LIFT announces Finnish Visiting Artist Britt Al-Busultan
LIFT ANNOUNCES FINNISH VISITING ARTIST
BRITT AL-BUSULTAN
Toronto, July 20, 2022—The Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT) is pleased to announce that Britt Al-Busultan has joined us from Vaasa, Finland as a visiting artist from June 22 to September 15, 2022 as the second resident in the residency program for alumni of the Academy of Fine Arts of the University of the Arts Helsinki. This residency, supported by the Academy and the Saastamoinen Foundation, is designed to provide international opportunities for alumni in the form of residency grants to prestigious residencies in New York, Maastricht, London and Toronto. This initiative was started in 2019 and we are excited to be able to continue it for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic.
Britt Al-Busultan (b. 1976, Al Khobar, Saudi-Arabia) is based in the area of Vaasa, Finland. She studied Fine Arts (BA) at AKI, Academy of Fine Arts in the Netherlands and completed an MA in Time//Space from the University of the Arts in Helsinki and from Sandberg Institute in Amsterdam. She has been showing her works of expanded cinema internationally in exhibitions and festivals, such as Ann Arbor Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam and AAVE Festival Helsinki. Since 2009, she works and lives in Finland, where she founded the artist-run film lab Filmverkstaden. http://www.britt-al-busultan.com
Al-Busultan will be working on her current film project which deals with the analogy between the fading technologies of lighthouses and film projectors. Once actively used, the number of operational lighthouses has declined due to the expense of maintenance and use of electronic navigational systems. Lighthouses nowadays are not essential to navigation at sea anymore and many of them face neglect or even demolition. Here we find a striking analogy between a lighthouse and a film projector. She looks forward to the connections she will make here in Toronto, especially in the waning days of the pandemic, when we hope to be able to meet in public again.
“I fully embrace the adventure of being part of a filmmaking community and coming in contact with other filmmakers and inspiring people and learn about new ways of making film, be it in filming, processing, manipulating or presenting or performing. In turn, I would love to share my work and the experience I have in filmmaking and live cinema performances. I welcome any kind of possible collaboration and sharing of knowledge and experience, as I understand the added value this has on the development of the film making community in general and individual artists as well. The residency at LIFT makes it possible to fully focus on analogue filmmaking, to try out new things in the dark room and to learn new techniques with equipment and possibilities as yet unavailable in Finland. As possibilities to work with analogue film are limited in Finland, I feel this residency will form an excellent continuation after my studies at the university, providing me with solid grounds for continued practice. A practice that I will share with others through the artist-run lab Filmverkstaden that I set up in Vaasa.”
—Britt Al-Busultan
An in-person event with Al-Busultan will be announced later on this summer.
Britt Al-Busultan’s visit is made possible by the Academy of Fine Arts at the University of the Arts Helsinki and through support from Saastamoisen säätiö (the Saastamoinen Foundation).
The University of the Arts Helsinki (Uniarts Helsinki) provides the highest level of education in music, fine arts, theatre and dance in Finland. Uniarts Helsinki is an international forerunner in education and research in the field of arts and strengthens the role of art as a force that reforms society. Established in 2013, Uniarts Helsinki consists of the Academy of Fine Arts, Sibelius Academy and Theatre Academy. https://www.uniarts.fi/en/units/academy-of-fine-arts
Saastamoinen Foundation works for the benefit of Finnish science and art. We are among Finland’s most important art buyers and enablers of scientific research. We believe in transparency, internationalisation, expertise, and continuity, and these values shape the support we offer to artists, researchers, art institutions and ground-breaking scientific projects. We are also active in other fields, and strongly support projects aimed at Finnish youth, such as the Yrityskylä learning environment, SomeBuddy and Gutsy Go. We are also one of the supporters of the Skolar Award Research Pitching Competition, which brings together researchers, artists and entrepreneurs. https://saastamoinenfoundation.fi/en
The Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT) is Canada’s foremost artist-run production and education organization dedicated to celebrating excellence in the moving image. LIFT exists to provide support and encouragement for independent filmmakers and artists through affordable access to production, post-production and exhibition equipment; professional and creative development; workshops and courses; commissioning and exhibitions; artist residencies; and a variety of other services. LIFT is supported by its membership, Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Ontario Trillium Foundation, Ontario Arts Foundation, the Government of Ontario and the Toronto Arts Council. http://lift.ca
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For additional information please see http://lift.ca or e-mail Executive Director Chris Kennedy at director@lift.on.ca
Wednesday 20 July 2022 – Thursday 15 September 2022
Non-members:
Members:
Location:
Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT)
1137 Dupont Street
Toronto Ontario