Nothing else to do on a Friday evening in Holyoke except drive around with Sara Krohn and throw some video on buildings. -Denis Luzuriaga

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“In The Round” is a site specific art installation. Nine artists have installed works in the old Victory Theater in Holyoke, Massachusetts. The artists are Taiga Ermansons, Amy Johnquest, Chris Nelson, Christopher Willingham, Olivia Bernard, Torsten Zenas Burns, Kari Gatzke, Joshua Vrysen, and Angela Zammarelli. Victory Theatre is slated to be restored in 2013. For more information visit Mifafestival. The exhibition is on view by appointment until November 18th, 2012. Please contact Chris Nelson.

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Performance by Gema Álava and Jessica Higgins at Emily Harvey Foundation Gallery – NYC

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On October 25, 2012 at 6pm, there will be a Public Ascertainment Hearing at the War Memorial in Holyoke, MA. The address is 310 Appleton St (and Maple).

The current cable television license held by Comcast with the City of Holyoke will expire on October 27, 2013. The purpose of this hearing is to identify future cable-related community needs and interests, and review the performance of Comcast under its current cable television license.

This is the people of Holyoke’s chance to get what they need, true Public Access Television. Television for, but especially by the people of Holyoke.

A person will be able to have an idea for a show, for example a monthly half-hour show that discusses the stories and historical treasures that can be found in Holyoke. She should be able to walk up to the Holyoke Public Access Station, get trained on how to produce said show from scratch, borrow the necessary equipment, and successfully see her show on one of the dedicated Public Access channels that is carried by Comcast and that is included in every cable subscription.

Please consider attending this important event and giving testimony as to why you feel the People of Holyoke deserve True Public Access Television.

Watch episode 13 “Video, Video” of SWITCH to get a primer on the beginnings of Public Access Television in New York City.

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Filmed on the Solstice, delivered as a Requiem

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www.opensquare.com

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Holyoke TV Artists Hit High Performance Groove;
Local Show Turns On Thousands To Global Views Of “SWITCH”

Massachusetts Artists have a public TV hit with “SWITCH” produced in Holyoke, a city going digital with Mayor Alex Morse, but lacking its own public access channel.

Holyoke, MA (HOLYOKETV) January 13, 2012

SWITCH, a new art for public television project being syndicated throughout Massachusetts and other states, easily finds programming on channels serving over 70,000 households and generated over 22,000 impressions on its recent web announcement. The irony is, SWITCH is produced in Holyoke, a city with a newly elected visionary Mayor, Alex Morse, but without a dedicated public access television channel.

In a 7 minute documentary about the Holyoke TV Artists on SWITCH, produced by Artist Organized Art, (http://switch.artistorganizedart.org) the show’s producer, Denis Luzuriaga, tells us about having a hit public TV show that also tells the world about Holyoke:

“Holyoke doesn’t have a public access channel so it would be great if we could show SWITCH in Holyoke, where it was created. Holyoke is the most exciting city for collaboration in projects. Artists, business people and politicians all attend. Holyoke will house computers, powered by hydro-electricity, among the most powerful in the world. It’s also great for location shooting. We want artists from other parts of the world to come get involved in Holyoke. Local public access television is the way to start. ‘Think-globally-act-locally,’ very much applies to SWITCH.”

The City of Holyoke is home to a growing cultural community becoming a source of employment and income in the region. It is bound by a diverse area, encompassing college towns, former industrial cities, suburbs and rural communities. As a knowledge corridor, it is linked by the Connecticut River, and Interstates I90 & I91. Planned intercity rail service will increase ridership 231% by 2015, creating 1000’s of jobs.

Near Boston, Hartford, New York City and Bradley International Airport, Holyoke is a hub for a rich exchange of culture, innovation, and highly educated talent. Its creative economy produces and distributes cultural goods, services, and intellectual property. This provides access to a broad, diverse, cultural workforce via freelancers and small business.

Now, through a visionary mashup of the arts, high performance computing and high speed rail, as new Mayor Alex Morse promised at his inauguration, Holyoke is to be reborn as a digital city. Creative Director of SWITCH, Jessica Higgins imagines how intercity culture would relate to intermedia art on SWITCH and Holyoke’s missing public access channel:

“With SWITCH, putting artists in everyone’s living room can happen. Viewers need only to switch on the television and they’re in. I would love to see intermedia and Nam June Paik’s vision of having art in everyday life.. being able to turn on the television and see a short performance piece refresh people’s everyday life in a way that’s special and mysterious and experimental.”

New England’s first 90,300-square-foot Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC) is under construction in The City of Holyoke. Massachusetts has designated Holyoke as a Growth District. SWITCH has released its 9th episode to thousands of public television viewers. Let’s hope for its homecoming broadcast on public access TV in the new digital city, Holyoke Massachusetts.

Press Contact: Susan Roth
website: http://switch.holyoketv.org

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“Holyoke doesn’t have a public access channel so it would be great if we could show SWITCH in Holyoke, where it was created.”

Contact

Susan Roth
holyoketv.org
(888) 255-0997
Email: press@holyoketv.org

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