IN-Touch is a group of music promoters, curators, musicians, DJ’s, arts journalists, multimedia and performance artists based in Minsk. They promote Belarus music and arts abroad, as well as promote music and the arts from EU and other countries within Belarus itself.
Members of the group including leading figures in Belarus experimental and club music scenes, artists, writers, curators and poets. The group has no political agenda, being interested only in cross-border cultural exchange. Over the years, IN-Touch curators have organised a large number of independent music events in Belarus, and have also hosted music shows on Belarus radio. Since spring 2007, IN-Touch has also worked with Poland’s Unsound festival, to produce a series of international festivals, with the funding and support of cultural institutes and embassies in Minsk, such as Goethe Institute, Swedish Institute, Polish Institute, Pro Helvetia, the French Embassy, etc. In co-operation with Unsound, IN-Touch has also organised a series of tours and performances of Belarus artists in Poland.
As well as this, IN-Touch has organised two major exhibitions of Belarus art, and a series of performances by Belarus musicians and performance artists. The aim was to promote Belarus independent and experimental art that usually has no voice, neither in Belarus itself, nor in other countries. The first Festival of independent belarusian arts took place in Berlin in 2007, and the second in St. Petersburg in 2008.
Members of IN-Touch also collaborate with HAZE website, which is an independent internet label devoted to experimental, electronic and independent music from Belarus and art community. Visitors to this site come from all over Belarus, as well as other countries, and it is the only project of its kind in the country.
IN-Touch remains devoted to bringing musicians and artists to Belarus, as well as exporting artists. It is also keenly engaged in the process of building collaborative projects between Belarus artists and artists from abroad, as well as building a general network of contacts between artists, label owners, curators, etc.
Members of IN-Touch also collaborate with HAZE website, which is an independent internet label devoted to experimental, electronic and independent music from Belarus and art community. Visitors to this site come from all over Belarus, as well as other countries, and it is the only project of its kind in the country. With HAZE community, we organize a number of music events, exhibitions, local festivals.
The first HAZE festival 2007, that took place in the Minsk gallery “Podzemka”, was the first coming out of the internet-project h-a-z-e.org from the cyber space. The festival combined the photo and graphic exposition with literature and musical appearance. Authors of visual works has been presented trough the “Second hand” concept. The exposition selling was divided on two components: the photos and graphics (Nikolaj Skorohodov, Yasta Gont, Inflesh (Russia), D-Art (Ukrain), Andrew Shepelev.), the one part of which was hanging on the wall, and the other part was lying in the box and on the stool. The on-looker was supposed to feel himself in the atmosphere of shop that offers used clothing where something is hanging on and it can be seen from distance, and something lies and a person should look over things in order to find that one special thing that waits for him. With it the exhibition was becoming interactive because everybody was correcting and making his own little exposition of works that on his opinion were better to be seen first of all, by leaving this works on the top. The second component was the exposition of the Vladimir Banko’s graphics and painting objects of Vlad Buben (the basis of which were used clothing). Literature and musical appearances represented a kaleidoscope of little known to the public at large\the general public authors, who were representing the situation of musical and literature underground. Besides, as an object apart there was exposed an empty canvas, on which every visitor had to leave a “payment” for the entrance (a drawing, an inscription, a finger imprint) becoming this way a co-author of an interactive artist masterpiece.
Unsound started working on projects in Minsk, with IN Touch group, during Unsound on Tour Across Borders in May 2007. This was followed up in October, with Minsk Unsound 2, a showcase of music from club and sound cultures from Poland, Germany, Sweden and Belarus.
Unsound remains committed to working with Minsk partners to organise further events with Poland’s neighbour, the next being a major festival to be held on 29th Feb and 1st March that will involve concerts, club music, and music and VJ workshops with some of the best artists currently working in Europe. This event will be supported by the Minsk Goethe Instutute and Polish Institute, the Minsk French Embassy, Swedish Instiute, Pro Helvetia, and the Austrian Embassy in Moscow.
IN Touch helped organize three UNSOUND festivals in Minsk with participation of Kotra (UK), Kiritchenko (UKR), Dictaphone (DE), Kosmischer Pitch with Jan Jelinek (DE), Dictaphone (AT), Cobra Killer (DE), Kate Wax (CH), Mitch & Mitch (PL), Jan Jelinek (DE), The Complainer (PL), Baaba (PL), Jacek Sienkiewicz (PL), Pantha Du Prince (DE), DJ Jean-Louis Huhta (SW), VJ Mans Nyman (SE), Thomas Brinkmann (DE), The Field (SE), Digitaline (CH), Lokai (ÀÒ), Seuil (FR), D-Dash (FR) etc.
email:
zmicer [at] h-a-z-e . org
haze . org [at] gmail . com
IN-Touch - гэта суполка музычных прамоўтараў, ды-джэяў, музыкаў, жырналістаў па культуры, мультымедыйных мастакоў і перформараў, месцазнаходжанне якой - Мінск. Яны прамавуюць буларускую музыку і мастацтва за мяжой, а таксама музыку і мастацтва з ЕС і іншых краін на Беларусі.
Ужо некалькі год куратары IN-Touch арганізоўваюць вялікую колькасць мерапрыемстваў незалежнай музыкі ў Беларусі і вядуць музычныя прагрмаы на радыё. З вясны 2007 году IN-Touch супрацоўнічае з польскім фестывалем Unsound і праводзіць серыю міжнародных фестываляў пры падтрымцы культурных інстытутаў і амбасадаў у Мінску, такіх як, Інстытут імя Гётэ, Шведскі Інстытут, Польскі Інстытут, фонд Pro Helvetia, французская амбасада і інш. IN-Touch разам з Unsound арганізаваў серыю выступаў беларускіх музыкаў у Польшчы.
Таксама IN-Touch арганізаваў тры вялікія выставы беларускага мастацтва і серыю выступаў беларускіх музыкантаў і перформераў. Мэтай была прамоцыя беларускага незалежнага і эксперыментальнага мастацтва, якое зазвычай не мае голасу ні ў Беларусі, ні за яе межамі. Першы фестываль незалежнага беларускага мастацтва адбыўся ў Берліне ў 2007 годзе, другі (у Санкт-Пецярбурзе) і трэці (у Берліне) у 2008.
Удзельнікі IN-Touch актыўна супрацоўнічаюць з беларускім нэт-лэйблам і арт-супольнасцю HAZE. Наведвальнікі гэтага сайту - жыхары Беларусі і іншых краін, і гэта адзіны праект такого кшталту ў Беларусі.