Interactivos?’12 Ljubljana. Obsolete Technologies of the Future

Domače Volt Orkester by Matthew Gingold y Ben Olsen (Austria)

> Call for collaborators (until August 31, 2012) - Coming soon
> Selected projects
> About the workshop
> Advisors' approaches
> General information
> Call for projects (closed)
> Prototypes showcase

About the workshop

Ljudmila = ljubljana digital media lab seeks proposals for its first ever intensive and mind-blowing workshop on Interactivos?'12: Ljubljana for art & tech & scientists professionals. Ljubljana's edition of the workshop will be dedicated to explorations of Obsolete Technologies of the Future, collaborative prototyping vol. 1, rethinking the qualities of outdated technology and making way for a long-term, sustainable usage of technology in our environment in the decades to come.

Interactivos?'12 Ljubljana will enable participants to build prototypes in the fields of art and technology using existing or outdated technologies in an entirely unexpected way to encourage novel approaches, promote sustainability, and explore possibilities in the far future. The outdated technologies have not been pushed aside and rendered insignificant merely for pragmatic, but also for economic and political reasons. The topic suggests – but is not limited to – dealing with increasing lack of natural resources, and ecological questions in urban environments and overlooked technologies of the past. Projects are also connected to media hacking and subverting the automatism of the behaviour in the society, suggesting new forms of social networking that are not dependent on existing corporative hierarchies. 

Alongside artworks, innovative installations, collaborative practices, we will also encourage thinking differently about how we set up products and services for our demands and everyday living. A glimpse into the past makes us understand the reasons behind technological development and what role art plays in promoting or challenging the existing modes of behaviour. Is it possible for an artwork to hack the system from within? Is it possible to think outside of our mindframes? To think outside of the binary code? To view the world in nano scale? To explore our perception beyond the virtual and the real? To imagine moving fast without an exhaust engine? To explore how the web should operate? To turn off  and tune in?

General information:

The Interactivos?'12 Ljubljana workshop aims to be a collective platform for research, production, and learning, offering support in developing the projects selected. The projects will be carried out in multidisciplinary groups comprised by the project leaders joined by interested collaborators, with conceptual and technical advice from the advisors. Science Gallery and Medialab Prado will provide materials for the development of selected projects, as far as possible.

During the workshop, various activities will be scheduled such as talks, presentations, seminars or specific mini-workshops. Work days will be adapted to the specific needs of the projects in sympathy with the activities ongoing at Science Gallery as part of HACK THE CITY events.

10:00h - 20:00h: Monday - Saturday

Given that one of the main objectives of the workshop is to foster the development, distribution, and free access to new approaches and new technology tools, participants are encouraged to prepare proper documentation for the developed projects, both during and after the workshop, and to publish the results and source code under licenses that grant access and distribution of the knowledge produced during the workshop.

The workshop at Science Gallery is part of Studiolab, a 3-year Europe-wide initiative that merges the artist's studio with the research lab. Funded by the EC Seventh Framework Programme in 2011, Studiolab is a network that provides a platform for creative projects that bridge divides between science, art and design.