Bent Festival :: at The Tank, 45th Street Theatre in Hell’s Kitchen, 354 W. 45th Street between 8th and 9th., New York, NY :: April 22-24, 2010 ::

The Bent Festival is an annual art and music festival celebrating DIY electronics, hardware hacking, and circuit bending. Each year they invite artists from across the country and around the globe to perform music with their home-made or circuit bent instruments, teach workshops to adults and children alike, create beautiful art installations and to generally come together, face to face, and showcase the state of the art in DIY electronics and circuit bending culture.

Each year, The Tank invites benders from across the country and around the globe to perform concerts with their circuit bent instruments, to teach workshops to adults and children alike, and to generally descend on our fair city for a week of sharing and showing off their skills. This year the festival is being expanded to include not only New York, but Los Angeles and Minneapolis as well.

The Bent Festival 2010 will feature: ::vtol::, Action Potential:Interact, Adachi Tomomi, Alpha-Bit, Brendan O’Connell, Derek Holzer/TONEWHEELS, Dr. Bleep and Handmade Music Austin, Dr. Rek, Eric Archer, Gannon, homeless of the sea and sky, Iain Sharp, Joe Mariglio + Steven Litt, KBD, LCDD, Paulo R. C. Barros, Philip White, Phillip Stearns, Stefan Jankus, Threep, Travis Thatcher.and others.

The installation artists will come to their respective spaces with a plan and their materials, but will create their entire bent artistic works live over the course of the week. The artists will work during festival hours only, providing the public a complete look at their artistic process. Each artist will be happy to take time to discuss their work and in some cases have you get involved with their projects.

In addition to the installations, the festival will also have public work/play areas where audience members can try their hand at bending toys provided (or bring your own!). Expert benders, including but not limited to our installations artists, will be on-hand throughout the week to help you get started in this amazingly easy and fun process. All workshops are free and open to the public.

Each night of the festival there will be a number of international acts performing music that involves circuit bent instruments, custom-made electronics and/or battery-powered electronic devices. The music will range from electronics-based indie-pop acts to abstract, experimental soundscapes.