Exhibition

Eileen Simpson and Ben White: Open Music Archive

14 Jun 2019 – 18 Aug 2019

Regular hours

Friday
12:00 – 17:30
Saturday
12:00 – 17:30
Sunday
12:00 – 17:30
Wednesday
12:00 – 17:30
Thursday
12:00 – 17:30

Cost of entry

Free

Save Event: Eileen Simpson and Ben White: Open Music Archive

I've seen this

People who have saved this event:

close

Castlefield Gallery

Manchester, United Kingdom

Address

Travel Information

  • No.2 Metroshuttle Bus
  • Metrolink Tram: Deansgate/Castlefield
  • Deansgate Train Station
Directions via Google Maps Directions via Citymapper
Event map

The exhibition presents a selection of projects developed over the last ten years in which the artists explore the performative potential of the archive by reanimating copyright-expired archive material.

About

This summer Castlefield Gallery will present Eileen Simpson and Ben White: Open Music Archive, the first UK survey show of the artists’ work from 14 June – 18 August 2019.  The exhibition presents a selection of projects developed over the last ten years in which the artists explore the performative potential of the archive by reanimating copyright-expired archive material. Featuring sound recordings gleaned from the genesis of the music industry in 1920s Atlanta (ATL 2067for Flux Night Amman, 2010), a lost feature film from 1950s Jordan (Struggle in Jerash, 2010), and Harry Smith’s celebrated six album compilation, Anthology of American Folk Music (PLAYHEAD: A Parallel Anthology, 2010– ongoing) – the artists deploy rich archive material to produce an open source body of audio-visual work and invite a range of collaborators to produce and perform the public domain.

Eileen Simpson and Ben White (Open Music Archive)were both born in Manchester, 1977 and now living and work in London and Manchester. Simpson and White work at the intersection of art, music and information networks, seeking to challenge default mechanisms for the authorship, ownership and distribution of art. Their ongoing project Open Music Archive is an initiative to source, digitise and distribute out-of-copyright sound recordings, and is a vehicle for collaborative projects exploring the material’s potential for reuse. 

The survey exhibition at Castlefield Gallery coincides with the premiere of Everything I Have Is Yours, an ambitious film and sound work by Eileen Simpson and Ben White (Open Music Archive) that looks back to the first decade of the UK pop charts (1952-62). It has been commissioned by Film and Video Umbrella, Contemporary Art Society, University of Salford Art Collection and Castlefield Gallery and presented at Salford Museum and Art Gallery from 4 July – 3 November 2019. An edition of the film will enter the University of Salford Art Collection. 

What to expect? Toggle

Exhibiting artistsToggle

Open Music Archive

Comments

Have you been to this event? Share your insights and give it a review below.