AV Festival 06 is drawing to the close of its natural life. It has been a packed ten days, with many highlights, including:

120 people watch the ghostly yet beautiful Celestial Radio mirror-tiled boat sail up the Tyne, 40 of whom simultaneously listen to the specially commissioned :zoviet*france: broadcast

2000 people watch Suguru Goto’s robotic percussionists at The Sage Gateshead, and some of these get to compose their own robot music

14 newly commissioned works are made for the festival and premiered.

21 world premieres and 4 UK premieres.

1000 people enjoy projections by VJs at the AV Closing Gala at the Empire, Middlesbrough.

A packed cinema watched the first screening of Blade Runner this millenia, as the late night screening sells out the Tyneside’s Classic Cinema.

Thousands of people see Gina Czarnecki’s Spine, of dancers bodies projected onto Newcastle’s Civic Centre.

More than 150 people travel around the 4 exhibition openings at galleries across Sunderland.

300 people experience the world premiere of D-fuse’s Undercurrent at the National Glass Centre, Sunderland.

45 artists, filmmakers and musicians visit the region to take part in the festival.

60 people take part in workshops including 16 who grew samples of their own tissue culture with artists from The Tissue Culture Project!

10 Spider Bots enthral visitors of all ages at Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens.

70 dedicated volunteers inform and assist festival visitors.

There is still time to visit the specially commissioned AV exhibitions in Sunderland: Wonderland by Claire Davies at the National Glass Centre, (until 30 April);

The Autotelematic Spiderbots by Ken Rinaldo & Matt Howard at Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens (until 19 March);
Autoinducer PH-1 by The Phumos Project at the Northern Gallery For Contemporary Art (until 13 March);
Swell by Anthony Mccall at the Reg Vardy Gallery (until 7 April)