article: Ed Bausch

In the early nineties Friesland was not much ahead with was then called ‘video art’. Only a very few artists were timidly working with a camera.
The former Leeuwarden Theatre Romein had been given an assignment by the local authorities a few years earlier to also include fine arts in their programming, next to theatre and music, but in a different way than was already being offered in the city. The introduction to video art took place in the theatre with a showing of the video ‘La Solitude’ by pioneer Wim Bors from St. Jacobiparochie. This was a new experience for many present and this showing led to a complete video night the year later, although Gallery Romein would not be used as an exhibition room yet.

One year later that did happen: the Second International Video Art Festival Friesland. Well done! What an ambition! And why not? Why not be far ahead of the rest and reward the experimental drive of the person who is trying to make us acquainted with a contemporary art form and wants to tell us something? Art must disorganise us. Bors did so.

Cartloads of people visited, what had become the annual Media Art Friesland Festival. International artists, but especially young people, the absolute top of the Dutch academies, with hundreds of metres of cable, ingenuous structures, incomprehensible constructions, still or slow or extremely fast images, tiny sounds or deafening tones. It was called videoART, it became media ART. In the year 2006 the festival is presenting the media art sector and its neighbouring areas on a still broadening scale for the transfer of information and art. Media Art separates itself from the multi media world through that word ‘art’. There is nothing wrong with the world of multi media, but leave the being ahead of the rest in the north by far to Media Art Friesland, and let it be an international platform for amazement and admiration, for astonishment and, why not, bewilderment too. That is what ART is able to do.

I am proud to have been able to support the determination of Wim Bors and now that of his daughter Nadine for some time, in a history of 10 years. Congratulations and keep on growing!