SPECTRAL
SPECTRAL stands for Spatial, Performative & Expanded Cinematics – Transnational Research at Artist-run Labs.
SPECTRAL gathers six labs run by artists dedicated to analogue film practices with an experimental and DIY approach. The practices include research, curation, invention, empirical engineering, and construction in a non-hierarchical way.
We share a common enthusiasm for experimental cinema and its history, from the pioneers who invented moving image, to avant-garde and underground film and cross-media practices.
We would like to bring this heritage to new places and intertwine expanded cinematic arts with other disciplines. Collectively we use the term Expanded Cinematic Arts (E.C.A.) referring to the range of practices that we aim to encourage and develop, creating overlapping areas between film labs and a variety of contexts and aesthetic concerns.
Residency
In the context of SPECTRAL, LaborBerlin creates and provides S.P.A.C.E. (Space for Projection Art & Celluloid Experimentation), a residency program and workspace in Berlin.
For SPECTRAL, we draw inspiration from ancient projection rituals such as Asian shadow theater, magic lanterns, and phantasmagorias, as well as contemporary visual and performance arts.
SPECTRAL is co-funded by the Creative Europe program of the European Commission.
More posts about SPECTRAL:
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Cauldron #5 – LaborBerlin
Cauldron is a program developed within SPECTRAL, in which Laia co-op invites an international partner laboratory to exhibit the works and research produced in the context of these spaces dedicated to moving image in analog format and led by the artists. For Cauldron #5, artists Luisa Greenfield and Bernd Lützeler will be in Porto to…
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Diffraktion#14
LaborBerlin is happy to invite you all to Diffraktion#14, the annual screening of films by members of the collective and friends at City Kino Wedding on the 15th of March starting from 5:00 PM featuring analog film screenings, installations and performances.
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Milica Jovcic – Toolbox
LaborBerlin is happy to invite you all on the 18th of October to Milica Jovcic’s presentation at S.P.A.C.E. in Wiesenstraße 29, the residency space that LaborBerlin is running in the context of the SPECTRAL project. Milica Jovcic will present her work Toolbox. The potential mining of lithium ore threatens to cause an ecological disaster in…
S.P.A.C.E
Within the framework of the SPECTRAL project, LaborBerlin has established a new space where artists can work on Expanded Cinema in Berlin-Wedding.
S.P.A.C.E. (Space for Projection Art & Celluloid Experimentation) is a place for enabling artists to experiment with photo-chemical film, light, and sound, through providing access to projectors, looping devices, screens and sound equipment.
The residency is located in Berlin at Wiesenstr. 29, on the ground floor, in a space encompassing 77 sq. meters.
Since its inception numerous artists and filmmakers from LaborBerlin have been working in S.P.A.C.E., taking advantage of its proximity to lab to develop Expanded Cinema projects ranging from installations and sculptures to performances. Furthermore, three international residents have been selected from an open call in 2022 to work in S.P.A.C.E. for two months in 2023: Adina Ionescu-Muscel, Elian Mikkola and Andrea Novoa.
The results of these residencies are regularly presented in exhibitions and open studios, making of S.P.A.C.E. not only a place for development and research, but also for exchange between artists and the public.
LaborBerlin collaborates with FILMEXPLORER, an online platform dedicated to art films through critiques, interviews, podcasts, in hosting the international residents in the studio apartment of their Berlin Hub.
More posts about S.P.A.C.E.:
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S.P.A.C.E. Expanded – EMAF 2025
We’re happy to bring S.P.A.C.E. EXPANDED to EMAF 2025—an exhibition and performance program featuring works developed through the S.P.A.C.E. residency (Nov. 2022 – Oct. 2024), initiated by LaborBerlin as part of the SPECTRAL project. This unique European collaboration between six artist-run film labs supports analog projection as an artistic practice, offering resident artist’s studio space, equipment, and…
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Milica Jovcic – Toolbox
LaborBerlin is happy to invite you all on the 18th of October to Milica Jovcic’s presentation at S.P.A.C.E. in Wiesenstraße 29, the residency space that LaborBerlin is running in the context of the SPECTRAL project. Milica Jovcic will present her work Toolbox. The potential mining of lithium ore threatens to cause an ecological disaster in…
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Laurence Favre – Butterfly Stories: Malaise
LaborBerlin is happy to invite you all on the 7th and 8th of September to Laurence Favre’s presentation at S.P.A.C.E. in Wiesenstraße 29, the residency space that LaborBerlin is running in the context of the SPECTRAL project. Laurence Favre will present her installation Butterfly Stories: Malaise. The installation is part of a wider project in search…