John W. Fail hosted Serious Introspection weekly in autum 2015 and spring 2016, during the initial run at Mad House (which can be watched online). He is an American-born artist who works primarily in open-form collaborations, aiming to explore experimental methods of collaborative cultural production. He co-instigated the Biathlon project in Helsinki from 2016-2018 whcih operated cooperative, decentralised culture platforms called Temporary and Kuusi Palaa. He was co-director of the Pixelache festival in 2015, and ran the Ptarmigan project in Helsinki and Tallinn from 2009-2014. John has recorded and performed in various experimental and improvised musical projects. He works primarily in organising trans-disciplinary events, bringing together people of diverse backgrounds to experiment with collaborative creative techniques, with a focus on discordant (even irrelevant) pleasures without regard for measurable outcomes.
John is available at your event for all hosting duties. The standard package brings John with the following features:
John is also available to moderate panel discussions, criticise cultural policies, lead non-idiomatic sound improvisation activities, and to talk openly about his life/emotional experiences. He, like all SI Services staff, comes in regular and family-friendly language options. The working language is English.
Education:
MLitt, Modernities, University of Glasgow (2006)
BS, Information Science, University of Pittsburgh (2001)
Projects and Publications:
Biathlon/Temporary/Kuusi Palaa, Helsinki, 2016-2018
Serious Introspection with John W. Fail, Mad House Helsinki, October 2015 - May 2016
Pixelache Living Spaces festival, Helsinki, September 2015
Alternative Mobility Research Triangle, Pixelache Helsinki, 2014-2015
Ptarmigan project space, Tallinn, Estonia 2011-2014
Slothrop's bookstore, Tallinn, 2011-2015
Ptarmigan project space, Helsinki, 2009-2010
Vernon & Burns meets Lied Music, Lost Lake LP, Shadaazz records, 2011
The 15,000 Day Boat Trip LP, 8mm records, 2010
Lied Music vs. Boy-Band Tax Returns, LP, Ultra Eczema records, 2006
Cenotaph record label, Pittsburgh/Glasgow, 2000-2008