Events Guide: Sharon Switzer switches it up at HIFF

HALIFAX –  The Centre for Art Tapes (CFAT) welcomes visiting artist Sharon Switzer for a week-long residency at CFAT, a street-level exhibition of her work and an artist talk as part of the Halifax Independent Filmmakers Festival (HIFF). Switzer’s video series I Should Be Dreaming Of Butterflies will be installed in the windows of 1658 Barrington Street from the 5^th through to the 8^th of April, during the Festival.

WHAT: Public Realm screening – Sharon Switzer
WHERE: 1658 Barrington Street
WHEN: April 5 – 8, 2011, dusk – 11pm
HOW MUCH: Free

Sharon Switzer is a media artist, curator and educator living in Toronto who works with text-based video to relate small moments in time, focusing the viewer on desire, yearning, loss and confusion–the instants that fill-up the everyday. Speaking about her current art practice Switzer states: “I have to say that I’m generally for continued advancements in technology, and I enjoy experimenting with creating new and beautiful things with it. The path I’m on now has taken me further away from recording the world and deeper into an otherworldly space.”

Switzer is also the founder and Executive Director of the organization Art for Commuters, a curatorial project that exhibits media art throughout the Toronto public transit system, which includes an annual one-minute silent film festival called the Toronto Urban Film Festival. She is an instructor at the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) and is actively involved in the Toronto arts community. Switzer holds a BFA from Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles, an MFA from the University of Western Ontario and is a graduate of the CFC Media Lab at the Canadian Film Centre. She is represented by the Corkin Gallery in Toronto.

Switzer will also be presenting an artist talk at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 6th at the NSCADU Film School (1649 Brunswick St.) as part of HIFF. This event is free of charge. Visit HIFF, for more information, including a full festival guide to event listings and ticket information.

Photo – Still provided by Sharon Switzer, ‘I Should Be Dreaming Of Butterflies’.