Bio Mapping - community partners confirmed

We are delighted to announce that during the '06 Autumn half term holiday, FreqOUT! will be working with the Marylebone Bangladeshi Society (MBS)and Forth Feathers Youth Clubs.

Christian Nold will be delivering a series of Bio Mapping activities for the young people. Through the use of GPS and Galvanic Skin sensors, he will lead them to explore their relationship to the built environment, thier own and other residents perceptions of safety, urban planning and regenration issues.

Why I got involved with FreqOUT!

Charlotte Fergusson is the City of Westminster's Arts Liaison Officer and a member of the FreqOUT! Steering Group. The FreqOUT! team interviewd Charlotte to find out more about why she is involved in the project.

FreqOUT!: Charlotte, What is your role on the Steering Group?
Charlotte: I'm a non voting member giving input on behalf of Westminster City Council from an arts perspective.

FreqOUT!: Why do Westminster City Coucil want to support the project?
Charlotte: It's innovative and genuinely impacts on the participants. On top of that FreqOUT! partners with many interesting and diverse agencies which can only benefit the Council.

FreqOUT!: What element of FreqOUT! is most inspiring?
The new artistic applications of wireless technologies

FreqOUT!: Why is FreqOUT! different to most other creative education provision in Westminster?
Charlotte: It utilises a relatively new art form. Pioneering projects like this one don't appear very often.

FreqOUT!: Why do you think its important to introduce young people to new technologies?
Charlotte: We live in a world where IT skills are esstential for employment. It is also a good way to engage young people in learning because they feel comfortable with the technology and it's relevant to them. They get a chance to stretch their imaginations.

To find out more about Westminster Council's support of the Arts go to:
Westminster City Council Arts and Entertainment

Artist Wish List - The Familiar Stranger team

FreqOUT! is always on the look out for interesting artists and development or research units who we'd like to work with.

Through the Neural Net online magazine we have spotted The Familiar Stranger Project developed by Eric Paulos and Elizabeth Goodman from Intel Berkeley Lab, which we think would be an interesting project to collaborate with - possibly linking group of young people in the UK and their daily routines to this high profile research in the USA.

The project uses Bluetooth technology to explore the loose connections we have to people we see during our daily routines, but never speak to. A good example is a person seen on the bus every morning: if this person fails to show up we suddenly notice it. The claim is that the relationship we have with the familiar strangers is indeed a real relationship in which both parties agree to mutually ignore each other. And this familiarity with strangers help us to feel part of a group.

The researchers claim that current trends in mobile phone usage increasingly divide people from co-located strangers within their community. In quirky situations or strange places in fact we use our mobile phones uncomfortably, dramatically decreasing the chances of interacting with individuals outside our social groups.

The creators Paulos and Goodman are developing a tool capable of detecting other Bluetooth mobile phone users. One of the most powerful elements is that it is not driven by the bits of an online network, but by actual real-life, by the movement and interaction (or non-interaction) of others whose path we cross. Therefore, the number of 'participants' is not simply the size of some database on a central server but a more powerful and personal membership in urban life. To be specific, every Bluetooth mobile phone user is within the Jabberwocky community.

You can find out more about the project at
Neural Net

Brokering Creativity - Jock McQueenie visits FreqOUT!

Jock McQueenie, the Sydney based creative events broker visited FreqOUT! at Vital Regeneration's Westminster based HQ last week. His interest was in finding out more about a young project which has already successfully built partnerships between technology related companies, artists and communities for the mutual benefit of all involved with a view to using us as a model in his European and Australasian University level lecturing sessions.

Jock has a ten year history of cultural brokerage which has broken new ground in business/community/arts partnerships. His approach synthesises innovative custom-designed arts projects which 'join the dots' of diverse stakeholder agendas and perspectives and demonstrating in practical terms the transformative potential of the arts.

In brokering collaborations between arts organisations, companies and communities his aim is to positively position the Arts in relation to the often competing and intersecting agendas of economy, society and technology. His 3Cs model (community, culture and commerce - see below) provides cultural organisations, local and state governments and the corporate sector with strategic planning and visioning, concept and project development, cross sector workshops and training.

Jock is also looking to build a group of internationally based, arts educated indviduals who practise in this area and regard brokering as a creative act in itself. If you recognise yourself in this description, please contact me at arobins@cwh.org.uk and I will pass your details on.

To find out more about Jock McQueenie's work go to:
Jock McQueenie’s ‘3C’s’paper
Museum Australia
CCD - Community and Cultural Development In Australia
Arts Tasmania
Southland Museum, New Zealand