Total Regeneration Symposium at cSPACE

This week FreqOUT! took part in the Total Regeneration symposium at cSPACE studio, a conference and round table discussion on roles, agendas and impacts for cultural practitioners within socially engaged and collaborative art practice.

Of particular interest was the presentation of the artist and researcher Aida Sancehz de Serdio from the University of Barcelona about Artibarri, a online network of community art projects. For Artibarri, participation and collaboration between artists, politicians and communities is the corner stone of socially engaded art practice and evaluation is the biggest challenge.

The question, "is it possible to evaluate objectively the outcome of socially engaged art practice?", was debated extensively amongst the attendees. Artibarri's position was that artists, politicians and communities should be engaged in a constant reflection, analysis and dialogue, and that the creation of these networks of experience can and should inspire new practices but that community art projects, "should not be evaluated by any measuring processes but by constructive criticism". Thier philosophy received general agreement amongst the symposium public, which was mainly composed of artists and politicians involved in community practices.

There was also unanimity at cSPACE that a future challenges lies in the consideration of external viewers approaching community art projects and their relative outcomes.

Article by Daniela Boraschi
For more information go to: cSPACE studio

FreqOUT! visits Dorkbot

FreqOUT! spent a very enjoyable evening at DORKBOT last Wednesday Evening.

Held at alternatively at Sate51 near Brick Lane or Limehouse Town Hall, Dorkbot is a monthly event at which 'people who do strange things with electricity' meet and show each other what they are up to. We heard Sampath Jagannathan showcase his 'Homebrew rule based particle model' and Yoshi Introduce 'one of the rarest botanical specimens - “Dendro Cacalia Intoxicum” AKA Drunken Leaf' which turned out to be a leaf modelled out of a beer can rotating on a tiny, credit card sized motor.

We're hooked, and will be back next month for more.

You can find out more about Dorkbot London at Dorkbot London

FreqOUT highlights of BETT conference

The BETT conference is a leading educational technology event showcasing companies and businesses operating worldwide .

Highlights of the day were a presentation by Dan Sutch, Learning Researcher for FutureLab, at the Tomorrow's Learners Today Stand. He tackled the subject "...What if we could re-design our education system from scratch?...What if we made the technology do what we wanted?..." FutureLab is a blue-sky thinking IT & educational reserach group working on projects creating answers to the questions above.

Some of their exciting projects are as follows:
Enquiring Minds - a personalised learing project.
Create-A-Scape - a personalised learning tool that enables young people to learn while discovering their surronding through the potential of wireless and mobile technologies.

Information collected by Ed Whyman
Article edited and posted by Daniela Boraschi

Things we like....The Science Museum's Future Playground

The Science Museum have launched a new exhibit called 'The Future Playground'. On show are a giant inflatable sphere on which images can be projected and a pneumatically driven chair that helps people interact with games. Also being showcased is a drama that people interact with by singing.

Find out more at:
BBC News - Technology
Science Museum - Future Playground Press Release

Capgemini confirms sponsorship of FreqOUT! in 2007

We are delighted to announce that Capgemini has confirmed sponsorship of FreqOUT! in 2007.

Capgemini have been supporters of FreqOUT! through staff volunteering, technical assistance and funding since 2005 and we welcome their investment for the year ahead. The funds will contribute to the running of workshops for young people in the Westminster area.

We would like to thank in particular, Nigel Kirby Green, Monica Wilson, Frank Longworth and John L ward for their advice, guidance, enthusiasm and committment to the project.

Capgemini have a strong tradition of local community support - you can find out more about Capgemini and their CSR activities at: Capgemini Corporate Social Responsbility

FreqOUT! visits Liverpool

This week FreqOUT! visited four Liverpool based arts institutions, FACT, Open Eye, The Liverpool Biennial and Tate Liverpool to talk about possibilities for future collaboration and research models of social engagement.



Each gallery/team approached engagement of young people through their programmes in different ways – from delivery of one off and short-term projects related to exhibitions through to rolling activities and services for local communities. All groups agreed that gratuitous imposition of ‘do-gooding’ arts activities on communities were not useful, but that thoughtful matching of high calibre artists with communities who express a wish to extend their skills and experience in stated directions were worthwhile.

There was a universal desire for sensitive facilitation to ensure that programmes match the triumvirate of needs of artists, communities and institutions, which result in creatively credible material and meaningful exchange between people. And of course all four were searching for further sustainable funding which with to achieve this.

Thanks very much to Patrick at Open Eye, Renae at Biennial, Angharad at FACT and Naomi at TATE Liverpool.

You can find out more about the galleries/events through the links below:
FACT / Foundation for Film, Art & Creative Technology
Open Eye Gallery
The Liverpool Biennial
TATE Liverpool / Young TATE

FreqOUT! artist debuts soundwork in New York

This week FreqOUT!lead artist and tutor Mellissa Bliss launched her new soundwork 'THE TELEPHONE TOUR'which will run until 13 January 2007.

The work is part of 'Peter Stuyvesant's Ghost', a civic art project in Manhattan which celebrates Dutch Art & Culture Past and Present. The project takes place within the footprint of the 17th century farm of Peter Stuyvesant, the last Dutch Governor, in what is now the East Village.

THE TELPHONE TOUR is a series of soundworks by US and international artists delivered through telephones. The public can download the map and walk round the locations marked, calling numbers from the pay phones or mobiles at each location.

Melissa's soundworks were also heard on Michelle Nagai's Dutch Days Radio Hour on free103point9 daily 15-19 November 2006.

The project is documented on Melissa's website Living Cinema

You can find out more at:

THE TELEPHONE TOUR - MAP AND INSTRUCTIONS
PETER STUYVESANT'S GHOST
FREE103POINT9
DUTCH DAYS IN FIVE BOROUGHS

Things We Like! - Trading Places

The South Bank Centre has been working with people of Lower Marsh on a project that discovers the hidden poetry of everyday places. The project haas bee running in partnership with the Lomography Society (a Lomo is a small russain built camera distinctive in taking images which produce photographs with a darkened 'halo' effect around the edge of the frame)and inspire by local residents and the begining of teh South Bank's Poetry Festival.

The project has culminated in an interactive sonic and photographic exhibition outside the Royal Festival Hall. While the building is undergoing reconstruction the installation provide a welcome focal point for visitors. Passers by are encouraged to touch a photograph on the 'lomo wall', which will trigger the playing of a related sound recorded in Lower marsh Street.

Find out more at:
The South Bank / Trading Places
The international Lomographic Society

Things We Like! - Turning virtual reality into objects

Rajiv Kumar of Vertex, a member of teh freqOUT! Steering Group has brough the following link to our attention...Sketch Furniture

The Swedish, 'design as performance' group FRONT have developed and explored the Motion Capture as a technique that translates motion into 3D-files. Motion capture is mostly used for animations in movies and computer games. Front have used the technique to record the tip of a pen when they draw pieces of furniture in the air during their theatrical activities.

Rapid Prototyping is a technique that materializes 3D-files. A laser beam builds the 3D-file layer by layer within a liquid plastic material. Every 0.1mm the liquid harden by a laser beam. After a few hours, the 3D-files come out as materialised pieces - each FRONT performance results in newly made furniture!

Front performed their extroadinary performance at Art Basel and Miami / Design 05 and at Tokyo Wonder between 31 October – 5 November this year. The project is made in collaboration with Barry Friedman Ltd.

To see other reviews go to:
PC News
Hacked Gadgets

Art Of The Digital Age - book launch and lecture

This week FreqOUT! attended the launch of the book 'Art of The Digital Age' by New York Digital Salon pioneer and new media art academic Bruce Wands. The launch, hosted by James Faure-Walker at Camberwell School of Art included a short lecture of the history of digital art by Bruce Wands, and guest speakers William Lathom and network artist Ilza Black (Porta 2030/AmbientTV).



Bruce Wands was particularly interesting when talking about works included in the installation, or 'immersive experience' catergory such as Char Davies user controlled fly through piece called 'Ephemere' from 2003 and Erwin Redl's LED works (shown on the front of the book jacket).

Ilza's contemporary, socially engaged perspective brought a refreshing criticality into the arena. Her talk covered the use of mobile and wireless networks to highlight connectivity (Usman Haacke's mobile phone project and John Gail's wireless umbrella's which light up as they detect a 'friend' within range) and the varied use of personal data in a digital age.

You can find out more about the book and the speakers and the below:
Thames and Hudson / Art Of The Digital Age
Camberwell Schoolof Art / James Faure Walker
NY Digital Salon / Bruce Wands
Porta 2030 / Ilza Black

CHArt Conference

This week FreqOUT! attended the CHArt (Computers In the History of Art) Conference at The Clore Lecture Theatre, Birkbeck College in Central London.

This year, the focus bringing togather the lectures, PHD papers and demosntrations was, 'Fast Forward - Art history, curation and practice after media'. A hightlight was a panel session from CRUMB (AKA Sarah Cook, Beryl Graham and Ele Carpenter, University of Sunderland) and their paper on curating new media art.

Another was from Katrien Berte of the Department of Communication Sciences at Ghent University who spoke on 'User Requirements for a 'Virtual Arts Centre of the Future''. Her research into the leisure activities of Belgian citizens has found that a new layer of culture comsumers are emerging consisting of minimumly educated young people who experience culture (music, film, games) only online. Her department found this group will enter a virtual cultural centre (museum/arts venue) online, but not in the real world. Based on this research the Belgian authorities are focusing more resources on developing online cultural information and digitally delivered activities to this group.

You can read the abstracts and papers at http://www.chart.ac.uk

Emotional Mapping workshops in Lisson Green

Last week FreqOUT! hosted the artist and innovator Christian Nold who ran a series of Emotional Mapping workshops with young people from the Fourth Feathers and the Marylebone Bangladeshi Society youth clubs in Lisson Green.

The workshops were a great success. They gave the young people aged between 13 - 21 years old, the opportunity to try out Christian's bio-mapping devices which consist of a galvanic skin sensor linked to a GPS unit. The equipment monitors the wearers sweat levels and plots their geographical position over time as they walk around their local environment



The data collected from the young people's walks were downloaded and visualised using Google Earth. The resultant images became the focus of debate around the diversity and similarities between individuals experiences; their relationship to their local environment; the transformative power of technology upon our lives and data protection and interpretation issues.



All photographs by Jake Nowak/FreqOUT!
Huge thanks go to Vertex, particularly Tim Lonsdale, Mario Tsavellas and Rajiv Kumar whose generous support facilitated these educational events.

You can read more at:
Christian Nold's Bio Mapping web site
Vertex's Corporate Social responsibility Strategy

NESTA's 'Making Innovation Flourish'

FreqOUT! went to NESTA's 'Making Innovation Flourish'conference at London's Business Design Centre today. Amongst the exciting innovations on display we particularly liked the Schizoporotica 'Melody Shredder', and the Futurelab team, who pioneer many exciting mobile learning applications for young people in partnership with creatives and private bussines. We'll be contacting the immenently for further discussions.

Tessa Jowell made a particlarly interesting speech about the need to empower this countries young people - especially those from deprived backgrounds - for careers in the IT and innovation industries where communication, collaboration and creativity meet.

You can look them up at:
Futurelab
Troika's Schizoporotica

Things we like: The Phillips Magic Brush

Rajiv Kumar of Vertex has highlighted a 'Magic Brush' as his new favourite invention which merges art and technology.

Earlier this month Phillips Electronics unveiled several new and innovative products based on its ‘sense and simplicity’ brand at their 2006 Philips Simplicity Event. Amonst them where Drag & Draw where the entire home becomes a virtual canvas for expression and play for young children, thanks to a magic brush, a magic eraser, a magic wand, and a laser projection bucket. The images here shows Andrea Ragnetti, Chief Marketing Officer of Royal Philips Electronics, showing a child how simple it is to use.

You can read more about it at Phillips Simplicity

FreqOUT! visits BBC Blast

FreqOUT! was excited to visit BBC Blast at their White City HQ last week and learn about their touring truck which provides inspiration and advice for those wanting to get involved in music, art, dance or film.

The truck tours the UK and acts as a mobile classroom. The Blast team have have agreed to host a group of young FreqOUTers when the truck is next parked in Trafalgar Sqaure next Spring time.

To find out more about BBC Blast go to:
BBC Blast

Why I got involved with FreqOUT! - Steve Lau

Steve Lau is Westminster Youth Service's Service Manager, and he sits on the FreqOUT! Steering Group. We asked him a few questions about his invlovement with the project:

Why did you get involved with FreqOUT!?:
I carry a number of portfolios for the Youth Service, which include both the Arts and information Technology. I was therefore the natural link to the youth service when the concept of a wireless technologies/youth arts project was first put forward. Having said that, it has always been one of the more interesting projects to have come across my desk, simply because it lies ‘outside of the box’ for so much of the time.

What do you think it can offer to young people?:
So much, and perhaps best illustrated by what young people got out of FreqOut last year. What was very clear from last year’s presentation at the ICA was that the young people had had so much fun in the workshops. The Youth Service is about having fun. But equally there were some very important issues which were touched upon, issues which have a very real impact upon young people’s lives on a daily basis, whether issues of privacy and the introduction and use of CCTV, or society’s judgement of people on first impressions. I’ve no doubt that FreqOut offered young people the opportunity to learn about these and similar issues in a meaningful and fun way. Then there’s all the practical skills which young people acquired - mainly around information technology, but also some of the social skills of team work, of making a first impression count and so on.

The importance of your contribution to FreqOUT!:
I’m not sure this is entirely a question for me to answer. I can say I bring a professional youth work dimension to the management committee, with a strong focus on putting young people first, empowering them, education and safeguarding young people. I think these are important aspects of a strong management committee that needs to encompass robust technical, creative as well as educational elements.

What would you like people to know about WYS?:
Westminster Youth Service sits within the Lifelong Learning Directorate of the Children and Community Services Section of Westminster City Council. The Service is part of a wider package of Services aimed at young people, including Connexions, Positive Activities for Young People, Sports Development and the Play Service, all of these are services which we are working ever closer with. Our aim is to provide young people in Westminster with positive out of school activities that are fun and meaningful, and which contribute to our young people being healthy and safe, enjoying and achieving in life, making a positive contribution to society, and preparing them for a prosperous life.

You can find out more about the Westminster Youth Service at:

'TAGGED' - RFID art at Space

FreqOUT! would like to draw your attention to Five new works by artists working with RFID technology as part an ongoing project produced by [ space.media.arts ] in Hackey, East London.



You can see Richard Barbrook (Westminster University and Cybersalon - see links: The Class of The New and Imaginary Futures)in the picture above testing out iTag by the artist collaborative Louis-Philippe Demers and Philippe Jean. Using a portable music device, available to pick up from the exhibition, shoppers can listen to music generated from the grocery aisles at local shop Hollywood Convenience. Items are electronically tagged allowing the grocery items to produce the artwork .



RealSnailMail is a project in development by Boredomresearch, using RFID technology to enable real snails to carry and deliver electronic messages on their own time, despite growing expectations of instant communication.

Mute-Dialogue (Yasser Rashid and Yara El-Sherbini have created the interactive installation, Origins and Lemons. Arranged as an East End market stall the installation invites you to pick up RFID-tagged items and scan them to receive clues as to their history and origin.

In SWAPOId, evoLhypergrapHyCx (C6)implement RFID technology in the Antisystemic Distributed Library Project, an alternative library of shared books, videos, and music with venues in community centres and bedrooms worldwide, and through this acting as but one site of resistance against a de-humanising, de-dimensional agenda.

Arphield Recordings by Paula Roush records the sound of citizens scanning their Oyster cards in London Underground stations, and outputs them in live performance, installation and public intervention.

A new essay by Armin Medosch, The Spychip Under Your Skin, accompanies this exhibition and is published on a new [ space.media.arts ] website: www.spacemedia.org.uk

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Email: exhibitions@spacestudios.org.uk
Web: http://www.spacemedia.org.uk
Telephone: 0208 525 4339

TRAVEL
Bus: 26 & 48 from Liverpool Street
106 & 254 from Bethnal Green
55 from Old Street

Tube: Bethnal Green
Train: Hackney Central Silverlink

EXHIBITION OPENING TIMES
Opening Reception: 6 October, 6 - 9pm; continuing until 21 October With a performance by Paula Roush
Open Wednesday - Saturday, 1 - 6pm

//FREE ADMISSION FULLY ACCESSIBLE//

Things We Like - Tina Gonsalves' FEEL Series

Today FreqOUT! went to a lecture at the University College London's Institue of Cognitive Neuroscience and Functional Imaging Unit to hear artist in residence Tina Gonsalves talk about her work.

Tina has been collaborating with emotion neuroscientist Dr. Hugo Critchley to create a series of video installations that react to viewers emotional states. Wearing bio-sensors that dectect heart rate, perspirance, movement etc, viewers are invited to watch videos that externalise their emotional state and attempt to control that state.

Tina has also produced reactive Jewelery which incorporate tiny video screens displaying images that express feelings that the wearer may be working hard to conceal on the surface. We were shown documentary footage of Tina wearing the jewelery during at a public intervention at the ICA in 2004 where people strangely ended up taking to her jewelery rather than her face - creating intimate and often highly emotional scenes!

You can find out more at:
Tina Gonsalves
Greenwich Hugo Critchley / UCL

Peninsula Launch

Last night FreqOUT! Project Manager Amy Robins and FreqOUT! friend and representative of the Finish GPS company Pointer Jaimie Palmer went down to the launch of the Greenwich based project Penninsula. The launch presented five of the new media arts projects they have been nuturing - from Christian Nold's, 'Greenwich Emotion Map', to Daniel Belasco's, 'Peninsula Voices' - both of which use GPS to operate, and Lottie Childs', 'Accidental Holiday'. We also met up with Rob Dyke of Comwifinet whose project Peninsula.me.uk was also featured.

Peninsula is an exceptionally well curated project that matches locative, wireless and new media to community concerns, memories and future wishes. I won't explain them all here - you can look them up at the following links:

Peninsula Projects / Independant Photography
Greenwich Emotion Map / Christian Nold
Peninsula Voices / Daniel Belasco
Accidental Holiday / Lottie Child
Gasworks to Dome / Rib Davis & Tom Keene
Peninsula.me / Comwifinet

Plus Jaime Palmer's Finish GPS links:
Pointer GPS Solutions
Pointer for Pets

Artful Gaming at the Dana Centre

As part of the London Games Festival Fringe, Cybersalon and Select Parks have been hosting 'Artful Gaming' at the Science Museum’s Dana Centre this week - a one-day forum and week-long exhibition that spotlights innovation and platforms new work, new developments and new thinking in gaming culture.


FreqOUT! went along today and two works caught our eye due to their experiential learning potential for young people.

The first was 'Chit Chat National Park' (see above), a live MUD (multi user domain) by Toshi Endo, where individuals can take on avatars, and communicate with corresponding emotions in a utopian environment. We think this would be extra interesting if played between two youth communities on different estates across London - allowing young people to communicate on a level, without judging each other on dress/voice/skin colour/age etc.

The second was 'EdgeBomber' (see above below right), by Susigames - a german art colletive. EdgeBomber is a pervasive video game installation, where the creation of the game world is an active part of the game. The player uses tape, stickers and scissors to create his own playground on a blank wall. The system then grabs the scenery and creates a virtual level for our jump-n-run video game. The newly grabbed playground is extended and finally projected back to the original scenery. Thus a mixed media/augmented reality level is created. This seems like an exciting way for palyers to gain control over the way their interactive gaming environment looks and works - rather than just being a consumer.

You can find out more about Artful Gaming at:
CyberSalon / Artful Gaming