Free activist art and lots of booze

Video, new media installations and live music are among the main components of this coming Friday's RePlant, an event taking place as part of the ongoing Art Matters Festival. The night, which showcases the work of a number of emerging student artists, is set up in a way that will allow for audience members and featured artists to interact in an enjoyable and cozy environment.

Audience participation is an interesting element to the night, as viewers will get to take part in, among other things, the recording of a live band and exchanging ideas with filmmakers at one of the bars. For Josh Usheroff, the event's curator, it was important to "inject some excitement into the presentation of time-based media." His party comes as a refreshing departure from the traditional cinema outing, ending as expected with the spectator passively walking away once the credits roll.

This "night with a conscience" will feature a variety of socially-minded videos, with themes ranging from communism, feminism and Cambodia and the environment, among others. Proceeds from the event will go directly to the Rainforest Foundation, an organization that safeguards the rights of indigenous people and fights against the destruction of tropical rainforests around the world.

"The night is an opportunity for artists to express themselves locally, while having an effect globally," Usheroff says.

At the outset, Usheroff, a third-year communication studies student specializing in video production, got involved in Art Matters because he had been wanting to organize a video event for quite some time. Bored with conventional screenings, he set out to produce a concept that would encourage audience interaction. But the focus on environmental activism only came about when he was put into contact with Noah Stewart-Ornstein. An active member in Concordia's Sociology and Anthropology Student Union, Stewart-Ornstein wanted to throw a party with the proceeds going to the Rainforest Foundation. So after a few meetings, he teamed up with Usheroff, asking him to curate the art exhibit and fill the space.

Some of the musical acts that will be in command of that space are The Whatevayou's, Ice Planet Calme and the 2004 Canadian DMC finalist, turntabilist DJ Brace. This gathering promises to live up to its dual function: providing great art and a darned good time. And best of all, it's free (and beer will be going for two bucks a pop). The festival program even goes as far as to say that there will be "enough booze to sink the Titanic." Now that's one thing let's hope they actually pull off.