LA Freewaves, also known as Freewaves, is a

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

-based

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organization that advocates for, and exhibits, new, uncensored, independent media. It hosts an online media archive as a resource to facilitate the exchange of media art internationally. Anne Bray, with representatives of other communities, founded LA Freewaves in 1989 and she has worked to administer the non-profit since it was launched at the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...

's National Video Festival. Bray serves as director of the festival and has been working in the field of

media arts New media art includes artworks designed and produced by means of electronic media technologies, comprising virtual art, computer graphics, computer animation, digital art, interactive art, sound art, Internet art, video games, robotics, 3D pri ...

for many years as an artist and teacher. Freewaves holds the biennial L.A. Freewaves Festival, which presents independent and experimental media in venues throughout Los Angeles and hosts a variety of speakers on the topics of education, art, technology, and media. The

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

described the festival as "The internationally renowned festival of independent film, video and new media." It has also been described as an "important voice for social justice and change in L.A.", and "the largest theatrical exhibition of alternative video in the greater Los Angeles area".

Festival

Freewaves was launched at the

's National Video Festival in 1989. In 2004, the festival expanded to include international submissions. Freewaves typically features independent and experimental media, and exhibits a resistance to

corporate capitalism In social science and economics, corporate capitalism is a capitalist marketplace characterized by the dominance of hierarchical and bureaucratic corporations. Overview A large proportion of the economy of the United States and its labour mark ...

. Along with static installations, the largest of which show at the Museum of Contemporary Art, they present road shows that travel throughout the state of California; they also broadcast on cable television, and on the

internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...

. Media artists including

Bill Viola Bill Viola ( , ; born 1951) is an American contemporary video artist whose artistic expression depends upon electronic, sound, and image technology in new media. His works focus on the ideas behind fundamental human experiences such as birth, d ...

William Basinski William Basinski (born June 25, 1958) is an American avant-garde composer based in Los Angeles, California. He is also a clarinetist, saxophonist, sound artist, and video artist. Basinski is best known for his four-volume album '' The Disintegra ...

Yes Men The Yes Men are a culture jamming activist duo and network of supporters created by Jacques Servin and Igor Vamos. Through various actions, the Yes Men primarily aim to raise awareness about problematic social and political issues. To date, ...

, Brad Neely,

CrimethInc. CrimethInc., also known as CWC, which stands for either "CrimethInc. Ex-Workers Collective" or "CrimethInc Ex-Workers Ex-Collective", is a decentralized anarchist collective of autonomous cells. * * * CrimethInc. emerged in the mid-1990s, initi ...

and Jennifer Steinkamp have shown works in Freewaves programs. The organization also presents specialized versions of its festival, for example, festivals that focus on

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

. In 2000, Freewaves hosted Air Raids, a citywide festival of experimental, documentary and new media works by artists, activists and media makers. The festival featured an opening at the

Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) is a contemporary art museum with two locations in greater Los Angeles, California. The main branch is located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, near the Walt Disney Concert Hall. MOCA's ...

, thematic video bus tours, "TV or Not TV" a 10-year LA

retrospective that aired on

KCET KCET (channel 28) is a secondary PBS member television station in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is owned by the Public Media Group of Southern California alongside the market's primary PBS member, Huntington Beach–licensed KOCE ...

, online exhibitions, as well as screenings and installations at multiple Southern California venues. The ninth festival, ''How Can You Resist?'' was held in 2004, with over 150 works of video, film and digital media chosen to address the question "How Can You Resist?"

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Freewaves Official Website
Experimental film 1989 establishments in California Experimental film festivals Organizations established in 1989 Organizations based in Los Angeles