Instant Coffee: Urban Disco Trailer
2000-ongoing
Toronto and Vancouver
Current Contact Info:
us@instantcoffee.org
www.instantcoffee.org
Themes, Ideas, Strategies:
INSTANT COFFEE: MANDATE AND BIOGRAPHY:
The domain name Instant Coffee was registered in May of 2000. Instant Coffee is a service oriented collective of artists, writers, curators, designers and architects. Instant Coffee's motive for initiating "services" came from our desire to place relational activities, more directly communication, at the core of our practice. Ultimately, we believe that communication is the primary function of artistic production, but what is meant by communication or the building of relations is continually under negotiation. Together we have developed a practice that culminates in bringing together large numbers of artists, designers, musicians and other cultural producers under loosely themed events. We offer networking services that promote local, national and international activities and publish a monthly on-line magazine, Instant Coffee Saturday Edition. In conjunction with out events, we also publish bookworks, posters and other multiples. Instant Coffee's most consistent members are Jinhan Ko, Jenifer Papararo, Kate Monro, Cecilia Berkovic and Jon Sasaki with Emily Hogg and Darren O'Donnell who are currently undergoing the initiation process.
Instant Coffee developed, in part, as a response to the division and exaggerated difference between studio and exhibition practice. We wanted to offer its community a public place of practice, where ideas, materials and actions could be explored outside of the isolated studio and away from formal exhibition structures, but still supported by a critical discourse or at least offer the potential for one. From the beginning this need for a public place of practice was extended to a variety of disciplines, such as design, music and writing.
For Instant Coffee, the social presupposes the notion of aesthetic quality,and as such the triad of art practice production, presentation & reception becomes jumbled incorporating the social as a priority. Instant Coffee defines this social as happening in a number of ways. In getting people invested in our projects and what we are up to, but also as satisfying a way in which we like to socialize one that centers around production but is dependent on the work of others to sustain and facilitate a discussion.
Artists, Curators, Collaborators, Conspirators:
Shows, Events, Happenings:
August 2000 Urban Disco Trailer (UDT.01) a retro-fitted twenty-four foot 1974 Holiday Cruiser, was first launched as part of a performance by Jin's Banana House for FADO and in conjunction with Whorehouse , an exhibition curated by Instant Coffee for their studio, Workplace. Artists included in Whorehouse : James Carl, Jennifer Murphy and Chris Rogers, Lucy Pullen, Nestor Kruger, Jill Henderson and Christina Maynall.
September 2000 Instant Coffee invites Lucia Del' Amour and Ken Ogawa to stage a week of performances from UDT.01.
December 2000 March 2001 The second Urban Disco Trailer (UDT.02: a 1968 pop up) made its first appearance at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto and incorporated the work of over seventy artists. Within the project, Instant Coffee staged three separate events, The Logo Show, The Miniature Show and The Video Show respectively. The Logo Show commissioned artists to design a logo/bumper sticker for the Urban Disco Trailer. Artists included James Carl, John McLachlin, Lewis Nicholson, Andrew Di Rosa/SMALL, 1000km Design Büro, Cecilia Berkovic, Eric Glavin, Fastwürms, Greg Hefford, Jay Wilson, Jennifer Murphy/Chris Rogers, John Marriot, Jenifer Papararo, Kate Monro, Lois Andison, Luis Jacob, Michael Buckland, Michelle Gay, Nestor Kruger, Sally MacKay, Jubal Brown, Michael Barker, Si Si Penaloza, Troy Ouellette, Jin's Banana House. Some artists focused on the UDT as a theme: while others played up the bumper sticker aspect. For The Miniature Show , Instant Coffee invited artists to contribute and produce works for inside the UDT.02. Artists included Temple Bates, Mark Crofton Bell, Laura Borealis, Amy Bowles, Lisa Brown, Chandra Bulucon, CoCo Chanel, Patrick DeCoste, Janis Demkiw, Terence Dick, Andrew Duff, Dave Dyment, Cliff Eyland, Jennifer Febbraro, Michael Fernandes, Ev Funes, David Grenier, Anitra Hamilton, Jill Henderson, Jay Isaac, Lisa Klapstock, Michael Klein, Jinhan Ko, Germaine Koh, Elizabeth LeMoine, Jennifer Marman, Casey McGlynn, Milosh Rodic, Kate Monro, Katherine Mulherin, Jenifer Papararo, Mitch Robertson, Lisa Deanne Smith, Jordan Sonnenberg, Derek Sullivan, Christy Thompson and Olexander Wlasenko and Jason van Horne. The Video Show incorporated work that enhanced the leisure and playful aesthetic of the UDT.02. Artists included: Shary Boyle, Kika Thorne, Jinhan Ko, Sandy Plotnikoff, Danny Bowden, Chris Murphy, Amanda Burt, Enzo Mazzulla, Michelle Kasprzak, Jennifer McMackonnon, Travis Gledhill, Laura Cowell, Si Si Penaloza, Jenifer Papararo, Milosh Rodic, Peaches, Lisa Kannako, Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet, Benny Nemerofsky Ramsay, Guntar Kravis, Cecilia Berkovic, Simone Moire, David Clark. The constant in all three exhibitions was that the individual works were not as important as the assembling of artists and work to make the UDT a better place/piece.
March 2001 Instant Coffee without invitation brings the UDT.02 to the parking lot outside of The Power Plant, Toronto, during the opening for Substitute City .
July 2001 Instant Coffee was invited to present UDT.02 in Oasis a group exhibition curated by Sylive Gilbert, Nelson Hendricks and Francios Dion for the Saidye Bronfamn Centre, Montreal. Within the framework of this group exhibition, Instant Coffee curated another group show, The Soft Show, within the UDT.02. Artists included: Janet Bellotto, Diane Borsato, Lisa Brown, Chandra Bulucon, Kelly Coats, Daniel Cockburn, Galia Eibenschutz, DJ.freshdiscoporkergas, Charles Gagnon, Massimo Guerrera, Angela Hajdu, James Harbison, Shari Hatt, Peter Hobbs, Pandora Hobby, HumanFauxPas, kake, Jinhan Ko, Valerie Lamontagne, Corrine Lemieux, Elizabeth Lemoine, Kelly Lynn, Kate Monro, Richard Moszka, Taien Ng, Natalie Olanick, Jenifer Papararo, Dianne Pearce, Ana Rewakowicz, Kathleen Sellars, Vida Simon, Lisa Deanne Smith, Lyllie Sue, Txema, Samuel Roy-Bois, Jennifer Wile.
September 2001 Instant Coffee was invited to participate in and exhibit the UDT.02 at d.o.p. (a third annual performance symposium) organized by SAW Gallery, Ottawa .
October 2001 Instant Coffee invites Travis Gledhill for residency in the UDT.01. His residency ends as winter sets in.
November 2001 Instant Coffee and UDT.02 were invited back to the Art Gallery of Ontario for an evening performance. This time Instant Coffee organized The Slide Show and launched the T-Shirt Catalog . The Slide Show included work by Jay Wilson, Gwen MacGregor, Celeste Toogood, Jennifer McDonald, Jubal Brown, Lisa Deanne Smith, Jinhan Ko, Nicole Bauberger, Luis Jacob, Jon Sasaki, Alexander Nagel, John Marriott, Adrian Blackwell, Lucia De L'Armor, Kika Thorne, Chandra Bulucon, Dave Dyment, Kate Monro, Karen Azoulay, Paul P., Ingrid Z, Laurel Woodcock, Laura Borealis, Matthew Evans, Michelle Kasprzak, Si Si Penaloza, Timothy Comeau, Tony Romano. The T-shirt Show included work by 1000km Design Büro, Andrew McLaren, Andrew Reilly, Cecilia Berkovic + Kate Monro, Celeste Toogood, Chantal Rousseau, Chris Martin, drivedrive com, Greg Hefford, Greg Staats, Holly Ward, Instant Coffee, James Carl, Janis Demkiw, Jess Rowland, Jessica Thompson, Jinhan Ko, Jon Sasaki, Jordan Sonenberg, Kika Thorne, Laura Borealis, Lisa Deanne Smith, Lisa Kannakko, Lisa Klapstock, Marco Bortolussi, Michael Klein, Natalie De Vito, Nicole Bauberger, Peter Kingstone, Sasha Havlick, Simone Moir, Timothy Comeau, Tullis Rose.
April 2002 IMAGES film and video festival invites Instant Coffee to hold mediatheque within The UDT.01.
May 2002 Instant Coffee held The Photo Show in the UDT.01. Snapshots covered the entire interior of the trailer.
Instant Coffee re-launched the T-Shirt Catalog in a warehouse parking lot from UDT.01.
June 2002 REHAB film and video festival invites Instant Coffee to screen a selection of videos from UDT.01.
Splice This! Super 8 film festival, Toronto invites Instant Coffee to hold an outdoor screening of films from UDT.01.
May 2003 Instant Coffee revamps the UDT.01, inviting graffiti artists Seth Scriver and Erin Zimmerman to paint Guts and Glory , inside and out of the trailer, launched as part Hive Magazine Launch at Luft Gallery, Toronto
June 2003 Splice This! Super 8 film festival, Toronto invites Instant Coffee to hold an outdoor screening of films from UDT.01. During the festival Instant Coffee holds private screenings in UDT.01 of the Tireless DJ , self-produced super 8.
Instant Coffee was invited to exhibit UDT.03 for Re-play curated by Catherine Crowston and Barbara Fischer as part of <<soundtracks>> . Within the framework of this group exhibition, Instant Coffee curated a video programme, Alchemy and Mysticism for within the confines of the UDT.03. Artist include: Meesoo Lee with The Radio, Scott Russell, Galia Eibenschutz + Alexis Zabe, Txema, Pedro "zulu" Gonzalez, Peaches by Lisa Kannako, Silverio by Miguel Calderon, Jin's Banana House, Tony Romano + Shayne Ehman with The Grassy Knowles, Jon Sasaki, Paige Stain, Jordan Sonenberg with The Evil Plans, Hidden Cameras by Laura Cowell, Chris Mills, and Greg Hefford. <<soundtracks>> traveled to Blackwood Gallery, Mississauga (October 2003) where we exhibited the UDT.01 and at the Art Gallery of Regina (February 2004) where we exhibited again exhibited the UDT.03*.
August 2003 Alchemy and Mysticism , a salon style painting show in the UDT.01 in conjunction with the launch of HIVE magazine #2, Toronto. Participating artists include: Shinobu Akimoto, Robin Arseneault, Temple Bates, Martin Bennett, Cecilia Birkovic, Amy Bowles, Jordan Broadworth, Crystal Bueckert, Paul Butler, Scott Carruthers, Ulysses Castellanos, Timothy Comeau, Natalie De Vito, Ed Deary, Janis Demkiw, Cynthia Devor, Maura Doyle, Matt Evans, Fastwürms, Jennifer Febbraro, Eliza Griffiths, Eric Glavin, Lee Goreas, Anitra Hamilton, Noel Harding, Greg Hefford, Derrick Hodgson, Jay Issac, Tiff Izsa, Nathan James, Michael Klein, Kris Knight, Jinhan Ko, Germaine Koh, Mara Korkola, Clint Lavado, Colleen Langford, JJ Lee, Derek Mainella, Andy Mclean, Jennifer McMackon, Kate Monro, Caroline Mosby, Tanya Read, Dale Ronson, Jade Rude, Rupen, Kathryn Ruppert, Jon Sasaki, Monica Tap, Christy Thompson, Joanne Tod, Lex Vaughn, Jay Wilson, Heidi Yip.
September 2003 2 nd .Tirana Biennial, launch of Instant Coffee Multiple it Doesn't have to be Good to Meaningful, poster and slide show/video screening inside the UDT.04 (a borrowed mid eighties German camper); Tirana , Albania .
UDT.01 as part CAFKA.03 [probing into the distance] Contemporary Art Forum Kitchener & Area, Kitchener . ON.
October 2003 Get Social or Get Lost , a five day series of events curated by Instant Coffee and The Americas Society including a launch of Instant Coffee: Stencils at Printed Matter; Alchemy and Mysticism: a Painting Show at Momenta Art, Brooklyn; video screening of IC video prgramme at Participants Inc. and public discussion with 16 Beaver Group plus as part of AS A Satellite for the Americas Society, New York (Oct.2003). Instant Coffee: Stencils , featuring stencil designs by Acamonchi, Michael Barker, Cecilia Berkovic, Michael Buckland, James Carl, Kelly Coats, Timothy Comeau, Dave Dyment, Fastwürms, Jill Henderson, Instant Coffee, Luis Jacob, Jinhan Ko, Nestor Kruger, Colleen Langford, Kate Monro, Will Munro, Richard Moszka y Juan Pablo Garcia, Jade Rude, Jon Sasaki, Kika Thorne, and Holly Ward.
April 2004 Instant Coffee: BASS BED @ Urban Disco Trailer as part of Hive Magazine Launch, Toronto .
Upcoming UDT.05 (a homemade mid sixties hard cover trailer). Austrian artists Severin Hofmann and Patrick Baumüller will use the UDT.05 as part of Wurstelshack a performance for the group exhibition Unterspiel curated by Seamus Kealy at the Contemporary Art Gallery , Vancouver.
*The UDT.03 is now a part of the collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto .
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