E-CULTURE FAIR 2010

In line with previous events held in the Netherlands since 2000, the E-CULTURE FAIR is being presented for the first time in Germany as a cooperation project of ISEA2010 RUHR, 16th International Symposium on Electronic Art.

For many years now, digitization and networking have been changing our social interactions, the working environment, cultural exchanges and ways of making and engaging with art. By now the possibilities of digital media are integrated into daily life as a matter of course.

Topical examples of this common electronic culture are social networks like YouTube or Facebook, the widespread use of platforms like Twitter and the ubiquity of smartphones. Based on these examples, E-CULTURE FAIR 2010 can be envisioned as a communicative laboratory, a workshop in which new ideas are presented that may soon become familiar concepts for many. E-CULTURE FAIR 2010 is aimed at new-media professionals as well as anyone curious about the electronic culture of tomorrow.

The exhibition environment of E-CULTURE FAIR 2010 in combination with workshops and live presentations offer international creatives and artists an opportunity to showcase their latest works and to anticipate future collaborations in the context of electronic culture. The intention is to display the various creative applications in the digital field, and to discuss social and cultural transformations together with current artistic reflections. Playfulness remains a hallmark of E-CULTURE FAIR 2010, but it also fosters in-depth exchange via discussion forums.

We conceive e-culture as . . .

a notion, first introduced in the Netherlands in the late 1990s, indicating the impact of digital technology on the production, distribution and presentation of culture. The internet and digital media influence the way in which artists express themselves, the manner in which libraries provide the public with their information, the mass media's interaction with information, public debate and cultural content, and on the individual use of media. E-culture refers to all forms of expression, reflection and participation in the digital realm. The main theme of E-CULTURE FAIR 2010 is summed up by ‘for more than one’: projects for multiple users that deploy interesting combinations of the possibilities of (networked) media technology and physical space. The projects we present enable interesting social interaction (indoor or outdoor), tangible interfaces, and new ways of playing and learning; they propose good ways of applying (complex) information in practical contexts.

Programme

The fair is open for three days from 10:00 to 20:00 at the Dortmunder U. Daily from 10:30 to 17:30, various developers and laboratories give live presentations of their latest applications, tools or work methods, while a wide range of cultural projects are on show in the exhibition area. There are possibilities in the evenings for more in-depth discussions. The multimedia festival Prototypen: // from the Labor für sensorische Annehmlichkeiten (Sensory Amenities Lab) takes place at the main entrance (on Leonie-Reygers-Terrasse). In front of the Dortmunder U, people in possession of an iPhone or Android-enabled phone can play with huge Augmented Reality toy blocks. Parked in the outdoor area next to the U is a truck trailer with an oversized, interactive video screen conceived by the Dropstuff team – ideal for playful manipulation and public interactive engagement. W(Double U) invites users to walk round the Dortmunder U while linked to someone else by state-of-the-art immersive technology, developed by Crew in collaboration with the Expertise Centre for Digital Media, University of Hasselt, Belgium. The closing party of E-CULTURE FAIR 2010 (starting at 10:00 on 25 August) opens with large interactive video projections on the facade of the office block adjacent to the Dortmunder U. The audience can interact from small stages in front of the facade. The project is developed by MediaLAB (Hogeschool van Amsterdam). At 23:00 in the vaulted cellar below the Dortmunder U, the electronic music starts up for the closing party, which has been jointly organized with ISEA2010 RUHR.

As the first event of its kind in the Dortmunder U, E-CULTURE FAIR 2010 shows what the concept of creativity can mean in the 21st century for the regions of North Rhine-Westphalia, Flanders and the Netherlands. Besides the presentation and communication of art, the fostering of creativity is one of the integral elements of the new Centre for Art and Creativity in Dortmund, encompassing creative industry, media art institutions, universities with creative departments and media artists. The E-CULTURE FAIR 2010 is developed in cooperation with ecce – european centre for creative economy, a Dortmunder U partner founded in the framework of the European Capital of Culture RUHR.2010. The long-term goal of ecce is to make the Ruhr Metropolis Europe's leading creative region.

E-CULTURE FAIR 2010 is supported by the Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, the City of Dortmund, the Culture Office of the City of Dortmund, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands, the Flemish Authorities, Flanders DC and IBBT.

More Information can be found on the official website of E-CULTURE FAIR 2010: www.eculturefair2010.eu

 

Press

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