6.6 Ecologies of Place
Tracks
Track 6
Tuesday, June 25, 2024 |
3:30 PM - 5:30 PM |
Plaza P10 |
Speaker
Ms Bengi Agcal
The University of British Columbia
SP: The 8th Continent - A Participatory Interactive Art and Gaming Experience for Reclaiming Public Screens
3:30 PM - 3:45 PMAbstract
The 8th Continent is an interactive art experience with gamified elements that foster public dialogue about plastic pollution. In the 21st century, plastic pollution has emerged as one of the most severe environmental issues. The work, through an immersive 3D environment inspired by the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, enables the participants’ engagement as content creators to form an inclusive digital space for knowledge sharing and community expression. By featuring voice recordings from participants and reclaiming public screens used for advertisements, this work explores the potential of participatory knowledge to establish a decolonized space for ecological discussions.
Biography
Bengi Agcal is a multimedia artist with computer engineering and psychology backgrounds. She is currently pursuing her MFA alongside NSERC CREATE in the Immersive Technologies program at the University of British Columbia. Through art and engineering, she aims to engage with the issues of environmental degradation. Her research interests and art practice include speculative fiction, participatory design, 3D rendering, digital sculpting, XR technologies, web computing, immersive technologies, sustainability, climate change, and material recycling.
Dr. Miles Thorogood
Assistant Professor
The University of British Columbia
Co-presenter
Biography
Dr. Aleksandra Dulic is an artist-scholar working at the intersections of interactive multimedia installation and live performance with research focus in cross-cultural media performance, interactive animation and computational poetics. She has received a number of awards for her short animated films and interactive media works. Her work is widely presented in exhibitions, festivals, conferences and television broadcasts across Europe, Asia and North America. These works include films, animated media performances, interactive computer installations and software tools for interactive animation. She is active as an artist, curator, writer, educator, teaching courses, presenting and publishing papers across North America, Australia, Europe and Asia.
Professor Varvara Guljajeva
Assistant Professor
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
FP: We Are The Clouds: Blending Interaction and Participation in Urban Media Art
3:45 PM - 4:10 PMAbstract
Since the early 2000s, cultural institutions have been instrumental in urban media art by reshaping public spaces, fostering community engagement, and nurturing artistic innovation. Central to these initiatives are audience interaction and participation concepts, yet their definitions and applications in urban media art remain nebulous. This article endeavours to demystify these terms, examining the distinct characteristics and intersections of interactive and participatory art within urban contexts. A particular emphasis is placed on artworks that harmonise both elements, exploring the motivations and outcomes of this synthesis. The case study of We Are The Clouds serves as a focal point, exemplifying how strategic integration of interaction and participation can enhance community connection and reinvigorate public spaces. Through this analysis, the paper underscores the transformative power of urban media artworks in redefining neighbourhood experiences, empowering local voices, and revitalising the essence of public realms.
Biography
Dr Varvara Guljajeva is an Assistant Professor in Computational Media and Arts at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou). Previously, she held positions at the Estonian Academy of Arts and Elisava Design School in Barcelona. Her PhD thesis “From Interaction to Post-Participation: The Disappearing Role of the Active Participant,” was selected as the highest-ranking abstracts by Leonardo Labs in 2020. Prof Guljajeva has published her research in numerous academic venues, such as Siggraph, ISEA, IEEE VISAP and more. In 2021, she co-edited the book ‘Meaning of Creativity in the AI-Age’. Varvara works with Mar Canet as an artist, forming an artist duo, Varvara & Mar. Often, the duo's work is inspired by the information age. Their works were shown at MAD, Barbican, Ars Electronica, ZKM, etc.
Dr John Power
Senior Lecturer
RMIT University
FP: An Interdisciplinary Methodology for Practice-Led Research in Public Ambient Installation
4:10 PM - 4:35 PMAbstract
This paper describes an interdisciplinary path to ways of knowing about creative practice engaging with public encounter. An interdisciplinary research methodology is demonstrated as developing from creative studio practice in new media to incorporate ethnographic methods, grounded theory methods, and thick description to induce knowledge from the public encounter with a generative, ambient installation. Each stage of the research strategies is accounted for, and the overall interdisciplinary cycle framed within theories of Double Loop learning. The outcomes reveal an interdisciplinary methodology that can be generalized for studying the cycle through creative practice, public exhibition, and public encounter. This general approach to research methodology provides value for students, creative practitioners, and researchers who seek to understand the emergent, inductive, and relational aspects of interdisciplinary creative practice. This paper will be of use to those engaged in the praxis-research nexus, providing definitions and models for communicating knowledge contributions in new media arts and design.
Biography
John Power is interested in creative collaboration, knowledge innovation, and connecting with community. He is a practising digital artist, expert in 2D and 3D visualisation methods in real-time large public screens, film, Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and digital visual effects (VFX). His award-winning work in animation, film, and new media has been exhibited and performed nationally and internationally. John's research is focused on the ways that generative media on public screens can support attention, rather than propagate more distraction. He is interested in understanding how our relationship with screen media can grow towards applications and immersive experiences that support wellbeing and sustainable, amenable urban places. This research is carried through in his teaching, where he works with students, artists, designers, and developers on ways that new media can contribute to pain and pain management in clinical, work, care, and domestic settings.
Session chair
Everardo Reyes
Université Paris 8
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