Tate and BMW launched a major new international partnership, BMW Tate Live which will focus on performance, interdisciplinary art and curating digital space. The four-year programme will be launched with a series of artist performances created specifically to be broadcast "live" online. BMW Tate Live: Performance Room is the first artistic programme created purely for live web broadcast.
The BMW Tate Live: Performance Room series will include five commissions in 2012. The French choreographer, Jerome Bel, will create the first commission which will take place in March 2012. The programme, which will include both emerging artists and more familiar figures from across the world ranging from visual artists to choreographers, will run on Tate's online channel as BMW Tate Live: Performance Room.
Each performance will be announced in advance taking into consideration different time zones. The performances will take place at Tate Modern in London and broadcast live on the internet without an audience present in real time. The online audience will watch the event live online, and have the opportunity to email chat with other viewers (or via social media channels) at the same time, or straight afterwards. This innovative format will offer audiences internationally an opportunity to experience new work first-hand. Each performance will then be archived and available to view on the BMW Tate Live page, accumulating into a series through the year.
"I am delighted that we will partner with BMW on this important new initiative," said Chris Dercon, Director, Tate Modern. "Not only is Tate's programme and Collection becoming increasingly international, so is our audience, and we need to work to find new ways to present our programme to them on new channels. The development of technology has transformed people's approach to art. Audiences today expect more interaction, participation and personalisation than ever before. BMW Tate Live will answer this need. BMW Tate Live will bring live art performance directly to people on the web, wherever they are in the world."