GATHERING: Material, Resource and Memories: Vinyl as a Map

Material, Resource and Memories: Vinyl as a Map

WEDNESDAY, 30th of July, 3pm, Elaine L. Jacob Galler, Wayne State University, Detroit

We will gather at “Those Who Keep Strange Hours”, a multimedia group show at the Elaine L. Jacob Gallery, Wayne State University, Detroit.

Starting point and source of inspiration is the interactive sound installation by PURE RAVE in the gallery.

 Dwelling on the notion of strange within the familiar (Marc Fisher, cultural theorist), we invite you to activate, share and think with us. Come play with the installation and reflect, think, draw, write about vinyl as a portal to your memories (false or correct).

The gathering is hosted by FILTER Detroit (www.filterdetroit.org) in collaboration with Pure Rave and Thomas Baldischwyler.

 For more information on the exhibition see also: https://www.waynestategalleries.org/

Thomas Baldischwyler - July/August 25

SILENT INDEXICALITY (MODULE 01)

Thomas Baldischwyler's Detroit research at FILTER Detroit understands the record not only as a sound carrier, but also as a topographical medium that stores sound in the form of a physical trace and can thus be read as a map. Based on a semiotic approach—particularly the concept of indexicality—the record groove is understood as an imprint of real events: an acoustic documentation of social constellations and spatial contexts. The record is not merely a medium of representation, but ideally a medial trace of the immaterial, the everyday and its reflection in urban space. Considering Mark Fisher's concept of Acid Communism, the record appears as a map of a future of the past. Joe Molloy's 2023 book, Acid Detroit, takes up Fisher's ideas and applies them to the pop cultural history of Detroit—a post-industrial city in which new urban ideas were also developed and conveyed through sonic processes.

https://thomas-baldischwyler.com/ 

With the Detroit turntablist collective Pure Rave, he will take advantage of the fortunate circumstance that the Motor City 5's (MC5) first record, Kick Out The Jams, recorded in October 1968, is a live recording whose location still exists. At this very location, the Grande Ballroom, Baldischwyler and the collective will rearrange worn and skipping (German) pressings of this pop-culturally and politically charged classic, adding another, flawed layer of indexicality. What this experiment says about the perception and memory of "history" will become apparent during and hopefully after its execution.

Baldischwyler, an artist from the city of Hamburg, will document the performance as an audio track and as a video.

SILENT INDEXICALITY is a research, performance and exhibition project structured in three modules and curated and organized by Thomas Baldischwyler and Kerstin Niemann (FILTER Detroit). The project will conclude in an exhibition project in Hamburg with artists and musicians from Detroit, Hamburg and Berlin in March 2026. The research to the project, the exchange with Detroit, Hamburg and Berlin artists as well as the performances and the exhibition are kindly supported by the Department for Culture and Media, Hanseatic City of Hamburg, International Cultural Exchange.

Beth W. Stewart *Abstract Artivism * June 25

Beth W. Stewart, an abstract expressionist, social scientist, and history lecturer from Vancouver, is returning to Detroit, her mother's birthplace. A Detroit that has changed since she experienced the city with her grandparents during the summers in the 1980s and 1990s.

As a scholar who has studied placemaking in communities affected by violence and oppression, she seeks and values ​​the transformative potential of on-site art practice—she calls this "site-specific abstract artivism." Therefore, "Abstract Artivism" focuses on the transformative potential of abstract expression, as opposed to "artivism," which uses art to convey messages that can inspire change. Stewart's artistic practice is informed by stories of resistance and resilience within communities. For this reason, she decided to return to Detroit to explore how site-specific art can support community-based activism, or vice versa, by examining the individual's relationship to place.

Her FILTER Detroit residency is divided into two parts. This summer, she aims to learn more about the various narratives of revitalization and renewal. Stewart will visit both historic and newly designed places and spaces (parks, urban farms, public art, etc.). Through historical engagement, physical and emotional place experiences, and interaction with renewal projects reshaping Detroit's future, she will create expressive art daily and keep a reflective journal to deepen both her artistic practice and her theoretical exploration of abstract artivism, as well as to network with Detroit artists and initiatives.

In the summer of 2026, she will return to Detroit to co-lead a workshop with local initiatives on abstract artivism as a means of expression and change.

Stewart approached Detroit primarily by bicycle to engage with and in the city.

“FILTER's location allowed me to move through the city by bike, on foot, and on public transit. This kind of mobility allowed me to engage with some of the city's more nuanced dynamics. My personal memories of the city from the 80s and 90s, along with archival research I conducted during the residency, added to my interactions with the people and places I encountered. I interpreted and expressed these experiences using abstract painting.” (Stewart July 2025)

FILTER Detroit is looking forward to learn more about Beth Stewart´s activity in Detroit in 2026.

The Consciousness Project - May 2025

The Consciousness Project, visual anthropology meets music and production

A filmmaker and visual anthropologist and a music producer and artist will be researching and filming the cultural, social and political identities of electronic techno music in different cities for the second installment of their global documentary series “Consciousness”. A blend of visual anthropology and ethnomusicology, the project aims to document the hidden stories behind the music, particularly those of sound engineers, promoters, community organizers and other often overlooked individuals who have been instrumental in shaping the cultural movement. In Detroit, they want to focus on the role behind the scenes to illuminate the stories, spaces and people who have contributed to their legacy.

Before and during this year's Movement Music Festival, a world-renowned electronic music festival, they will delve into the cultural fabric of Detroit to meet, for example, unnamed individuals who have shared and operated knowledge, space, distribution structures and networks. 

The first episode was filmed during an artist residency in Tokyo, Japan, and is currently in post-production. It includes interviews with prominent artists such as Ken Ishii, Takaaki Itoh and Wata Igarashi, as well as festival organizers, label owners and sound engineers who have played a key role in the Japanese techno scene.

Here is a teaser for the first episode, Consciousness: Japan. (2024)

More information about the “Consciousness”

https://consciousness-community.b12sites.com/music-documentary-research

More information about the artists will follow.