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Here Now, There Now. (PERFORMANCE, (Site-specific live event with associated website and publication)

Here Now, There Now (HNTN) was a major project comprising unannounced interventions in the landscape along some of Scotland’s busiest commuter rail routes. It was funded by a £30,000.00 Creative Scotland Award, ten of which were awarded in 2006 to artists across all artforms in Scotland.

In the early days of the locomotive critics referred to rail travel as an ‘annihilation of space and time’. In this research, Spence postulated that the train journey can create a valuable space for thought. She explored this idea of transient space by targeting commuter routes between Aberdeen - Edinburgh, and Edinburgh - Glasgow. Through a series of collaborative live performances and large scale text works, set in 35 remote locations, the daily routine of travelling commuters was unexpectedly interrupted by these interventions. She discovered that the optimum viewing distance for reading images/objects from a moving train was the mid-ground space that exists either side of the train tracks. This allowed for the works to be successfully viewed within 5-second time frames.

The aim was to encourage thought and discussion about the works, immediately (unrecorded and ephemeral) and by capture through a website, a documentary, and a publication. Three artists collaborated on the texts, choreography and performances: Anthony Schrag (artist), Raman Mundair (writer) and Litza Bixler (choreographer); and 150 performers took part over the three days. Three writers were also commissioned to write texts for the publication. The event was viewed by over 500,000 train passengers, reaching a further 600,000 people when presented on the prime time news programme, BBC Reporting Scotland.

The film documentary and publication were launched at the Stills Gallery in Edinburgh in April 2009. The documentary has been shown during presentations in the UK, USA, and Czech Republic and is available online.

Publication: Here Now, There Now (2009) ISBN:9780956216106

www.herenowtherenow.org