space to 14 local artists and makers:
Amber Gibbins, Violeta Marchenkova, Rikki Tarascas, Emma Lindsay, Joel O’Donoghue, Lady Helena Vortex, Chiron Stamp, Shani Kantor, Anna Weatherston, Seren Oroszvary, Jane Glenzinska, Kelly Vassie, Andrés Saenz de Sicilia and Natalie Scott.
If you were here this time last year, you’ll remember this little skit…
Last year I invited our audiences to fill in an audience survey.
Join us for the last Pot Luck of the year where we’ll be looking at gifting – what does it mean, who is it for and what can we learn from sharing/giving away? We’re inviting you to come along in true Pot Luck style and bring what you can to eat and to share, plus for this one please bring something to gift or give to someone else – it can be a thing, an idea, a story, an hour of your time or anything else you think you can share.
This December, we’re opening up our studio for you creatives to get your work done.
In 1998, we created our first project available online: Kidnap.
Many of our works have high thresholds to entry: sometimes novel structures or difficult ideas; sometimes ways of using everyday devices just a little ‘off’ from what we mostly use them for.
POT LUCK UPDATE: Due to personal circumstances, we are postponing October’s Pot Luck.
Do you love cats, technology or both? Wherever you are in the UK we want to hear from you!
Blast Theory are looking for 15 people to form the Cat Royale Audience Advisory Panel and join us on the journey of making Cat Royale.
We’re offering three young artists/creatives the opportunity to be mentored by the Blast Theory artists. The positions are available for people aged 16 to 25 living in the Brighton and Portslade area.
Have you ever wanted to work on a film shoot? Test a mobile game? Or work with artists?
We’re looking for a Studio and Production Intern to work with the friendly Blast Theory artists and team.
Wednesday 17th August 6-8pm
There’s a word for it – as Talking Heads once said.
Our first project using mobile devices with audiences was Uncle Roy All Around You in 2003.
In 1992 we made Chemical Wedding, our second piece of work.
A utopia where cats live in harmony with artificial intelligence.
We often make risky projects.
This week Blast Theory welcomes Caribbean Artist Rodell Warner into the studio.
We’ve been re-listening to the phone calls that make up Short Periods Of Structured Nothingness in preparation for a fresh outing later this month.
Disobedient participants, or rather people who find their own way into our work, have become a strength of some of our work: a heart that is largely invisible to the outside, which we cherish greatly.
After an early incident where the first year and a half of all of Blast Theory’s files were accidentally deleted in an Amstrad floppy drive, we thought that for a long time we had our shit together with archiving and backups.
As part of our 30th birthday celebrations, we’ve made a little documentary about what happened and why we did it.
It’s On. The next Pot Luck.
And this one is all about image-making!
We are delighted to have Georgia Banks as our latest and last remote resident.
We are bitterly sad to share that Jamie Iddon has died at the age of 46.
We kidnapped two people in 1998.
We’re offering free space to work in the Blast Theory studios for local artists and makers in 2022.
When you’re young you occasionally take unwise risks and we were no exception.
Take part now
Our online experience, A Cluster of 17 Cases: Online, returns as part of Design and Healing: Creative Responses to Epidemics, Cooper Hewitt’s latest exhibition in New York.
So, Blast Theory is 30 years old.
After 13 years, Rider Spoke is returning to Australia.
Because of all that has been happening in the world in the last two years, we will not be doing a call-out for our Residency Programme this December.
We looked at quite a lot last week – still focusing on Cat Royale but also, more generally, what we enjoy or not creatively, and the platforms and spaces we may want to work in in the future.
The creative fortnight is something we three artists try to do at least every year.
As part of COP26 – the UN Climate Change conference in Glasgow – UKRI will feature Gift as an example of interdisciplinary innovation.
We’re looking for two talented freelance Junior React Developers to work with our artists, coders and designers. As Junior React Developer, you will work with the Blast Theory artists to implement design ideas as React interfaces. Working alongside Blast Theory’s Software Lead, you will specify, build and deploy a prototype React application.
We’re keen to get to know our fans and followers better, and improve how we communicate with you.
Blast Theory will take a leading role in the Creative Programme of the Trustworthy Autonomous Systems Hub (TAS). We are the ambassadorial lead partner, helping to curate the programme and delivering a flagship new work to launch it.
Ever wanted to work on a film shoot? Test a mobile game? Or work with artists? We’ve been offering a series of Kickstart placements this year for 18-24-year-olds to start a career in the arts.
Pot Luck is Blast Theory’s social event for local makers and creative people to meet and make something with other like-minded folk.
Join us in the flesh at the studios, 6-8pm on Tuesday 24th August.
Photo: Alex Kershaw
Rider Spoke continues to tour the UK and beyond in 2021/22.
Last year, we decided to redevelop Rider Spoke from scratch (the first version was made before smartphones existed).
We’re super excited to announce that we’re working with the epic folks at Manchester Street Poem.
We have studio space available for local artists and practitioners for a four week period between 19th July and 14th August.
We’re excited to announce that artist Matt Adams has been selected as an Associate Artist for IN SITU, the pan-European network for public art.
We’re delighted that our new version of A Cluster of 17 Cases is now online as part of the Contagion exhibition at Science Gallery Bengaluru in India.
On Thursday 22nd April, Blast Theory premiered three new short films that explore the effects of violence in army life, as told by veterans in their own words.
Photo: Alex Kershaw
We’re excited to announce that Rider Spoke will be shown at a number of amazing places over the coming spring and summer months.
The Force of Fantasy – a new exhibition at SEAS – Socially Engaged Art Salon Brighton, opened on Friday 19th March.
We’re looking for people with a hearing impairment that use captions to help test a new interactive artwork.
We’re expanding our pool of creative freelancers. You can be at any stage in your career. Get in touch by 6 Jan. Read more on how to apply.
From a field of 299 applications, Blast Theory’s Creative Team was one of 30 selected for the R&D phase of Festival UK* 2022.
Karen will be profiled by Impact festival, organised by Théâtre de Liège this month.
We’re excitedly preparing for a new version of one of our favourite Blast Theory works.
This year we’re redeveloping one of our most celebrated works and we need your help to test out the new version.
https://vimeo.
Interactive storytelling in Karen. Read more.
Digital gifting to help those unable to visit public spaces. Read more.
In response to the Black Lives Matter movement we have reviewed our equality action plan, with a commitment for it to always be publicly visible and available for scrutiny and comment.
Taking a look at the intersection of art, science and technology in our recent work on infectious diseases. Find out more.
‘Spit Spreads Death: The Parade’ wins first prize for ‘Video, Film, Animation, & Live Media Or Digital Performance’.
In response to the Black Lives Matter movement we have reviewed our work on racism and inequality, and agreed upon three immediate actions we will take to try and improve our own practices, and the impact we can have on the experiences of others we interact with. Our goal with these three actions is to be practical, specific and nuanced. Read more.
A Cluster of 17 Cases will be part of a new exhibition examining the history of infectious diseases and their effects on people’s lives up to today’s Coronavirus.
This month the full Spit Spreads Death: Parade film is available to watch online for the first time.
Watch: WHO expert Dr Mike Ryan is leading the fight against COVID-19
12th March 2020
In the current climate of fear and uncertainty around COVID-19 and the misinformation and fake news which can distort our understanding of the spread of the virus, we wanted to share our work on infectious disease, in the hope that it can offer some insight into past cases of infection; the way public health officials respond and the personal stories at the heart of such tragedies.
Samra Mayanja is a Leeds based artist working in film and performance.
Plastic Tiger Factory: James Shreeve
While 2019 felt like a tough year across the globe, one thing that filled us with pure joy was having James Shreeve intern with us for three months.
Gift is at the Museum of Applied Art from 23 January – 30 September 2020. Find out more.
‘Rider Spoke’ will be exhibited at Barcelona’s iconic Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona until May 2020 for #GameplayCCCB. Read more.
Over four hundred people walked in the parade to honour the thousands who died in the 1918-19 flu pandemic. Now open at Philadelphia’s Mütter Museum.
17 unsuspecting people checked in to the 9th floor of the Metropole Hotel on the night of 21st February 2003.