FoAM - residency

AEGIS Residency Programme

maja — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 15:13:51 +0000

AEGIS: Asia-Europe Generalists in Sojourn
- A trans-local residency programme

The residency programme focuses on encouraging collaborations between creative practitioners and cultural organisations from Asia & Europe, who address global cultural issues (such as adapting to climate change, loss of biodiversity, energy security, etc.) from a transdisciplinary perspective. We particularly focus on supporting young generalists (people able to connect disciplines, such as art & science, ecology & technology) working on creating a holistic and resilient global culture.

The emergence of an open and diverse trans-local culture requires meaningful contacts and collaborations between creative practitioners across the globe. The collaborative process of researching and creating a cultural work together with people from different regions and disciplines exposes our overlapping & complementary world-views.

Asians & Europeans share a respect for deeply rooted cultural traditions, while being at the forefront of technological and social innovations. These shared values can provide a common ground, from which we can explore our similarities & differences. This process is valuable for revealing both strengths and weaknesses of ingrained beliefs & habits, making all parties better equipped to address today's global challenges.

The primary outcome of the residencies are transdisciplinary experiments, such as design probes, documentation of performances, creative prototypes and interactive demonstrators. The results will be presented at FoAM's research gatherings and workshops.

Family in Residence: Davies - Crosby - Davies

maja — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:40:44 +0000

In 2010 FoAM expanded the residency programme to include people of all ages. The first experiment was having a "Family in Residence" (FIR), welcoming Alex Davies, Alexandra Crosby and their young son Luka Davies for a three month long residency at FoAM in Brussels. The experience was extremely positive and we concluded that it is an experiment worth continuing.

FoAM's burgeoning intergenerational residency programme, combined with Alex and Ali's experiment in parenting has produced some interesting results. Alex investigates mixed reality artworks, that have lately included combining physical mechanisms with digital content. This technique lead to the construction of a 'Robotic Au Pair' for Luka as one of the outcomes of the residency. 'Robaupair' is a bricolage experiment in hands-free parenting. It has also been a way to reconsider the challenges of family as a creative adventure, as much as a set of duties.

The residency ended in a research gathering where the family demonstrated their Robotic Au-Pair, shared their experiences with other creative parents, and included the 'Dumpling Hour', now nearly a tradition instituted by Alex, that is likely to continue for the years to come.

http://x4.fo.am/robaupair

Alex Davies is a Sydney artist, until recently based in Austria working with Time’s Up (http://www.timesup.org). Alex was awarded a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours from the College of Fine Arts, University of N.S.W (2001), where he is now a PhD Candidate. His current practice is based around the development of evolving audio-visual installations in which individuals and dynamic environmental factors shift the conditions of a controlled space. http://schizophonia.com/

Alexandra Crosby is a writer, researcher and designer. She recently edited an anthology, /re:Publik, Indonesia-Australia Creative Adventures/, and is a founding member of feminist noise bands Sok Bakso and Total Ibu. She is now completing a phD on creative approaches to environmental issues in Java. She also works for EngageMedia. http://www.alimander.com/ http://www.engagemedia.org/

Luka Davies came to FoAM when he was three weeks old. Despite much encouragement and practice on the FoAM kitchen bench, by the time he left in February 2010, he couldn't quite crawl yet. He did, however, dribble and babble prolifically.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alimander/sets/72157622615947811/

cyberpunk covers: montage I

maja — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 11:59:07 +0000

Vlaamse Overheid

maja — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 12:24:36 +0000

Research residencies

_pix — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:44:01 +0000

As a part of FoAM’s research programme, we offer yearly residencies to artists, designers and researchers, whose interests, or methods fall in-between the gaps of academic research programmes. The residencies are meant for artists who are able to work independently, while being open to suggestions from their peers. Our motivation for this programme came from a perceived need of artists and designers for concentrated research and experimentation, without the pressures of production.