FoAM - brussels

Radio Mycelium

maja — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 13:59:24 +0000

Start: 2011-12-08 10:00 Europe/Brussels

End: 2011-12-09 17:00 Europe/Brussels

Radio Mycelium tutorial includes the construction of a series of experimental situations examining a new networked imaginary, the single organism of the fungal mycelium, in relation to pathogenic, electromagnetic communications.

"A mycelial network has no organs to move the world, no hands; but higher animals with manipulative abilities can become partners with the star knowledge within me and if they act in good faith, return both themselves and their humble mushroom teacher to the million worlds all citizens of our starswarm are heir to." -Terence McKenna. The Mushroom Speaks

The mycelium, a fungal network of thread-like cells, represents a truly underground communications network, spreading out over vast areas of earth substrate, acting with ecosystem intelligence as an interface across across symbiotic networks such as plant and tree roots.

PARN's Radio Mycelium tutorial aims to actively examine the cross-spore-germination between two parallel wide area networks; between radio-based communication technologies and the single organism network of the mycelium. Fungal transceivers sprouting mycelial antennas form an imaginary underground network. Diversity of human networks is mapped across fungal diversity in the urban environment. The influence of electromagnetic carrier wave on the mycelial network is to be examined.

The well-documented transformative potential of the mycelium (for example, decomposing pollutants) is invoked to remediate an increasingly pathogenic electromagnetic networked culture.

A series of experimental situations will be established and studied by participants, who will also learn how to construct simple measurement devices, and culture shiitake, pink oyster and Enokitake mushrooms, amongst other mycelium (simple moulds). A short field trip will find and map winter mushroomings of electromagnetic fungi in Brussels.

The workshop is facilitated by Martin Howse: http://www.1010.co.uk/org/

This tutorial is a part of PARN: http://x4.fo.am/parn

Supported by the Flemish Authorities and Culture 2007 - 2013 Programme of the European Commission.

Immanentia 04

maja — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 16:09:10 +0000

Start: 2011-09-10 00:00 GMT+2

End: 2011-10-02 00:00 GMT+2

Immanentia, an interactive application, story and artwork by FoAM and Performing Pictures, is shown at the Japan Media Arts Festival in Dortmund. In Immanentia, the viewers are drawn into a world of Lina Kusaite’s patabotanical drawings of phantasmagoric trees and plants. The drawings describe a place for day-dreams of a little girl, found at the doorstep of the children's house in Rose Cottage Home in Dickleburgh around 1890. The artwork is created for a i3DG, an interface for iPhones/Pods/Pads, able to turn 2D imagery into 3D - creating a minuscule theatre-stage in the palm of your hand. i3DG is created and designed by Jitsuo Mase.

More about the festival:

http://dortmund.bunka-jmaf.jp/?lang=en

Annual YGL Summit & AMNC

maja — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 15:58:59 +0000

Start: 2011-09-12 08:00 GMT+5

End: 2011-09-16 19:00 GMT+5

"Complexity, interconnectivity and sustainability are emerging as the dominant new realities of the 21st century."

http://www.weforum.org/events/annual-meeting-new-champions-2011

Maja Kuzmanovic and Nik Gaffney participate at the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders' Summit and Annual Meeting of New Champions in Dalian, China. Maja is a panelist at the opening panel of the YGL summit - "Protecting the Asset" on the 12th of September at 09:30 and she moderates a session on "Building Bridges with Brushstrokes", with Drue Kataoka on the 16th of September at 14:15.

http://www.weforum.org/community/forum-young-global-leaders
http://www.drue.net/

Alternate Reality Games: tutorial

maja — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 12:52:30 +0000

Start: 2011-10-04 10:00 Europe/Brussels

End: 2011-10-05 18:00 Europe/Brussels

FoAM in Brussels hosts a two-day tutorial on creating Alternate Reality Games, facilitated by Adrian Hon & Matt Wieteska of Six to Start.

Where: FoAM, Koolmijnenkaai 34, B-1080 Brussels, Belgium
When: 4th and 5th October 2011, 10:00 - 18:00
Costs: 30 EUR per person (contribution for 2 meals and materials)

As places are limited, if you'd like to participate please send a short bio and your motivation to info@fo.am by the 28th September 2011.

||||||||||||| About the tutorial:

This ARG tutorial explores the nuts and bolts of designing and running an Alternate Reality Game, with a specific focus on storytelling and real world interaction. The tutorial provides case studies of previous ARGs (including those Six to Start worked on) and includes exercises on developing story worlds, collaborative storytelling, and community formation.

"An alternate reality game (ARG) is an interactive narrative that uses the real world as a platform, often involving multiple media and game elements, to tell a story that may be affected by participants' ideas or actions."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternate_reality_game

||||||||||||| About the facilitators:

Six to Start is an award-winning online games company, specialising in games that cross the boundary between the real world and the virtual world. They've worked with clients including Disney, Channel 4, Penguin Books, Warner Music, the BBC, and the National Maritime Museum to design, build and run online experiences.

Their games and experiences focus on play, storytelling, and social interaction. Six to Start believes that by combining them, they can create experiences that are more memorable, more powerful, and more accessible than anything that’s come before.

http://www.sixtostart.com/

This tutorial is part of the European project PARN:
http://x4.fo.am/parn

With the support of the Culture Programme (2007 - 2013) of the European Union and the Flemish Authorities

Long Now Meetup - November 02011

maja — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 12:49:24 +0000

Start: 2011-11-24 19:30 Europe/Brussels

End: 2011-11-24 21:30 Europe/Brussels

Long Now Meetup and Resilients Salon

Long Now Meetup - October 02011

maja — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 12:42:11 +0000

Start: 2011-10-25 19:30 Europe/Brussels

End: 2011-10-25 21:30 Europe/Brussels

Long Now Meetup and Resilients salon

Tales from Uncivilisation - Dark Mountain Festival [1] and the Annual Meeting of the New Champions [2]. A presentation of two new projects: Resilients [3] and Time Buoys [4]. Conversations about the future of the Long Now Brussels meetup and Resilients Salons.

[1] http://www.uncivilisation.co.uk/
[2] http://www.weforum.org/events/annual-meeting-new-champions-2011
[3] http://x4.fo.am/resilients/
[4] http://timebuoys.org/

ArtBots 2011

nik — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 12:12:46 +0000

Start: 2011-10-07 00:00 GMT+2

End: 2011-10-09 00:00 GMT+2

ArtBots is pleased to announce that the sixth international ArtBots exhibition for robotic art and art-making robots will take place at the Ugent UFO-building in Gent, Belgium on October 7-9, 2011. Creators of talented robots are invited to submit their work for possible inclusion in the show.
We have no fixed idea of what qualifies as robotic art; if you think it's a robot and you think it's art, we encourage you to submit your work. Regardless of whether it's hi-tech, low-tech, or neg-tech, we're interested in the ideas you're working with, not just the gear. Proposals for workshops, performances, and other kinds of participation are also welcome.

Each ArtBots is a bit different; the location changes and we invite new humans to co-curate the show with us. We hope that by changing the specifics of the show each year we can keep it accessible to a diverse range of people, works, and ideas.

This year's co-curators are: Douglas Repetto (ArtBots), Kurt Van Houtte (timelab), and Nik Gaffney (foAM)

ArtBots 2011 is a joint production of: timelab (Gent), FoAm (Brussels), University of Gent, ArtBots, and The Columbia University Computer Music Center

http://artbots.org/2011/

Research Gathering with Simone Poutnik

christina — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 09:01:22 +0000

Start: 2011-08-11 19:00 Europe/Brussels

End: 2011-08-11 21:00 Europe/Brussels

Simone is a journeyer of the Resilients Guild. Last year in October / November she spent 7 weeks at Kufunda Learning Village in Zimbabwe - a place whose mission is to inspire the co-creation of strong life affirming communities in Zimbabwe and beyond by demonstrating and sharing the necessary ideas, skills and practices that are required for community resilience and nourishment.

Kufunda has achieved resilience in a time of total systems collapse by choosing a particular approach. They engage in a wide range of small local actions that give them the capacity to continuously adapt to an unpredictable and chaotic world.
Simone will share pictures, stories and artifacts to give a taste of the rich learning she took from Kufunda.

Some background info for the curious:
on resilients:
http://x4.fo.am/resilients

on Kufunda:
http://kufunda.org/
http://www.walkoutwalkon.net/zimbabwe/
on Zimbabwe:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimbabwe

Coaching

maja — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 16:39:23 +0000

In order to increase personal resilience of people working in the cultural sector, FoAM has a coaching programme, in collaboration with Vali Lalioti (http://valilalioti.com).

Coaching is a powerful process that helps people achieve their full potential. It is a safe and non-judgmental partnership that uses trust and belief in people's own abilities to empower the coachee to find their own solutions to achieving their objectives.

At FoAM, people can apply for 4-6 individual coaching sessions. The Coach guides the sessions through active listening, powerful questioning and reflecting back. This includes challenging assumptions and existing thought patterns, acting as a catalyst for new thinking. Coaching is also fun, creative and gives the coachee a positive and empowering view of the future.

Coaching is not about offering advice or solutions to particular problems or career challenges. The focus is on helping people draw out their own best-fit solutions to achieving their goals and identifying any tools that help them do this.

Coaching is not based on analysis of the past or the influences that formed people's character. It is the process of guiding the coachee to identify their own solutions to the challenges they face and focuses on their future.

If you are interested in participating in the coaching programme, please send a message with a short motivation to info@fo.am

Splinterfields: Mathematickal Arts

maja — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 16:59:43 +0000

Start: 2011-07-23 10:00 GMT+2

End: 2011-07-25 19:00 GMT+2

What: Mathematics, Textiles & Computer Programming workshop
When: 23rd - 25th of July 2011
Where: FoAM, Koolmijnenkaai 30-34, 1080 Brussels, Belgium

Mathematician & machine artist Tim Boykett (Time's Up, AT) and textile designer & educator Carole Collet (Central Saint Martin's, UK) will lead a 3 day workshop bringing together The Arts of Mathematics, Textiles and Computer Programming.

Mathematickal Arts workshop investigates the tangible, abstract and conceptual threads binding materials and machines in a series of practical and theoretical experiments. Participants will use knots, weaving, sorting algorithms, notation and geometry to explore unfamiliar territories of mathematics or crafts using familiar practices of artistic and technological experimentation.

"To me the simple act of tying a knot is an adventure in unlimited space. A bit of string affords the dimensional latitude that is unique among the entities [...] another dimension is added which provides an opportunity that is limited only by the scope of our own imagery and the length of a ropemakers coil."
--Clifford W Ashley, The Book of Knots.

In progress: http://lib.fo.am/mathematickal_arts_2011

This workshop is a part of Resilients (http://x4.fo.am/resilients) and Splinterfields (http://x4.fo.am/splinterfields)

With the support of the Culture Programme (2007 - 2013) of the European Union and the Flemish Authorities.

Resilients Naikan

maja — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 16:44:56 +0000

"Naikan is a method of intensive self-reflection that can lead to more inner freedom and joy. A week of Naikan allows you to examine your view on life by observing your inner world, calmly, in a completely safe space. The silence and withdrawal enable a deep, meditative and emotionally intense experience, by which self-perception can be re-calibrated and a fresh view on our life story can take place."

From Christina Stadlbauer's page: http://shiatsubrussel.be/index.php?/english/naikan---looking-inside/

At FoAM we will use Naikan in the Future Preparedness case study of the Resilients project. Our hypothesis is that individual introspection, when done with a whole collective, in their common work-space might increase the effectiveness of the group's collaboration, communication and effectiveness, making them overall more resilient. We work with Helga Hartl as the guide during the retreat and Alkan Chipperfield as the anthropologist, who examines our hypothesis post-retreat. Ten Naikan participants come from FoAM Brussels & Amsterdam, as well as our wider network of collaborators.

http://x4.fo.am/resilients/

Rocket Boat Day #1

maja — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 16:31:06 +0000

Start: 2011-07-02 00:00 GMT+2

Rocketboat Day promises a blend of backyard naval architecture and rocket science.

Rocketboat Day 1 is to be a participatory event where people build little boats, power them with rocket engines and race them to see which one gets the furthest. The inaugural event will take place on a nice, calm bit of water somewhere in Brussels. Let's find out what happens when you attach a C6 model rocket engine to a boat made out of anything you can get your hands on. The cool breeze off the water will blow the sweet acrid smoke across your face like a lovers caress.

If you would like to join us. send an email to info@fo.am for details

Rocketboat Day is an evolution of the established tradition of Rocketcar Day. See the last one at http://rcd12.rocketcarday.com

RBD1 is the concluding event of the Simpsons' Family in Residence (http://x4.fo.am/simpsons/) and a part of Resilients project (http://x4.fo.am/resilients).

Resilients Family in Residence

maja — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 16:22:46 +0000

FoAM's first Resilients family in residence are the Simpsons (Mark, Lea, Scarlet & Delilah), occupying FoAM in Brussels for two weeks in June and July 2011.

A resilient culture of the future could include children in the working lives of adults. For the duration of the residency, we look at how are FoAM’s daily activities influenced by the continuous presence of two little girls in the studio in Brussels.

Their mother, Lea is investigating diverse cultural libraries around the world and will descend on FoAM’s library as well. With Lea's guidance, FoAM's library should become more resilient as well as more open and shareable.

The pater familias, Mark Simpson, explores a possible post-space-age cultural mobility, where artists (as the societal lab-rats) could be transported in rocked-powered vehicles. We will begin by having the artists design prototype rocket boats & unleash them on the Kanal in front of FoAM’s studio.

The family will go out with a bang, concluding their residency with the Rocket Boat Day: http://x4.fo.am/rbd

This residency is a part of the Resilients Project: http://x4.fo.am/resilients/

Physical and Alternate Reality Narratives (PARN)

maja — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 14:48:17 +0000

The central focus of the PARN project is dealing with the possibilities and problems of creating, presenting and representing narratives in physical space. Storytelling is a fundamental human capacity and is widespread in a variety of cultural forms as well as being one of the ways in which, according to many researchers of learning and awareness, we make sense of the world as we experience and reflect it. As the acclaimed poet Simon Ortiz puts it: „there are no truths, only stories.“

FoAM's role in PARN is research & design of an alternate reality narrative, an emerging story-scape inspired by Masanobu Fukuoka's creed "the ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings":

With the advent of massive urbanisation, labour specialisation and new forms of entertainment, our relationship with nature has become frayed. This relationship can be re-invigorated by straddling the places where nature and culture are most distanced - urban and online environments. With alternate reality narratives (ARN), we look at engaging people in a new kind of immersive story, where nature and culture interact. The story embraces the innovative and participatory capabilities of new technologies, adapted to today's turbulent eco-systems and grounded in the cultural traditions of the past. The ARNs combine a range of contemporary storytelling media with diverse European urban contexts, cultures and people, through a rich story and speculative history.

PARN is coordinated by Time's Up (AT), in collaboration with FoAM (BE), Lighthouse (UK) and Blast Theory (UK). FoAM's additional allies, partners & advisors in PARN are Six to Start (UK), Foamlab (NL), Synfonie (UK) and Tale of Tales (BE).

With the support of the Culture Programme (2007 - 2013) of the European Union and the Flemish Authorities.

Resilients

maja — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 14:44:14 +0000

Resilients are people of all ages preparing for uncertain futures, by experimenting with resilient forms living & working as a form of artistic practice. The Resilients project collects, creates, shares & supports these emergent practices, while grounding them in historic cultural roots.

Resilients’ core activities are five case studies, public experiments with materials, media & technologies in the context of endangered crafts, urban gardening, sustainable forestry, contemporary pilgrimage & future preparedness. A programme of residencies, apprenticeships, workshops, gatherings and publications will allow a wide involvement of practitioners and enthusiasts across Europe and beyond.

Resilients' Philosophy

For humans to thrive in uncertain, turbulent times, resilience is an essential tactic. We can never be certain about the kind of cultures that could materialise in the future, but we can speculate about how could they look. The Resilients project experiments with possible futures by applying whole systems thinking to the integration of cultural traditions with emerging arts, sciences, design & technology. Through unexpected alliances between these fields, speculation becomes rooted in the real world. For a resilient culture to arise, a stable support infrastructure is required – open systems, cultural laboratories & knowledge pools. Resilients are committed to building this infrastructure, through a pilot project leading towards the formation of a Guild of Resilients.

A resilient system is both fexible & robust. It is continuously engaged in the delicate balancing act of growing & evolving, adapting to change & discarding unsustainable elements. Change is a never-ending process, growing less predictable as our habitats, societies, economic & technological systems increase complexity & become more interdependent. To respond to unpredictability, we can look at improving human ability to face & embrace change, whether perceived as positive, negative or neutral (e.g. birth of a child, environmental crisis, or moving house). By integrating different approaches to developing resilience, we can strengthen the 'immune system' of a culture as a whole.

In progress: http://lib.fo.am/resilients

Project partners: FoAM (BE), Central Saint Martins’ Textile Futures (UK), nadine (BE), Performing Pictures (SE), Projekt Atol (SI) and Time’s Up (AT).

With the support of the Culture Programme (2007 - 2013) of the European Union and the Flemish Authorities.