Socialism-themed AV Festival opens next week

The 2016 edition of AV Festival, a leading international festival of contemporary art, film and music, based in the North East of England, will open next week.

AV Festival takes as its theme this year “Meanwhile, What About Socialism?”, and its programme features a number of events and exhibits related to the new east.

Of particular note is the opportunity to see Romanian artist Dan Perjovschi’s installations, which take the form of satirical newspaper cartoons or graffiti, and well as Kiev-based artistic collaboration R.E.P, who will exhibit their project Patriotism, as well as discuss their work. Moscow-based installation, sculpture, and video artistartist Haim Sokol will also present a reading and appear in discussion events, as well as exhibit his new work, the video installation Testimony comissioned by The School of Kyiv, The 2nd Kyiv Biennial, 2015. During his reading he will present a play of the same name which formed part of the installation in Kiev.

Screenings will also feature such new east directors as Oleksandr Dovzhenko, Sergei Loznitsa and Oleg Mavromatti.

AV Festival 2016 will run from 27 February — 27 March at around 30 venues and public sites across North East England, primarily in Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland and Middlesbrough. A full programme of events can be found here.