A B O U T
A B O U T
A B O U T
A B O U T
pt.fwd (pronounced "point forward") is an independent, artist-run 501c3 non-profit that organizes contemporary music and sonic arts performances in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois.
pt.fwd's mission is to celebrate the communal experience of coming together to listen to powerful new sonic art. In partnership with the McLean County Museum of History, pt.fwd promotes new work by local and regional artists in a historic, acoustically curious setting.
pt.fwd’s principles are:
to put artists first by paying them well and providing a stimulating environment for creative experimentation
to cultivate compelling, independent programming
to build community by offering free events in accessible venues and highlighting work that benefits underserved members of our community
Broadly speaking, we aim to champion sonic arts without boundaries - we only ask that it be new, and that it be great.
To date, we've hosted live concerts, curated performances for The Quarantine Concerts to raise funds for artists impacts by COVID-19, conducted a series of online composer interviews in partnership with Sixty Inches from Center and Sight Specific, commissioned new works by six local and regional composers, and launched the pt.fwd Artist-in-Residency Program to create additional resources for cutting-edge sonic artists in the Midwest. We are the only such program between Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis, and the Quad Cities that is not directly affiliated with a university.
![New show announcement! We are THRILLED to reveal our season's 'mystery artist'! 👀
@pt.fwd presents FUJI||||||||||||TA
Tuesday, March 11 at 7pm
McLean County Museum of History @mchistorymuseum
FUJI||||||||||TA @fujilllllllllllta is a Sound Artist living in Japan. His unique practice utilizes various natural phenomena that respond to his interest in wanting to hear unheard sounds and unknown sounds. Instead of playing a composed piece of music, he aims to go as far as possible towards his own unknown state of being, with an emphasis on observing the sound closely.
In 2009 Fujita hand fabricated a Pipe Organ that has only 11 pipes and no keyboard. Fujita conceived and built it using his imagination, without any prior or specialized knowledge. The air pump (called “FUIGO”) which is kept moving by the left hand when playing, and is based on associations with an ancient blacksmith. This unique instrument is too delicate in its nature to be played properly without a great deal of experimentation and trial and error. Fujita has spent a long time inventing ways to play it and experimenting with ways to utilise this instrument in sound systems.
Since 2006 he has had many solo performances and collaborative works with musicians, including ∈Y∋ (Boredoms), Akio Suzuki, Keiji Haino, and Rashad Becker. He has presented his sound installation works in many contexts: the work “CELL”, which made audible the sounds of black soldier flies buried in dirt, was exhibited in Sapporo International Art Festival 2017 and attracted a great deal of interest in Fujita’s artistic practice. A performance with an organ and 4 water tanks were performed in MODE (London) in 2019. And since then he have played at various festivals and venue, including Rewire Festival (NL), Big Ears Festival (US), Variations Festival (FR), Pioneer Works (US), Bourse de Commerce (FR), Send+Receive (CA) and Tectonics Glasgow (UK).
His albums are “iki” [Hallow Ground], “KŌMORI” [Boomkat Editions] and “NOISEEM” [33-33].
📷 by Yuichiro Noda
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All pt.fwd concerts are free and open to the public.
🌐 www.ptfwd.com 🌐](https://scontent-iad3-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.75761-15/467770527_18249652579277865_347920385508993491_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=105&ccb=7-5&_nc_sid=18de74&efg=eyJlZmdfdGFnIjoiQ0FST1VTRUxfSVRFTS5iZXN0X2ltYWdlX3VybGdlbi5DMyJ9&_nc_ohc=i5GNAfaPqL0Q7kNvwG5_SXc&_nc_oc=AdkuXAtPT_u0LU_WWCO93Zy9cpBgnjjSys4kPe1bQ3sM7oQj2fB04BA6SoKGrRALXzA&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=dRM8dEXOU2A4IssHLxiNLw&oh=00_AfjUzXLVGn0bVSvw5_mv_X2xpqy0LMmv291brQTR1N-hQw&oe=692A21C5)
