Dearraindrop is a five-member art collective based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. We are interested in and actively creating video, animation, and music as well as interactive sculpture, paintings, and drawings. The aim of our work is to create environments that immerse a participant in a sea of inter-related visual, auditory, and tactile elements. Like the Experimental Television Center, one of our foci is exploration. Our gallery shows and installations are bracketed by 'finished' work by us, with interactive work between the brackets made for viewers/participants to create their own experiences. We develop our own electronic hardware, firmware, and interfaces for the interactive work in order for a participant to explore video synthesis and sound. Our use of video and animation is based in creating new content with Flash, Processing (Java), and stop animation, creating video feedback, incorporating found material (television, home movies, etc.) and recently developing our own video synthesizers that allow for raster animation and scan line manipulation. Additionally, we develop our own stand alone electronic and acoustic musical instruments (some of which have a video component) to further our music-making goals. These instruments are battery-powered and have a built-in amplified speaker to allow for spacial recording and a freedom from cables. Inspiration for these instruments comes from a wide range of places. For example, needing the ability to record and loop, we developed a pair of samplers complete with microphones and speakers. Having a pair allows for 'bouncing' tracks from one sampler to another while recording new material at the same time. We have also developed a suite of instruments that utilize 1-dimensional cellular automata, a group of generative algorithms that can produce a range of behavior, from fractals to chaos. We have had solo shows in Tokyo, Oslo, Stockholm, Toronto, Copenhagen, Padova, New York City, and Philadelphia. Additionally, we have been a part of several group shows where video has played a major role, such as Mad Love at the Arken Museum of Moderne Kunst, Copenhagen, Tedious Limbs at Anthology Film Archives, April 1 2005, the 2003 Totem Tour (Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Andrew Kreps Gallery, NYC), and With Us Against Reality, Or Against Us! in Oslo, Norway. On October 27, 2006, we presented the Dearraindrop Halloween Show at Anthology Film Archives, a screening of recently completed video and animation pieces and a special work about haunted houses in Virginia Beach, VA. We often perform at our shows with acoustic and electronic musical instruments we have created, reinforcing the link between the visual and auditory worlds. Joe Grillo (1980) Laura Grant (1981) Billy Grant (1984) Owen Osborn (1980) Christopher Kucinski (1981)