Lauren Goshinski is co-founder and artistic director of VIA and the VIA Festival, on staff at Carnegie Mellon’s School of Art, here & there DJ/artist, and a person with an uncurbed enthusiasm for making music, new media art and technology collide.
Monday, January 12
Wake up and realize I haven’t had the urge to do a BuzzFeed quiz in a long time, thank god. Put on something that’s either black or white or a combination of the two. Still hoping to find the perfect jumpsuit so I can think even less about dressing myself.
It’s the first week of the semester at Carnegie Mellon, so Monday – Friday I’m in the School of Art doing my thing as their Marketing & Communications manager. Our Art Lecture Series, which features internationally renown artists and curators, is certainly worth ducking out of work early for. Excited for Julian Oliver & Danja Vasiliev, Ryoji Ikeda, (The Warhol’s own) Eric Shiner, Emily Jacir, Rick Lowe … who am I kidding, the whole program. The MFA Thesis Exhibition and Senior Art Exhibition are also not to miss.
Tonight I’ll try to make a dent in a long list of music starting with Trading Algorithms I mix by Sexworker. I’ll make my regular rounds on the Internet (Dazed, DIS, Topical Cream, Creative Applications, Original Plumbing, Zillow); honestly I get a lot of my reading from Facebook and Twitter feeds … And I’ll indulge my fascination with this video for the 50th time (remixes are happening already). No shame.
Tuesday, January 13
VIA’s collaborating with a bunch of great organizations in Pittsburgh and abroad this year (Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh Technology Council’s CREATE Festival, and partners in our ICAS: International Cities of Advanced Sound network to name a few), so we’re in the thick of making it all happen. Every night is some combo of meetings, grant proposals, schemin’, music/art/theory binges. I’m not a work at home person—find me on that coffee shop/neighborhood bar free WiFi. If Ritter’s had free Wi-Fi, there’s a good chance I’d be there at 3 a.m. I’m holding out that something like this will open in Pittsburgh.
Wednesday, January 14
Will spend some time at The Ballroom, a new venue in Lawrenceville above Round Corner Cantina, putting together tracks for events I’ll be DJing. I cannot overstate how great it is to practice on a club-quality sound system. VIA has some shows coming up here as well <plug plug>: January 24th noise/power electronics with NYC’s Pharmakon and slew of locals, February 21st we welcome back 2014 VIA Festival artist Cakes da Killa for some lgbtq bangers with Jersey club queen Uniique. For house/techno lovers, Terekke on February 28th, and Ital & Aurora Halal March 13th. Ears are going to be very happy.
Thursday, January 15
Meeting with my Dadpranks daddies about the project we’ll present at Open Engagement, a conference coming to Pittsburgh in April focused on socially engaged art. I want to check out the opening reception for “HERE” at 707 gallery, a solo show for Pittsburgh artist Danny Bracken, whose multimedia work investigates compatibility between our physical and digital worlds. And Startup Drinks mixer at The Warhol, where they are showing The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz. Maybe sneak in an episode of “Black Mirror” before impending existential crisis/zzz.
Friday, January 16
Art opening on the Internet! One of my favorite online venues will release a new series today, Panther Modern: Room Seven. Lunch at Conflict Kitchen. I’ll stop by Penn Ave.’s neighborhood art&tech hub Assemble for Regionals, featuring Moonbaby performing her EP urallpoor.us. While I’m on this name-dropping spree, there’s a long list of great projects that offer interesting perspectives on our city: Pittsburgh Queer History Project, The Drift, Nu Kirche Contemporary Art Center, Center for Post-Natural History, etc.
I’ll probably spend the rest of the night working on VIA things and reminding myself to: 1. reserve a table at Joza’s Corner (because I STILL have not eaten here, and that is sad), and 2. gather people for Bareoke at Tennyson Lodge. These will definitely happen in 2015.
Saturday, January 17
Cannot pass up the menu and two-hour nap (aka food coma) from Carmi’s on the North Side. Gotta tune in from 3 to 6 p.m. on WRCT 88.3 FM for DETOUR & Friends. This Pittsburgh label/radio show/promoter crew has been delivering great live shows from local DJs and producers one after another. I’ll be playing alongside some of them later tonight at the free VIA SHOWCASE at Round Corner Cantina. Find me, Chocolate Boombox’s Harry Lurker & Anthony Susan, White Tuxedo, Chase Smith and WRCT’s k r a e j i makin that azz shake. When we’re done, it’s only a quick walk to after-hours at Hot Mass, where Pittsburgh Track Authority, Pgh–>LA expat Matt McDermott and Magic Touch (LA/100% Silk), will be keeping everyone warm with classic, obscure and new house/disco trax ’til the sun rises.
Sunday, January 18
Hit up SkyZone. And practice my dunks.
Wash. Rinse. Repeat.