De Montfort wins Green Gown award for Greenview App

We're delighted to announce that we won the Green ICT category in the EAUC Green Gown Awards last night. It was a fantastic evening and we were thrilled to share it with many familiar faces from the last few years alongside our colleagues from DMU's Square Mile Project that also won in the Social Responsibility category and the International Social Responsibility category. Particularly poignant for me as the event was held in the beautiful Great Hall at the University of Birmingham.

There were  key people without whom which this project would never have happened. Firstly - our sponsors/funders, JISC - Rob Bristow at the Greening ICT group at JISC has supported us tirelessly and without JISC funding this project, and its predecessor, DUALL. could never have happened. Second, the team behind the Greenview app from IOCT and IESD - Richard Bull, Dave Everitt, Gareth Howell, Graeme Stuart and Martin Rieser. Thirdly, the sustainability team at DMU are amazing - Karl Letten and Paul Fleming in particular. Finally, the IESD and the Faculty of Technology at DMU have been incredibly supportive of our, at times, slightly unorthodox ideas about energy visualisation.

Oh, and last but not least, thank you to to the EAUC for the award. We're very grateful.

Secret Garden

 

Secret Garden

A virtual reality/augmented reality hybrid performance opera/ballet.

 Martin Rieser/ Andrew Hugill

Introduction

Secret Garden is an attempt to recreate a contemporary version of the Eden myth in the midst of an urban environment. It will be available in two versions –a physical installation and as a virtual mobile experience linked to selected site locations. In its installation aspect, it will comprises eleven mounted iPads acting as viewports distributed around a circle in the Cube gallery at Phoenix Square. Peering into one of the viewports will trigger a view of an idyllic three-dimensional scene in the ‘Secret Garden’ and tell part of the mythical story of the Fall, through words, music and dance. This same content will soon be made available using Augmented Reality software to any visitor with a smartphone.

The Fall story is common to many of the world’s religions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The structure of Secret Garden will be loosely modelled on the ten paths of the Sephirot in the Jewish telling of the story, which is itself also a symbol of the Tree of Life and the oldest extant version. Two contemporary human figures re-enact the story of the Fall, combining sung poetry and video vignettes with 3D generated environments, each scene dis­tributed to a different one of the eleven iPad viewports. The viewer’s presence triggers both music and action.

The texts comprise original poems that tell this classic story in a timeless and relevant way, examining choices in a fallen world. The musical composition is adaptive and features vocal settings and digitally treated percussion. The virtual scenography consists of 3D designs based on an idealised garden space, inspired by the 19th century Mezzotints for Milton’s Paradise Lost by John Martin. Viewing the eleven viewports will gradually assemble the elements of a story in the user’s mind. The story is mysterious and mythical in nature, however, it is not necessary to see the viewports in any particular order, and a partial viewing will also provide a complete experience in itself.

 The installation is a unique virtual reality amalgam of poetry, music, and 3D panoramic images and motion-captured avatars. It plays with sound narrative and myth, transposed into a modern context, using technology both in production and delivery in a synthesised and holistic capacity. Audience movement from viewport to viewport will trigger vocal settings of authored verse  and head movements change the scene perspective in realtime.

The Institute Of Creative Technologies (IOCT) at De Montfort University supported the project. The IOCT specialises in cross-disciplinary working that combines science and technology with the arts and humanities. The project will draw on expertise from the Faculties of Art & Design, Humanities and Technology, including the Fused Media Lab (for the virtual scenography), the Architecture Department (for the physical build of the installation), students on the Games Design degree (for the interactivity) and the Music, Technology and Innovation Research Centre (for the music). Management will be provided by Professor Andrew Hugill (Director of the IOCT) and Professor Martin Rieser (Professor of Digital Creativity), who are the creators of Secret Garden.

EXODUS

FROM KAMPALA TO LEICESTER

Exodus

Martin Rieser - Institute of Creative
Technologies at De Montfort University

Audio Trail and Installations
14th August – 30th September

Sean Clark programmer testing Trail

Wall trail in Phoenix Cafe

Interactive Video multi-scree

This digital commission in one of a series of events and activities across Leicester that marksthe 40th anniversary of the expulsion ofUgandan Asians and their subsequent move to Leicester.

In August 1972, Ugandan dictator Idi Amin gave the Asian community 90 days notice to
leave the country. They were forced to leavealmost everything in Uganda and seek refuge in other countries such as Britain and Canada. The digital commission consists of a trail linking New Walk Museum and Art Gallery and Phoenix, a video installation in the Phoenix café multiscreen and a large wall graphic showing the trail and providing access to QR codes, located in the Phoenix café.

Trail
New Walk Museum & Art Gallery
to Phoenix

Using personal testimony from Leicester’s Ugandan Asian community, the trail revisits the
dramatic events in 1972 and shares memories about arrival in the UK and settling in Leicester ithe 1970s, while celebrating the community’s continued cultural and economic impact on the City.

The trail follows a route from New Walk Museum & Art Gallery to Phoenix, with QR codes located on posters in shops and windows along the route. Scanning the QR codes triggers the audio commentary telling the story of the exodus. Onarrival at Phoenix, visitors can interact with the video installation and wall graphic in the café area.

To follow the trail, iPhone users should download an app from Empedia, via www.empedia.info. You can then follow the trail, scanning the QR codes located along the walk (or on the map on the reverse) to release audio information. The map on the reverse can be used as a route guide. Android phone users can follow the trail without downloading the app, provided they have a QR  code reader downloaded on their phone. For iPhone users, information on the trail can also be triggered by GPS position if this facility is
active on your phone. By using this trail, you willbe downloading data to your phone, and your network provider may charge for this.

Installation

Phoenix Cafebar

When you arrive at Phoenix, the video installation on the café multiscreen allows you to edit your own journey through videos created specially for this commission.

The videos celebrate the current exhibition at New Walk Museum & Art Gallery, using film footage of journeys across narrative textile surfaces. The textiles were created by community groups and professional artists, with lead artist Ashok Mistry, for the ‘from Kampala to Leicester’ exhibition at New Walk Museum & Art Gallery.

This video installation is a unique development using iPhone or iPad tones to control the nine video windows. You can visit reception to borrowearphones and iPads to participate - just plug into the wall fitting and edit your own journey through the videos.

The large wall graphic allows you to follow the audio trail in the comfort of Phoenix’s café. Scan the QR codes to trigger the audio commentary using iPads, iPhones or android phones.

See the website for event details, including the digital commission and screenings at Phoenix Square and a range of activities at New Walk

Please be aware that some of the testimonies in
the trail contain information that some people may
find upsetting

Sean Clark and Fabrika Arts Centre: Interact Gallery

Digital artist and IOCT PhD student Sean Clark launched the Interact Gallery on 5th September  at the Fabrika Arts Centre. Leicester's newest gallery for interactive and digital arts opened today on the first floor of Fabrika, in Humberstone Gate. It will act as a showcase for the best art works in the East Midlands and will be curated jointly by Sean Clark, De Montfort University and Adam Kirk of Fabrika. 

The show  runs until late October and the organisers hope that would-be artists will offer their works to the rolling programme, during which exhibits will be changed regularly.

Speaking at the opening, Sean Clark said "The transformation of the upstairs space is still underway but it is hoped to be completed in two weeks time. Over the next two months we plan to show the work of up and coming digital artists."

On show at present are a number of works by Sean Clark, such as his Memory Mirror, which captures video images of people walking in front of it and plays them back as ghostly images.

His work Drop Sketch is a wall of graphical images provided by people from their mobile phones, to which they have downloaded a special app. that allows them to make a sketch and upload it to the central gallery. 

Another panel shows a group of moving circles that nteracts with the viewer.

Also speaking the Launch event was Professor Ernest Edmonds, from IOCT De Montfort University, who told the meeting "innovations in interactive arts have often involved small and select groups of people. This gallery is ideal for interactive work. Leicester has had a strong tradition in this area over a long period of time. It was one of the first cities to mount an early exhibition of interactive art back in 1970/71, in what was then Leicester Polytechnic.

It was Albert Einstein who said that 'inventing the problem is more important than solving it.' This very much sums up what this exhibition is about.Leicester has for a long time been noted for its adventurous and experimental artists. Buckminster Fuller came here in 1971",  he said recounting some of the early approaches to interactive art experiments. Fuller was an engineer, designer, inventor and systems theorist. He invented the architecture of the geodesic dome. 

A book is due out in November which Ernest Edmonds has edited with Linda Candy: Interacting: art, research and the creative practitioner, to be published by Libri. In it, contributors will consider the many forms of interaction involved in the arts and in creative processes.

"I look forward to seeing the gallery playing its part in innovation and risk-taking as part of the artistic process, " Prof. Edmonds said. 

More information is available from the Interact Gallery web site.

Urban Digital Narratives: Athens

 

Martin Rieser will be conducting another locative media workshop in Athens in early April to test the Empedia software, developed under an sKTP with Cuttlefish Multimedia. He will also participate in a one day symposium at the Centre for Research in Athens, sponsored by the British Council and HTC

Greenview Bid Success

Greenview

A £40,000 joint bid between IESD and IOCT  to JISC for energy use visualisation through mobile phones and augmented reality has been successful

Overview

Greenview aims to follow on and build on the successful DUALL project, funded by phase 1 of JISC's Greening ICT call. DUALL utilised a socio-technical solution to the design of a simple web based information-feedback tool that could report electrical consumption of ICT equipment back to users. Greenview aims to refine the ICT tool further into a more sophisticated smart phone application that connects staff and students in De Montfort to the energy consumption of their buildings.

 

Aims and objectives

Aim: To design a leading edge smart phone and web based application enabling building users to understand the energy consumption of the buildings across DMU.
Objectives:

1. To design and launch a campus wide ICT tool connecting building users to the energy consumption of buildings and the ICT infrastructure.
2. To help the extent building users impact the performance of the environment they are in.
3. To understand the potential of augmented reality tools to engage individuals in behaviour change initiatives. 
4. To engage the creative and developer community at DMU in sustainability issues

Project methodology

The project will gather the information from sub-meters across the campus which monitor half-hourly electricity, gas and water.
Software will incorporate the design of major interface components, including collaborative gaming elements, display alternatives, (adaption of map-based and Augmented reality systems for mobile platforms using GPS) using streamed data sets from intelligent metering and its required interpretive software.
Technology such as social media, augmented reality, GPS technology, and wiki or crowd-sourcing knowledge approaches to engage with the public in what we would term "hybrid " city environments.
This ability to reach out and map layers of information onto the cityscape will form the foundation for further developments to support this bid. Pilot interface tests will occur in situ with a variety of controlled groups for evaluation in set scenarios of components: display overlays, collaborative elements etc.
Finally, the tool will be launched across the campus and a rigorous analysis undertaken based on the evidence of any changes to consumption (as shown in the meter readings) and interviews.

Anticipated outputs and outcomes

We anticipate that the outcomes of the project will form an institutional exemplar project that places sustainability at the core of DMU's CSR agenda, and connects into the aim of the JISC Institutional Innovation Programme to provide "improved leadership to the sector in the role that technology can play in developing effective institutional strategies."
Specifically there will be a campus wide ICT tool (using augmented reality) connecting building users to the energy consumption of buildings and the ICT infrastructure. This will be open source and available for download by other HEIs.

Project Staff

Project Manager: Dr Richard Bull IESD (DMU)

Project Team:

Professor Martin Rieser
Institute of Creative Technologies (DMU)


Dave Everitt
Institute of Creative Technologies (DMU)


Gareth Howell
Institute of Creative Technologies (DMU)


Farhan Faruk
IESD (DMU)

Adaptations and New Media Symposium

A
 Symposium
 on
 Adaptation
 for
 New 
Media

January
 25,
 2011
 Hugh
 Aston 
Building
 De
 Montfort 
University

The Department of English's Adaptation studies and the IOCT have joined forces to co-host a one day symposium on the changing nature of adaptation in relation to new media forms. The symposium brings together academics from across the UK and Europe to focus on the new problems associated with adaptation for such diverse platforms as gaming and the Web.It 
features 
papers 
ranging
 from

computer
games,
 mash‐ups, 
interactive 
narratives 
and 
interactive 
film,
 technological 
innovations,
 representations
 of 
technology 
and 
new 
media.


The
 conference 
is open 
to 
anyone 
interested 
in 
how
 the 
entertainment

industry is 
constantly
 adapting 
to 
new
 technologies.


The 
conference
 will

be 
introduced 
by 
award 
winning
 writer,
 Kate
Pullinger,
 who 
will 
talk
 on

Nothing 
New 
Here:
Books 
as
 Apps,
Enchanced
 e‐Books,
 and 
Digital

Stories’,
 relating 
her 
own
 experience 
with 
the
‘enhanced 
abridged 
audio

ebook’ 
adaptation
 of 
her
 2009
 novel,
 The
 Mistress
 of 
Nothing.

The

conference 
will
 close 
with 
a
 screening of
 Martin
Rieser’s
 The Third

Woman interactive film for mobiles based on The Third Man

We 
intend
 to 
publish 
the 
three
 best 
papers 
in 
a 
special
 edition
 of

Adaptions 
Journal
 and
 the
 remainder 
can 
be
 published 
online
 on 
a

dedicated
 website


Ernest Edmonds Talk

The Institute of Creative Technologies and the Computer Arts Society jointly hosted  a well-attended talk by Ernest Edmonds at 5pm on 19th January at the IOCT Lab at De Montfort University
 

Biography

Ernest Edmonds was born in London and studied Mathematics and Philosophy at Leicester University. He has a PhD in logic from Nottingham University, is a Fellow of the British Computer Society, a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology and a Charted Engineer. He is a practicing artist.

He lives and works in Sydney Australia. His art is in the constructivist tradition and he first used computers in his art practice in 1968. He first showed an interactive work with Stroud Cornock in 1970. He first showed a generative time-based computer work in London in 1985. He has exhibited throughout the world, from Moscow to LA. The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, is collecting his archives within the National Archive of Computer Based Art and Design.

He has over 200 refereed publications in the fields of human-computer interaction, creativity and art. Artists Bookworks (UK) has recently published his book "On New Constructs in Art". Ernest Edmonds is Professor of Computation and Creative Media at the University of Technology, Sydney where he runs a multi-disciplinary practice-based art and technology research group, the Creativity and Cognition Studios. In Sydney, he is represented by the Conny Dietzschold Gallery.

Ernest Edmonds has held the position of University Dean, has sat on many funding and conference committees and was a pioneer in the development of practice-based PhD programmes. He founded the ACM Creativity and Cognition Conference series and was part of the founding team for the ACM Intelligent User Interface conference series. He has been an invited speaker in, for example, the UK, France, the USA, Australia, Japan and Malaysia.

Director Creativity and Cognition Studios, UTS

Editor-in-Chief Leonardo Transactions

Founding Editor Knowledge-Based Systems

Visiting Professor Sussex University

Visiting Research Fellow Goldsmiths College

SKTP for DH Lawrence Trail

About Empedia

Empedia is a growing collection of online maps, audio tours, picture trails,video and interactive guides. It's designed for curators of cultural venues, organisations and attractions and for visitors and residents within the East Midlands region. The Empedia Platform is being developed by Cuttlefish Multimedia as part of the Renaissance East Midlands MLA Programme and is part funded by an sKTP Knowledge Transfer partnership with DMU

One of the first commissions on which IOCT is collaborating is a DH Lawrence trail around Lawrence's birthplace in Eastwood near Nottingham-due to be launched in June 2011

Guides are available via the Empedia website, iPhone App and the Empedia Player which can be embedded in other websites.

Plan, Assemble, Edit, Publish...

Planning Your Trail or Exhibition

Firstly, plot a route for your cultural guide on a map or plan of your venue, identifying key points of interest. Points can form a linear trail or be completely random. In some cases, multiple trails may be necessary, each having its own interpretation or narrative. If you have existing Google Maps, Empedia can also import trail data in standard KML format.

Gathering Content

The next task involves collecting existing media or generating new content for each of the points of interest. In its simplest form this can involve repurposing the content of a leaflet as the basis of your Empedia guide. All content is digitised to the required formats and uploaded to the Empedia website via a password-protected login area. The Cuttlefish team can assist with this process. Empedia supports text, images, audio and video in a variety of formats. You can also include existing media from Flickr and YouTube.

Content Editing and Management

Each media resource (picture, text, audio clip, etc) can be positioned on a guide map or plan using simple 'drag-and-drop' techniques. For pin-point accuracy, Latitude/Longitude co-ordinates can also be input if required.

In the desktop version of Empedia, all of the media resources for an individual guide are displayed in a sequential list at the bottom of the player. Changing the position of media resources in the sequential list is achieved via a simple drop down box. (Drag-and-drop editing coming soon). Media resources can also be stacked together in one location (an image might be combined with several audio clips, for example).

One-click Publishing

All editing operations are conducted 'behind-the-scenes' in draft mode prior to public release. Empedia's one-click publishing updates the public-facing website, embedded players and iPhone App simultaneously.

User Interface

Media resources are activated (narration, pictures, descriptions, etc) by clicking icons on the map or clicking thumbnail images in a sequential list. The Empedia iPhone App has additional 'locative' methods of activating resources, utilising mobile GPS and QR-code scanning technology.

Transdisciplinary Group Meeting

The meeting of 60 academics was addressed by Vice Chancellor Dominic Shellard, who posed the question as to how the University structures might be best organised to remove the barriers preventing effective Transdisciplinary working. Heidi McPherson highlighted the decline of creative and left-field thinking in pupils as they progressed through the educational system. Phil Moore aligned the Grand Challenges of Research with a more holistic and Transdisciplinary approach to research, and Andrew Hugill outlined the differences between multi- and trans-disciplinary working and the problematic of balance between disciplines and connected approaches to research. The meeting broke into four groups for a lively discussion on research, post-graduate teaching, undergraduate teaching and Knowledge Transfer. The feed back sparked a summative discussion and the drawing together of action points to move the discussion into actions.

Video

Third Woman in New York

THIRD WOMAN AT THE BIG SCREEN PROJECT

The Third Woman was shown at five consecutive nights in November at The Big Screen Project . An innovative venue for video, film, live and interactive content setting a new standard for the urban, cinematic experience. It consists of a large 30 x 16.5 ft. HD Format LED screen located at the 10,000 sq. ft. public plaza behind a new 54-story multi-use building on Sixth Avenue between 29th and 30th Street in New York City.  A destination  continuously evolving with its audience and galvanizing Upper Chelsea with thought-provoking tapestries of contemporary media.

Audiences attend preannounced screenings of films or just pass through the plaza and be captivated by the quality and diversity of the content.

Transdisciplinary Group

DMU Transdisciplinary Group Inaugural Meeting

Time 1:00pm – 4.30pm, Thursday 9^th December 2010

Venue: Campus centre

Registration:  http://dmutransdiscip1.eventbrite.com/

Statement

We live in a world of complex systems, of which we only have partial comprehension. From the biosphere to the global economy we lack fundamental tools to understand the complexity of system behaviours. The future of Research must embrace transdisciplinarity if it has any chance of both understanding and ameliorating the Grand Challenges  of the 21st Century.

Impacts on research and subsequently teaching:

·       Strategically DMU has relied heavily on regional recruitment. The new funding regime implies that there will be a sharp fall off in demand from local recruitment and that to distinguish its offerings DMU will need to find a niche, which is attractive both nationally and internationally.

·       Uncertainty is the challenge of the future. Versatility and a broad knowledge base will equip students for the 21^st century. This does not mean the end of specialisms, but a new pedagogy to relate several disciplines in the synchronised solving of complex problems

·       Many of us are already working on transdisciplinarity research, teaching and knowledge transfer. This group aims to develop existing strengths and support new initiatives.

Timetable for December 9^th

1.0                   Welcome : Professor Sue Thomas, IOCT/Humanities

1.05                    Professor Andrew Hugill, Director, IOCT

1.45                   Professor Phil Moore

2.00                    Action Plan Breakout Session: led by Professor Martin Rieser IOCT/Art & Design into 4

                  Teaching and Transdisciplinarity UG

                  Teaching and Transdisciplinarity PG

                 

                  Transdisciplinary Research

                  Technology Transfer

                 

3.00       Coffee break

3.20                    Plenary chaired by Professor Mohammad Ibrahim, Technology

4.30                   End

For more information please contact:

Prof Mohammad Ibrahim Ibrahim@dmu.ac.uk

Prof Martin Rieser mrieser@dmu.ac.uk

Prof Sue Thomas sue.thomas@dmu.ac.uk

---

Here are some background document links:

Transdisciplinary Graduate Education

Towards Transdisciplinary Education and Learning 


Enhancing Transdisciplinary Research  
by Wiesmann et al. td-net for transdisciplinary research

Mobile Trends 2020

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Mobile Trends 2020

View more presentations from Rudy De Waele.

Vision 2020

VISION2020 Leicester - Ideas for the future

 

 

Vision2020 was the BIG discussion in Leicester organised by De Montfort University, Amplified Leicester and the City Council. It discussed how innovations could influence business, social and family life in the future . More than 200 creative thinkers shared ideas on how technology, networks and communities will shape the societies and businesses of tomorrow.

A vision for 2020 was created from the predictions, aims and aspirations of participants for the coming decade. These ideas were taken from the wish-lists written by attendees on the day of how Leicester could improve, without relying on major Government funding. This vision for 2020 is available to view here, and we plan to update you with those ideas already in action in the city and the new actions as they start to emerge.

Keynote

John Thackara - How to make less, more

A green, restorative and steady-state economy is not a future vision - it already exists, at least in embryo. Social innovation is all around us in a million grassroots projects. Connected citizens, and new kinds of business, are taking practical steps to re-make our cities places, and tools. By innovating services for daily life that use far fewer resources, they help to rebuild natural and social assets. Many of these projects use new technologies in creative ways - but their positive energy derives most from the skills and imagination of the people involved. What is the opportunity here for Leicester?
John Thackara is a writer, speaker, and event producer. Described by Business Week as "one of the great voices on sustainability", he is the author of In The Bubble: Designing In A Complex World (MIT Press) among thirteen books, and of a widely-read blog about design for resilience, doorsofperception.com. As director of Doors of Perception, John organizes festivals and encounters around the world in which communities imagine sustainable futures – and take practical steps to realize them. John Thackara lives in France.
Useful Links:

• doorsofperception.com
• sustainable-everyday.net
• energybulletin.net/node/16859
• transitionnetwork.org/about
• openfarmtech.org/weblog/
• steadystate.org/discover/organizations-that-support-steady-state-principles/
• artsandecology.rsablogs.org.uk

Vision2020 The Wishlist
All the wishlists collected from the Unconference session at Vision2020 were gathered together. People were working very hard and there are dozens of items! The first cut for discussion and refining.

It’s up to Leicester to decide which to choose and how to implement them.

Growing Knowledge: The evolution of research

An exhibition at the British Library showcasing new and innovative research tools and techniques

12 October 2010 - 16 July 2011

The British Library have filmed a series of thought provoking discussions about the evolution of research, see our very own Professors Andrew Hugill and Sue Thomas share their thoughts.

Andrew Hugill: Digital Research, The Modern Library
Sue Thomas: Scholarly Communications, Search for and Analyse Data

Link: www.growingknowledge.bl.uk

Ocean of Light at Ars Electronica

Ocean of Light : A Squidsoup Project
 

Ocean of Light was a joint research project with the IOCT , funded through two TSB grants. It was shown this year at Ars Electronica and then moved to an extended display at the centre until January 2011. This year’s Ars Electronica festival took place in a massive old tobacco factory, much of it with an art deco feel, and all of it with the strong smells of tobacco still lingering in the air. It made for an interesting event. The enormous available floor area meant that each project and event on show could live and breathe in its own space; projects were generally unencumbered by anything else nearby. This, combined with the labyrinthine structure of the layout and warehouses meant that the overall experience was more like a treasure hunt – you wander around, usually hopelessly lost, down long corridors and empty spaces and then suddenly come across an unexpected gleaming treasure of media art.

Images of some of the projects on show HERE
More images of Ocean of Light HERE
Ocean of Light moves to the main gallery at the Ars Electronica Centre itself in the next week, where it will be on show until 9th January 2010.

The Ocean of Light project explores the creative and immersive possibilities of light-based visualisation in physical space. It uses bespoke hardware to create dynamic, interactive and three-dimensional sculptures from light.

Surface is the first artwork to be exhibited using the Ocean of Light hardware. It uses minimal visuals and sound to evoke the essence of character and movement. Autonomous entities engage in a playful dance, negotiating the material properties of a fluid surface.

 

The Ocean of Light project is a collaborative research venture, led by Squidsoup and supported by the Technology Strategy Board (UK). Partners include Excled Ltd and IOCT (Martin Rieser) at De Montfort University. Additional support and resources have been provided by Oslo School of Architecture and Design (Norway), Massey University, Wellington (New Zealand) and Centre for Electronic Media Art, Monash University (Aus).

Squidsoup is a digital arts group specialising in immersive interactive installations within physical 3D space. Their work combines sound, light, physical space and virtual worlds to produce immersive and emotive headspaces. They explore the modes and effects of interactivity, looking to make digital experiences where meaningful and creative interaction can occur. 

Contributors: Anthony Rowe, Chris Bennewith, Gareth Bushell, Liam Birtles, Ollie Brown.

Inside Out at Phoenix Square

http://www.insideoutexhibition.com/

‘Inside Out – Sculpture in the Digital Age’ is a compelling international touring exhibition featuring 46 miniature sculptures produced in resin using 3D printing technologies, the title is also the theme for the exhibition which focuses on emerging digital design techniques - and features an exchange of objects with Australian artists via the internet. Co-curated by Professor Martin Rieser and Claire Smith (Melbourne University and Art Technology Coalition) , it is showing at Phoenix Square Leicester through September and October 2010. Rapid Prototype production by Guy Bingham

The exhibition is the result of collaboration between the Art Technology Coalition, the University of Technology Sydney and RMIT University in Australia along with De Montfort
University, Manchester Metropolitan University and University College Falmouth, (incorporating Dartington College of Arts) in the United Kingdom.

Exhibition procedural soundwork: Ron Herrema

Slideshow

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Digital Arts weeks Xian

The IOCT was a strong presence at Digital Arts Weeks in Xian, China in early July 2010 . Dr Steve Gibson, Senior Research Fellow was a key organiser, presenter, educational chair, workshop presenter and also exhibitor with his interactive bicycle spoof. 'Grand Theft Bicycle' http://grandtheftbicycle.com/. Professor Andrew Hugill presented the transdisciplinary work of the IOCT at the symposium at the Fine Art Academy and also gave a pre-concert talk at the prestigious Music Conservatory on Piano Pataphysics and an open air concert in Jade valley http://vimeo.com/13224371 attended both by participants and village locals. Professor Sue Thomas gave a conference keynote on Transliteracy research practice at the conference and Professor Martin Rieser mounted the Third Woman interactive mobile film http://www.ioct.dmu.ac.uk/Third_Woman and an opening performance intervention with workshop students directed by collaborators Anna Dumitriu and Margarete Jahrmann in the great hall of the Fine Art Academy and gave a conference talk on the Art of Mobility. Brett Battey showed his piece Sinus Aestum in the Trans-Art exhibition and Honji Yang gave a talk at Xi'an Jiaotong University on Prolonging Software Life for Digital Art Systems and moderated the Future Cities forum.

DAW:  http://www.digitalartweeks.ethz.ch/web/DAW10/Overview

Third Woman Installation http://vimeo.com/13183454

WANTED - DIGITAL ARTS DEVELOPMENT OFFICER

(salary circa stg 20,000 per annum, 2 years fixed term contract)


We are looking for someone with a degree which has a new media focus, e.g. Design Management & Innovation, Arts Management, Arts Marketing, Curatorial studies, Museum studies (min. 2:1 or equivalent) who will drive this KTP project. The project aims to enhance the reputation and build recognition of PHOENIX SQUARE and its digital arts programme (see www.phoenix.org.uk). The successful candidate's task will be to investigate, design and implement an audience development strategy to support the national & international positioning of Phoenix Square. The key aims will be to:



> Work with the creative director to identify and target networks of artists and organisations and develop strategic partnerships.

> Carry out continuous research into audiences (national and international) in order to support development of marketing plans for achieving revenue generation.

> Develop and implement a positioning strategy that improves knowledge and understanding of digital arts and creative technologies among target audience groups.

> Develop a specialist programme of engagement for artists, producers and curators and organisations that builds reputation and enables the organisation to develop its strengths in digital arts and creative technologies.

> Embed knowledge of developing and engaging new audiences on a national and international level within the business.



We are looking for someone who is proactive, self-motivated and passionate, possessing good presentation skills, including oral and written communications. It would be advantageous to have some experience of developing and managing networks in a cultural and creative industries context.



Phoenix Square holds charitable status and is an independent arts organisation with over 30 years history in delivery of performance arts and cinema in Leicester, UK. Phoenix Square is seeking a recent graduate as Digital Arts Development Officer in collaboration with De Montfort University through the Knowledge Transfer Partnership scheme www.ktponline.org.uk. The Successful candidate will work at the company premises but be employed by De Montfort University.



Interview date: 22 March 2010 in Leicester, UK.



More information and application pack at http://bit.ly/dDpvsA

Launches

What better way to launch the new IOCT Blog than to celebrate the civic launch of Phoenix Square last night?! The IOCT featured heavily in a fun-packed evening in a wonderful new venue that will provide a permanent public showcase for our research. See the media coverage at:

BBC East Midlands Today (from 10' 5")
Leicester Mercury
Citizenseye
Creative Boom

The public launch is on Thursday (Nov 19th) starting around 7 pm. IOCT projects on show include:

Songlines (pictured, this week only)
De Montfort University's Professor of Digital Creativity, Martin Rieser, has created three innovative outdoor projections representing his cycling research project Songlines. The project is based on developing cyclist information on Leicester via a mobile-accessible online wiki. see also

Songlines at Phoenix Square from Martin Rieser on Vimeo.

Virtual Roman Leicester (until Dec. 18th)
A pioneering research project accurately recreating Roman Leicester in an interactive virtual world. This will enable visitors to go inside some of the 3D buildings including the forum and basilica, the Merlin works baths, the Mithraum, and the Temple of Jupiter.

cMatrix12 (until Dec. 18th)
cMatrix12, an installation by Dr. Bret Battey (Music, Technology and Innovation Research Centre), immerses participants in flowing waves of visual particles and delicate curtains of sound, using three-screen video projection and surround audio.

Exploding, Plastic & Inevitable Redux
A re-imagining of the psychedelic classic The Exploding Plastic Inevitable, created by Andy Warhol with the Velvet Underground in the late 1960s. The project immerses viewers in a total art experience and is created by Steve Gibson, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute Of Creative Technologies and Stefan Müller, a software architect and post-doctoral research scientist.

IOCT students’ work has also been selected and commissioned for Phoenix Square's launch. None of the Above collective, a group of students comprising Rhys Davies, Mukesh Randhev and Joe Turner, are showcasing a stereoscopic installation called ‘Shift’ created from sounds they recorded around Leicester.

Russell Foxton, another IOCT student, has used the latest touch-screen technology to produce coffee tables for the Screen Café and Lounge. All these students graduated from the IOCT’s Master's in Creative Technologies earlier this month (November).