Westminster City Hall Exhibition

Photographs from Mobile Movies, Perceptual Landscapes and Signs of the City were exhibited at Westminster City Hall between 21st April - 9th May 2008. The exhibition was part of Westminster City Council Arts Service’s exhibition to highlight the creative talents of some of the most disadvantaged young people living in the city.

Inspired Mobile Films

Artist Melissa Bliss and the FreqOUT! team worked with young people from Churchill Gardens Youth Club this week to create short films inspired by a trip to the Tate Gallery. Four short films were made on the day and the group devised innovative ways to use mobile phones to capture issues of importance to them. This method of low fi film making is encouraging young people to think more creatively what they can do with technology that is accessible to them.

Perceptual Landcspaes Launches in Church Street

Young people from the Marylebone Bangladeshi Society worked with artists Christian Nold, Daniela Boraschi and the FreqOUT! team to interview members of the Church Street community to find out what people thought about living there. The young peolpe used MP3 sound recorders to build a rich audio representation of their community. Christian and Daniela worked with the young people to transcribe their audio onto project laptops, and then created a digital diagram of the results in consultation with the group. The final maps will be exhibited at a display at City Hall in April alongside photographs from the workshops.

On the Margins of Technology

FreqOUT! visited SPACE Studios on Friday to see the grande finale of 'Not Quite Yet'. Artists have responded to research with groups of older people in East London considering how the UK’s ‘ageing’ population can engage with future design processes of Technology. What if everyone had a role in deciding how society uses digital technologies? The growing relationship between networks and computer systems means the way we live is being increasingly determined by technology. The UK has an ‘ageing’ population who live with the implications of these design decisions. The artists have been invited to respond to a research project that engages groups of older people in East London exploring their relationship to technology and its development.

FreqOUT! Visits BETT 2008

FreqOUT! Project Manager Jenny Irish took a trip to BETT this month at Kensington Olympia. BETT is the world’s largest educational technology event which spans both the National and the Grand Halls at Olympia, featuring 600 stands and close to 30,000 visitors. FreqOUT! visited the Futurelab stand which featured Reactable – an electronic musical instrument designed for use by several people at the same time. Developed by a team at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, the Reactable has a round surface like a tabletop, and users play it by moving or rotating different objects on the surface. We guarantee you will never have experienced anything like it!

FreqOUT! is showcased on the Futurelab website, you can find out more here

Future Lab Website

Oxford Street mobile phone takeover

Project Manager Jenny Irish and Artist Melissa Bliss worked with young people from the Cardinal Hume Centre during the VIP event on Oxford Street during its pedestrianisation on the 1st of December. The FreqOUT! group were part of a range of acts and performances that lined the streets during the busiest day in the shopping calendar. The young people filmed the event and made short films on mobile phones that could be Bluetoothed to the crowd- to spread the FreqOUT! message.

FreqOUT! visits ITM Grande Finale

The ITM (Inclusion Through Media) project ran in collaboration with Goldsmiths and worked with FreqOUT! during the 'Hidden Homeless' Film Project at the start of 2007. The Grande Finale was held at the BFI and included talks from The Uk Film Council, Nesta, Musicians In Focus, BBC and Real Time Video.

Adnan Hanzi worked with the young people from the 'Hidden Homeless' Project to teach them how to upload their films to The Broadcast Machine. This open source method of distribution enables free distribution online and has proven to be a successful way of distributing the fantastic projects created by the young people. FreqOUT! worked with a young person from the project to upload a database of films and sound work from Vital's history. You can view the films here: student films

FreqOUT! intends to incorporate this into future projects to empower yong people to get their work seen by the masses!

New FreqOUT! Project Manager Appointed

Following an interview series by the FreqOUT! Steering Group, Jenny Irish has been appointed as the new FreqOUT! Project Manager. Jenny takes over responsibility from Amy Robins who has successfully driven the project since its start in 2005. Jenny trained in MA Communication Design at Central Saint Martins and has a background as an Installation and Media Artist. Jenny has been an instrumental part of the Vital Regeneration Team since 2005, "I am looking forward to the exciting new challenges that FreqOUT! brings and the impact the project will have on the educational aspirations of the young people we work with." To contact Jenny e-mail jirish@cwh.org.uk

Museum of the Moment- Harrow Road showcased on ITV London News

Museum of the Moment- Harrow Road volunteers were interviewed by ITV London News crew on thier experiences on the project. The footage was broadcast on Monday and reported on the life time of the project. This media coverage further raises the profile of FreqOUT! and our work with local young people to improve social cohesion and quality of life and explore new possibilities for the arts.

So watch this space for further developments.

FreqOUT! attends NODE London

Acting Project Manager Jenny Irish attended the NODE.London subscribers meeting at the Gasworks Gallery this week to discuss the direction of NODE over the coming months.

In order to raise the visibility of media arts practice in and around the capital, NODE.London [Networked, Open, Distributed, Events. London] has worked as an open organisation, using consensus decision-making and pooling ideas, resources and even people. It has sought to fortify existing media arts networks and to encourage production and experimentation, whilst assisting in the articulation of such innovative artistry to a wider audience.

FreqOUT! explores the implications of Web 2.0

This week Acting Project Manager Jenny Irish visited the Arts Council to attend a presentation and debate that discussed the implications of the web 2.0 phenomena. Saul Albert (FreqOUT! Steering Group member) and colleague Mikey Weinhove presented 'Who Wants to Be..'. Based on the ask-the-audience feature of the popular TV game show 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' The project helps large groups of people to make suggestions, discuss an issue, and to vote on each step in a creative decision-making process. The discussion between panel members and the audience explored the implications of the web 2.0 with Andrew Keen author, broadcaster and entrepreneur, commenting on implications for the music industry and journalism in the future.

Futurelab Covers FreqOUT!

As part of the Museum of the Moment- Harrow Road project- Futurelab has included FreqOUT! on its website as part of their Digital Inclusion review. You can find out more on the Futurelab website.

Future Lab Digital Inclusion

FreqOUT! groups visit music studios

As part of FreqOUT! Museum Of The Moment - Harrow Road summer project in collaboration with artist Jennie Savage, young people from Westside Independant School visited two music studios in West London this week.

The trip to Eastcoates and Kensal Town Studios was organised to show the young people what career opportunities may be open to them if they wanted to pursue the sound recording activity they have begun with Jennie Savage. The group prepared questions to ask Studio Managers, Assistants, Engineers and Producers.

Many thanks go out to Phillip from Eastcoates whose stories about late night working and soldering irons were hugely entertaining and insightful, and to Nici and Iain from Kensal Town who backed up the message of the day which was if you want something and you are prepared to work hard, you can make it happen.

To find out more go to:
Eastcotes Studios
Jennie Savage

FreqOUT! Film Screening at the ICA

Spring time at FreqOUT! this year involved delivering two documentary film training projects with young people at the Cardinal Hume Centre in Victoria and Churchill Gardens Youth Club in Pimlico. The projects were led by film makers Tanya Harris and Lucy Williams who did a fantastic job of organising, inspiring and cajoling the young people to complete the short films titled Hidden Homeless and About Bullying.

We were delighted to be able to screen the films for the first time at the Institute of Contemporary Art's (ICA) cinema last Wednesday night. You can watch the films and find out more about them at www.vitalregeneration.org

We would like to extend a big thank you to FirstLight Movies and UK Film Council funding who made the two projects possible, and to thise people who contributed their time to make the project a success.

FreqOUT! presents at SCIRIA

FreqOUT! Project Manager Amy Robins spoke at Camberwell College of Arts Research Department's SCIRIA meeting yesterday. SCIRIA, or the 'Sensory Computer Interface Research & Innovation for the Arts' is headed up by Director Dr. Angela Geary and the talk was programmed by Research Fellow James Fuare Walker.

SCIRIA aims to challenge and develop the nature and role of the computer interface in the arts. The Unit explores and develops the potential applications of emerging tangible interface technologies, including haptics and biometrics. It aims to foster an interdisciplinary arts and science collaborative network to achieve outcomes of core relevance and usefulness in the fields of art, design, craft and cultural heritage interpretation.

Amy spoke about the aims of FreqOUT! and the challenges associated with introducing innovative technology to young people in a educational and creative context. The discussion that insued covered the future direction of public art and the potential of young people to teach artists and their teachers about technology.

To find out more about SCIRIA go to:
SCIRIA
Camberwell College of Arts
University Of The Arts, London

FreqOUT! comissioned by the BBC

FreqOUT! has been comissioned to run 8 mobile phone video making workshops for the BBC Blast tour this summer. Leed artist Melissa Bliss and her supporting team wll be travelling around the country to BBC Blast events in Cambridge, Leeds, Bournemouth, Londonderry and more.

We will be hosting up to 15 young people for half day or day log workshops in the fold down Blast bus. There is capacity for 10 young people to borrow phones, and 5 more to join in if they can bring their own. The final films made will be upoaded to the BBC Blast web site and will enter a competion. The lucky winners will be able to take part in a 'money can't buy' experience by having their movie shown at a Film Festival in the UK or Europe. We'll keep you posted when dates are confirmed!

Find out more about:
BBC Blast On Tour
Melissa Bliss

Museum Of The Moment kicks off

FreqOUT!'s flagship summer project 'Museum of The Moment' has just completed is first phase. Masterminded by artist Jennie Savage and contributed to by the community in and around the Westminter section of the Harrow Road (NW9/NW10), the project will act as a showcase for the talents, voices and sounds of the Harrow Road.



For the last month young people from youth clubs based along the Road have been gathering information on ambient sounds and interviewing the local community. The recording phase completed this saturday with a ClashUp! on the Harrow Road in which singers, guitarists, flautists, rappers and DJ's performed along the road as the team recorded the sounds.

The project will complete in September when six radio broadcasts are transmitted by local shops. Passers by will be able to hear the sound by listening on their mobile phone radios or wireless headphones that will available from nearby collection points.

We would like to say thank you to Capgemini, Creative London and London Westside who have generously supported the project, and to the volunteers, young people, technical specialists and other contributers who have made the project happen to date.

If you would like to be informed of, and invited to the final event contact the FreqOUT! Project Manager arobins@cwh.org.uk.

Julie Freeman at Kinetica

'Specious Dialouges' - a work by artist and Chair of FreqOUT!'s Steering Group Julie Freeman, is currently on show at Kinetica.



The exhibition focuses on artworks that explore, warp, collect and manipulate sound. Collaborating with the Cybersonica Festival, the show presents the work of prominent and pioneering U.K and European artists and features 4 new commisssions. The show runs from 18th May - 29th June 2007. The gallery is at the SP2 Pavillion, Old Spitalfields Market, London, E1 6AA.

Julie's previous projects have included tracking natural biological motion via electronic tagging systems implanted in fish. Julie brings her knowledge of interactive and technologically driven art practise to The FreqOUT! Steering Group alongside other specialist input from Westminster City Council, Capgemini, Vertex, CityWest Homes and fellow artist Saul Albert.

To find out more about Kinetica and Julie's work click on the links below:
www.juliefreeman.co.uk
The Lake
Kinetica

FreqOUT! at Common Work - a Socially Engaged Art Conference by the University of Stirling

At the end of last week FreqOUT! joined forces with Isabel Lily the Artistic Director of Independent Photography to give a joint paper at a conference entitled ‘Common Work’ – a forum for those in the field of socially engaged art. The pair detailed several of the media arts projects their respective organisations have commissioned in the last few years and discussed, “Artistic quality & socially engaged practice: tensions, compromises & successes”.



Highlights of the conference were presentations by Choreographer Bill Shannon - whose displays of skateboarding/streetdance works are viewed by audiences and DJ’s on buses were music is relayed to the performer using wireless technology - and Quarantine theatre company Director Richard Gregory who works with untrained performers or ‘experts in the everyday’ to create events which rarely allows an audience feel confident about what might happen next. Find out more about them at the links below.

Thanks to Professor Heather Lynch at the University of Stirling for organising the event.

Independant Photography's 'Peninsula Projects'
Bill Shannon's performances and writing
Quarantine Theatre / Richard Gregory

FreqOUT! Wins National Award

FreqOUT! is delighted to announce that we have been declared the winner of the 'Most Innovative Use of ICT' category at this years National ICT Hub awards. The award recognises the ground breaking work delivered by FreqOUT! since its inception in 2005.

The ICT Hub support ICT use within the voluntary and community sector and you can find out more about them at ICT Hub

FreqOUT! Project Manager Amy Robins collected the Award after the London Regional Conference last week. Thanks go out to the young people who take our courses and keep us going an to our partner organisations and funders for their hard work and belief in what we do.