ART IN PROCESS

Newsletter

Bello Benischauer

Bello Benischauer

interdisciplinary artist and Co-Founder of ART IN PROCESS (since 2000), Artistic Director and senior performer of EXISTENCE THEATRE

visual arts, installations, live art, sound composition, writing, choreography

Existence Theatre Productions

SHORT BIO

bello was born in Krems, Austria in 1966 and lives in Fremantle/Western Australia as well as short-term in other international places. His independent practice involves various media such as performance (physical movement/expression and spoken word), sound composition and video projection. He has created work spanning from video poetry, audio-visual installations, interventions in public space, performance lectures to critical theatre productions with a strong socio-political message. As the Founder of ART IN PROCESS he collaborates with people from diverse backgrounds and develops projects nationally and internationally through AIRs, Festival commissions, Conference Presentations and independent productions. In recent years he moves more towards the genre of contemporary, performative theatre, interested in physically breaking down traditional barriers between performer and audience, while developing his own specific practice that he calls Existence Theatre.
Since the age of eighteen he increasingly became interested in artistic techniques, finally focusing on new media and video installations, combining word, vision and sound based on self-written creative texts. He spent ten years in South and Central America, Pakistan, Iran, Nepal, South and East Africa, Indonesia, New Zealand, India and different parts of Europe, resulting in a deep connection to world cultures and their individual relevance.
In 2000 he co-founded ART IN PROCESS (AIP) with artist partner elisabeth m eitelberger, who accompanies bello through artistic involvement in various projects and on a theoretical basis. Under this partnership they critically engage with a number of issues/behaviours specific to cross-cultures and consumer culture and their impact on nature, the world, and their immediate environments. AIP develop their projects independently, in collaboration with other artists on the intersection of installation, video, performance art and creative writing. Based on bello’s concepts they explore a narrative and performative dimension, both in its physical and on-screen aspects, by fostering a fusion of visual, audio and textual components. Within his work bello increasingly uses performative techniques, also through experimenting with the art’s functioning outside its traditional spaces. Filmed and photographed documentation of performances/interventions in public or private space are then used in the further development of artistic projects to finally result in video/sound installations that again can be brought back into the exhibition space (and/or are screened online). While bello’s work is not didactic it seizes contemporary issues in our society and reveals its ignorance towards hidden issues. Workshops, lectures, social/school projects and conference presentations accompany the artistic work. Some of his earlier works were released on DVD, Blu-Ray and in book format, distributed by Contemporary Arts Media Melbourne/London for educational purposes. Bello toured a solo-exhibition with Art On The Move (WA, NSW and QLD) from 2008 to 2011 called IMPACT & FUSION. Other projects in the past few years included collaborations in Ghana, Portugal, Austria, Australia, Turkey and Switzerland. He received various Arts Grants for projects nationally and internationally.

OVERVIEW

Born in Krems, Austria 1966

Nationality Austrian/Australian (arrived Australia 1993 – Australian Citizen 2004)

International Travel/Artistic Expeditions between 1989 and 2000

surveying different socio-cultural environments by staying with local people, families, in lodges and homesteads, while developing work that was based on creative writing, drawing and photography:

Greece (one year), Spain (six months), Italy (one month), France (two weeks), Hungaria (one month), Portugal (one month), Netherlands (one week), Germany (two weeks), Switzerland (three weeks), England (two weeks), Egypt (two months), India (one year), Pakistan (two months), Iran (two weeks), Nepal (one month), Indonesia (six months), Thailand (two weeks), New Zealand (one year), USA (three weeks), Costa Rica (four months), Venezuela (one month), Brazil (three weeks), Peru (two months), Bolivia (two weeks), Ecuador (two months), Columbia (two weeks), South Africa (two months), Zimbabwe (two months), Malawi (two months), Kenya (one week), travelling around Australia for one and half years.

Education 

Self-thought Education in Painting and Multimedia through internationally formed artistic collaborations

Master of Locksmith and Blacksmith

Master of Welding Engineering, University of Technology Vienna/Austria

International and National Solo-Exhibitions

Impact & Fusion (touring exhibition, 11 venues in Australia, managed by Art on the Move)

2010-2011 Interstate-Tour: University of Western Sydney/NSW, Harvey Bay/QLD, Warwick/QLD

2008-2010 WA-Tour: Bunbury / Geraldton / Moora / Katanning / Mandurah / Denham / Esperance /

Ravensthorpe / Albany

2009 subnet Media Platform, Salzburg/Austria

2007 ENLIGHTENED, UWA Club (University Club of Western Australia)

2006  Collection, Kings Perth Hotel/WA

2003 signs of existence, Moores Building, Fremantle/WA

2002 Inside and Aliendairy, installation, University of Arts and Media Studies, Linz/Upper Austria

2002 Der Saboteur, exhibition, Art Gallery Langenlois/Austria

2002 Maybe It’s Only…Imagine! – Art Factory Wels/Austria

2002 Maybe It’s Only…Imagine! – Art & Culture Centre Langenlois/Austria

2001 Namaste, Art&Culture Centre Langenlois/Austria

1993manipulated photographs, Cultural Society Langenlois/Austria

International and National Group Exhibitions

2011 ISEA2011 Istanbul Uncontainable, part of 12th Istanbul Biennial

2010 Public art Screening, Albury/NSW

2009 Museum of Evora, Media Art and Performance Festival

2008 ARTECH08 (Intern. Conference Digital Arts), University Porto/PORTUGAL

2008 New Year’s Media Event/Melbourne/ABC Pool Project

2008 SOHO Art Festival Vienna/A

2007 Virtual Residency, Faux Mouvement Centre d’Art Contemporain Metz/FRANCE

2007 TechnoArt, Lapart WallSpace Brisbane/QLD

2007 International Film & Video Festival, Museum of Modern Art Detroit/USA

2006 Video screening at the Bakery, Perth/AUS

2005 Cinema Paradiso, Screening – artopia Living Artists WA festival, Northbridge/Perth/AUS

2005 Badeschluss, Arts Festival Plank/Austria

2005 Intern. Media Art Festival ACCEA, Yerevan/Armenia

2005 GlassEye Series, barbes, New York/USA

2005 International Film & Video Festival Museum of Modern Art Detroit/USA

2005 Caught Short, tapgallery, Sydney/NSW

2004 Digital Showcase, AMODA Austin Museum of Digital Art, Austin/USA

2004 Skylounge, National Museum of Australia, Canberra/AUS

2003 Performance Cinema Symposium and exhibition, San Francisco/USA

2002 Austrian artists, Langenlois Region Cultural Festival/Austria

1997 Tafe, Fremantle Prison, Fremantle, WA

1988-1993 atelier Klex (artist’s studio, several exhibitions and events), Langenlois/Austria

1988 first exhibition of installation and paintings, Cultural Society Langenlois/Austria

International and National Public Performances/Interventions

2013 Perform Now #3, Performance Art Festival, Winterthur/Switzerland

2013 spacelab, interventions in public space, Vienna/Austria

2011 Video Performance – parallel event at the Cultural Autumn, Langenlois/Austria 2011

2011 ISEA2011 Istanbul/Turkey

2010 Public performance Sydney, collaboration slowforward (performance-group) at the Montmartre/Art in the Park Festival, Vienna

2010 Import/Export, Vienna City Hall grounds, Vienna Festwochen

2010 Live event, Das Dorf, Vienna

2009 Live performance at the Museum of Evora, Escrita – Media Art and Performance Festival, Portugal

2009 Live performance at the Museum of Kumasi, Ghana

Awards/Grants

2014 State Award for the partner project with UDLA WA – short documentary: Women in Urban Design and Landscape Architecture

2013 Artflight DCA Western Australia: spacelab project Vienna

2011 Janet Holmes a Court Grant for presentation at ISEA Istanbul

2010 Artflight DCA Western Australia: Intern. Conference and short notice project Austria

2009 Australia Council for the Arts, international project series (Austria, Portugal, Ghana)

2009 AIR subnet Salzburg, ARGEkultur, Austria

2009 Art On The Move touring solo-exhibition extension funding

2008 Janet Holmes a Court Grant for Art on the Move exhibition catalogue

2008 VAC Albany, Mentorship Funding to assist Albany artist Richard Davy

2008 Artflight DCA Western Australia: ISEA Singapore, artist presentation

2007 Art On The Move touring solo-exhibition funding

2007 Artflight DCA Western Australia: group-exhibition Lapart Wallspace Brisbane

2003 City of Fremantle funding for solo-exhibition at the Moore’s Building

2001 Scholarship, Lower Austrian Literature and Fine Arts Society, artist symposium

2001 City of Wels, Upper Austria, Arts Funding for solo-exhibition

Conferences/Artist talks

2016 Performance Lecture, University Innsbruck, Postdramatic Theatre, Transcultural Theatre and Performance Art

2011 ISEA Istanbul

2010 LABfactory Vienna/Austria

2008 to 2011 Various artist talks during the Impact & Fusion touring exhibition

2009 5th Global Conference Cybercultures, Interdisciplinary.Net Oxford UK, Salzburg

2009 2nd Global Conference Culture-Politics-Ethics, Interdisciplinary.Net Oxford UK, Salzburg

2009 subnet Platform for Media Art Salzburg/Austria, Argekultur

2009 sonance, artistic network Vienna

2009 University of Technology, Kumasi Symposium, Ghana

2008 ARTECH 08, Porto/Portugal, Media Art Conference

2008 ISEA Singapore

2008 Curriculum Council WA

WORKSHOPS/AIRs

2019 AIR Spectrum Project Space, Edith Cowan University Perth/WA

2018 AIR Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle/WA

2017 Workshop Introducing Existence Theatre, Brunnenpassage Vienna/Austria

2016 Workshop Introducing Existence Theatre, Brunnenpassage Vienna/Austria

2015 AIR PICA Perth/WA

2012-2015 Old Custom’s House, Artsource Fremantle/WA

2010 SVAPA workshop, Mt Lawley SHS

2010 AIR, Artspace Sydney

2010 AIR LABfactory Medialab Vienna

2009 SVAPA workshop, Mt Lawley SHS

2009 SVAPA AIR, Mt Lawley SHS

2009 AIR subnet Salzburg, Austria

2007 AIR, VAC Albany

2008 Curriculum Council teachers’ workshop, ECU Perth

2007 Biscuit Factory Arts centre, Fremantle, workshop, Harlequin project

2007 AIR Parmelia House/Hawaiian, Perth

2004 social project: in-between, designed for Bridging the Gap, Fremantle/WA

Publications/Essays

2017 THE PREVENTION an essay about the residency project at PICA in 2015, in The New Museum #2/2017, Austrian Museum’s Association Magazine

2014 Cross-border and beyond, in English and German, colour-images/limited edition

2011 ISEA2011 Istanbul cross border and beyond – the work by ART IN PROCESS

2010 Cybercultures Interdisciplinary.Net Oxford/UK: Issues go global, Interdisciplinary Projects do evolve – Personal View

2010 Culture Politics Ethics Interdisciplinary.Net Oxford/UK: Inter-Artistic Identities within the Socio-Political Space

2008 ISEA2008 Conference Proceedings, University of Singapore: work and insight

2008 ARTECH08 University of Porto/Portugal: Sustainability & Extinction

2009 Intervention, text in English and German, colour-photographs, limited edition

2003 Online-book Perfekt, text in German, colour-photographs

2001 Excerpts of Die Flucht, @cetera Austrian Magazine for Literature

2001 Rosa Prosa, text in German and colour-prints, limited edition

2001 Ein Leben, lino-cuts and written text in German, single edition

2000 Der Saboteur, text in German and colour-prints, limited edition

2000 Die Flucht, text in German and colour-photographs, limited edition

Selected Media/Reviews/Interviews

2010 Import/Export interview 2010

2009 kunstSTOFF, Austrian Art Magazine, Art is more than self-realisation

2009 30 min artist interview by Art-Channel RAMvideo & TotalTV, Philadelphia/USA

2008 ABC Pool project, Perth

2007 Gallery Watch, Perth 2007 – Wake up Perth

2006 The West Australian, Visual Arts, Seeing the light

National and International Commissions

2014 24th Austrian Theatre Festival Szene Bunte Wähne 2014

2013/14 UDLA Urban Design and Landscape Architects WA, artistic documentary, Fremantle/WA

2013 Perform Now#3, Performance Festival, Winterthur/Switzerland

2013 spacelab Vienna/Austria

2010 LIA Lab Inter Arts University Mozarteum Salzburg

2011 Public Art Screening, City of Albury NSW

Various Private Commissions

Works in Collections

Various Private Collections and University Media Art Collections worldwide