VJ sets, projection mapping, art installations, video art… Kalma embodies the true spirit of the new media artist: restless and constantly striving for innovation and reinvention.

Sometimes we see the practice of VJing being dismissed similarly as it happens to the Djs: “It’s not really a form art as you are only mixing content.”

Well, Kalma couldn’t disagree more. By using using real-time generative visuals she developed a remarkable style that intrinsically connects audio and video.

Across a variety of formats her signature is undoubtedly the profound synaesthesia between the soundscape and her visual structure.

She dives deep into the ocean of sounds bringing up beats and synths to explicit them visually.

Kalma thoroughly investigates each sound elements she comes across with. She goes beyond the simple harmonic structure to investigate the emotional fields and subtexts expressed by the music.

A/V REFORMOTION

In this intriguing Audiovisual work, Kalma connects each sounds to a particular visual object creating a multi-symphonic orchestra formed by dress making machines.

The video is an excerpt of the projection mapping performance for the opening of Mmmrr, a clothes shop in Berlin.

MIMICOF + KALMA: Audiovisual Performance

Following the eclectic musical work by Mimicof, Kalma designs a mystical visual experience featuring a fine-drawn, slender aesthetic crescendo.

Midori hirano aka Mimicof is a Japanese sound artist based in Berlin. Her work is a mixture of modern digital sounds with subtle electronic processing and field recordings.

Kalma combines her work as audiovisual artist with her passion for teaching. Since 2010 she has been hosting and organising workshops around the topics of mapping and video in real time.

Her creative pedagogic and practical approach provides the best ground for people willing to immerse themselves in this field with endless creative possibilities.

Contact

Website

Facebook | Instagram | Vimeo

The post Kalma appeared first on Audiovisualcity.

Carulla Foundation wants to support experienced audiovisual artists affected by the health and social crisis.

During these tough times we praised organizations across the world promoting local and international open calls aimed at tackling the current Covid-related situation.

This is an open call for artists of all nationalities resident in Catalonia. The foundation offers 20 scholarships worth 4000€ to support artistic creations in public space.

Carulla Foundation is looking for specific proposals addressing the effects of Covid within the Catalan Society. The main aim is to offer the necessary conditions to showcase artistic creations designed to be implemented in public space.

The foundation supports creative processes that encompass all cultural and artistic expressions or manifestations understood from a wide point of view.

They are looking for new artistic creations addressing the impact that Covid-19 is having on Catalan society and the challenges arising from it.

The artwork must have a clear transformation goal and must be developed in the public space, also incorporating a digital alternative to face possible new periods of lock-down.

Creators with a minimum career of two years and with residence in Catalonia are encouraged to submit their proposals.

One scholarship will be awarded per project and creator. Several creators cannot present the same project to be developed within the framework of a group.

All projects will be scrutinized during the month of September. The development process will take place between October 2020 and January 2021.

At the end of January the artists will be required to present a memoir reflecting the process and the creative proposal.

Until the 31st of July and from August 24 to 31 there will be a dedicated phone line for any arising questions: +34 932 090 948. The foundation can also be reached via email.

Contact

Website

Apply

Facebook| Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

The post CARULLA FOUNDATION: Open Call appeared first on Audiovisualcity.

The festival and its audiovisual artists embrace new technology as a tool for artistic expression rather than the main factor of spectacularization.

This critical approach unlock the infinite creative possibilities within new technologies rather than fetishize them, as we have seen happening a lot with projection mapping and more recently with virtual reality.

The festival was founded in 1979 by cyberneticist/physicist Herbert W. Franke, electronic musician Hubert Bognermayr, music producer Ulli A. Rützel and Hannes Leopoldseder. It has come a very long way since then but it has always kept its main focus on the intersection of art, technology and society.

One of the most appealing elements of the festival is The Prix Ars Electronica: the most prestigious prize in new media arts, with hefty prizes up to 10.000€. Every year the Golden Nica is awarded to the ground-breaking fruits of artistic experimentation from audiovisual artists worldwide.

Ars Electronica features a wide variety of activities every year: Symposia, exhibitions, performances, concerts and interventions spanning a broad arc from speculative futuristic scenarios to analytical considerations, from provocative actionism to philosophical debate.

Combining amazing artworks with fruitful conversations is the perfect recipe to create a meaningful experience that constantly scans the new media landscape to find the most inspiring projects. The projects are not simply chosen based on their technical realization but most importantly because the social and artistic innovation they incorporate.

The result of this consistent endeavour is the creation of a loyal community of audiovisual artists, researchers and visitors from all over the world that every year reunites in Linz to inspire and get inspired.

Since its inception, the festival has been dedicated to develop new themes for each edition and the organizers are also constantly on the lookout for interesting new venues.

Indeed, the ongoing effort to break out of the narrow confines of conventional conference rooms and artistic spaces, and to stage cultural and scientific encounters in the public sphere has become something of an Ars Electronica trademark.

Stay tuned: Ars Electronica 2020 theme will be released soon!

Contact

Website

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

The post ARS ELECTRONICA: 9 -13 September 2020, Linz appeared first on Audiovisualcity.

ADAF has been showcasing new creative trends and breakthroughs within the digital arts, without loosing the core of its vision.

Every year the organisers finetune their artistic program through their open call for audiovisual artists, to keep themselves up to date with the ever-evolving new media art landscape.

From the initial focus on video art, installations and live performances they have been widening their program up to include Virtual Reality experiences (VR), Web Art, Video Games and more.

The Athens Digital Arts Festival has been founded in 2005 and it is the pioneer longest living institution in Greece dedicated to audiovisual culture and digital arts. This year, as other audiovisual events, ADAF is responding to the Covid19 crisis with resilience and creativity.

Their 16th edition ADAF ONLINE| TECHNOTRIBALISM will be accessible to everyone through the internet. More than 5,500 audiovisual art proposals from 100 countries around the world are the source for the ADAF 2020 program selection.

The Athens Digital Arts Festival 2020 year theme reflects upon our primitive status in the foundations of the new hyper-informational world, where the data-flux is absorbing the entire existence reaching the status of God.

Is technology serving us or we are serving the data-totem by providing our more sensible information, giving up our privacy for a greater good?

Algorithms, already present everywhere in the digital realm, are reading us better than ourselves, better than our friends and siblings and in the name of  optimization of our virtual experience, we are gradually letting them make decisions for us, filter our perceptions predict our behavior, our bio metrics, our emotions.

All manifestations of culture can now be experienced on a digitized basis, translated to a language (code, DNA) and stored for everyone who possess it to experience regardless the circumstances. Markets and Money are transfiguring into intangible algorithmic byproducts. Everything to serve the information flow.

Close your eyes and connect to your data-doppelganger your mirrored algorithmic self to your digital footprint. You are part of techno-tribalism, you are part of ADAF 2020.

Contact

Website

Read our Interview to ADAF

Facebook | Twitter | Vimeo | Instagram | Youtube

The post ATHENS DIGITAL ARTS FESTIVAL: 10 July – 10 September 2020 ONLINE appeared first on Audiovisualcity.

Marco Savo from Audiovisual City and Kate Rolfe from The Revels Office have never met in person. Theirs is a true digital relationship born of the pandemic.

Cultural consultants who met over Zoom to explore where their world’s crossed-over, and how their mix of experience could help artists, freelancers, and the arts sector as a whole to combat this unsettling time.

Audiovisual City is a digital magazine that promotes and supports audiovisual artists and events worldwide. Connecting hundreds of digital artists from across the world, it is the go-to place for inspiration and information when it comes to the application of digital technologies in artistic expression.

The Revels Office is a cultural consultancy who specialises in finding new revenue for the arts, advising organisations on commercial opportunities and uniting them with funding partners who value the unique, high quality content that only the cultural sector can produce. Together with a network of consultants -The Catalyst Network – the team at The Revels Office manage a range of projects at the intersection between arts and commerce.

Together with a multi-disciplinary group of experts who all have touch-points with digital arts experiences, Audiovisual City and The Revels Office ran a workshop to explore what role digital arts projects could play in the future of arts organisations.

At a time when the sector is anxiously remodelling their core operations to survive months of low visitor numbers, reduced income through established business lines, and a new, uneasy socially distanced experience, we wanted to investigate what untapped value digital arts might offer.

We share with you here a summary of our findings, designed to inspire you at a critical time, to offer valuable ideas to consider in your re-modelling plans, and to decipher the role that digital can play in a sector based almost entirely on live and tangible experiences…

Case Study: Enjambre Cellular

Developed by Mónica Rikić, Enjambre Celular is a project created and designed specifically for the Medialab-Prado interactive façade.

It is a collective strategy game in which different levels and challenges must be overcome, based on the idea of a labyrinth. Controlled externally by passers-by, Enjambre Celular offers an example of a pandemic-proof artistic installation.

Case Study: Distances

Developed by Scenocosme, In this installation, two people in two separate physical spaces are filmed in real time by two devices.

They are invited to have contact virtually within the same image, bringing them together face to face. The head-to-head image created by the software is trying to constantly reduce the proxemic distance between the two people, creating unique and ephemeral meetings with the other and making a connection even when physically apart.

Digital art vs digital design.

To make informed choices about the use of digital, it is important to understand the distinction of digital art as an artform in its own right, and digital design as a tool for engagement.

Put simply – do you need to move your live content online for commercial, audience or safety reasons, or do you want to create a new interpretation of your content that will explore your stories in an entirely new way? Neither choice is right or wrong, but it will impact the outcomes you achieve, as well as the process you go through.

“The importance of concept is key; you must start with your concept and then chose the technology to match”

Hayley Cantor

What digital art and digital design have in common is their ability to bridge between traditional cultural content and modern, digitally aware audiences, and allow people to fully interact with the arts.

No solution is quicker for overcoming an image of being elitist, static or uninteresting than a digital initiative, so long as it is done well, has a clear purpose and audience, and so long as it incorporates some kind of live and/or unique element that ensures the digital is not simply a mimic of the live experience.

While digital design is fantastic for bringing to life educational and historic content, and is arguably simpler for translating to an online platform, where digital arts stands out is in the sensorial, emotive experience that they can create, lasting longer in people’s memories and creating a sense of community and harmony even if you encounter the art alone.

Digital arts is the perfect solution for a hybrid cultural offering, connecting those experiencing it online and those there in person, allowing for smaller, safer groups to pass through it without losing the commercial, social and artistic benefits of scale.

Case Study: Virtual Archive.

Virtual Archive is a 3D, computer-generated environment open to interactive exploration by single users.

Via a VR headset, the user flies through a 3D data-point cloud formed, visualizing more than 1,700,000 documents present in SALT Research archive collections. Refik Anadol’s installation was displayed as an extension to the artist’s Archive Dreaming project.

Case Study: Natural History Museum of Valparaisa.

In the Introductory Room at Natural History Museum of Valparaíso, Chile, visitors meet an installation of naturalistic illustrations of flora and fauna of the region, highlighting the work of Claudio Gay among others.

Developed by Delight Lab, this project was realised in partnership with the SUMO design and museum office for DIBAM.

It’s time to set the price.

The price we have paid for the vast amounts of thrilling, comforting and informative digital content that has been dispersed throughout the global lock-down, is the expectation that digital means free.

Digital comes with development costs, artist costs and new software and/or infrastructure requirements, among other operational demands. Digital content is by no means free to create, and so why is it presented as free to consume? There are two ways of looking at this dilemma.

• Option 1 is to embrace the non-financial value that going digital presents: reaching new and much larger audiences, collecting insightful data, offering educational and social benefits, and adopting new methods in storytelling and human connection.

In this way there is still value, there are no barriers to audiences engaging with you, and you can use data and reach to collaborate with new funding partners, upsell products and services, and request donations wherever possible.

In this way we have seen a really positive response during the pandemic, with culture-lovers willingly paying for online experiences, seeing this as a charitable donation to save something they love rather than a charge for valuable entertainment. However this has not yet translated into a consistent approach that audiences and funders recognise, or indeed made up the huge gap in revenue that arts organisations face.

• Option 2 is to revaluate and recommunicate the value of the digital experience, and set up platforms that give organisations the option to charge.

Given the high value outlined by option 1, it seems reasonable that – just like the expectation to pay for the cinema or a gig – you will have to pay to participate in digital cultural experiences. This transactional view may not sit well alongside arts experiences that are traditionally free, such as museum-entry, but this demonstrates the opportunity presented by digital arts as opposed to digital design; by creating a new experience on a new platform, arts organisations can create something of value to their audiences (and new ones), one which better warrants a participation charge.

Ultimately this is an argument of supply and demand, but what we endorse is a collective reassessment of how and when to charge for digital experiences, thereby protecting arts organisations and artists from giving away valuable content for free, especially when for a time this might be one of their only viable sources of revenue.

Case Study: Fulldome Festival

The oldest full dome projection festival has been held virtually for the first time this year due to the pandemic, charging a ticket price for the online experience. A courageous decision from the organisers who decided to go full steam ahead, offering a 360 view of the festival using VR headsets.

Case Study: Mutek San Francisco, Nexus Experience

Mutek is one of the top audiovisual events worldwide, born in Montreal and then expanded through an international network. The San Francisco edition has been online this year with their ‘Nexus Experience’, hosting live AV performers on two stages, offering digital galleries, online workshops, and ‘viewing party’ film screenings. The event was free and open to donations, with 100% of the festival proceeds going directly to the artists.

Demystifying the digital process (and budget).

Digital arts experiences are impactful and memorable no matter what their size, from single exhibition displays through to city-wide festivals. While they can be huge and expensive, often a digital intervention is as cost-effective as a live experience due to the flexibility of the format, recouping investment costs over a far longer lifespan.

For those who want to consider digital as part of their future plans, digital arts producer Steph Clarke shares some considerations:

• Once a digital installation, artwork or exhibition is installed, it can often run 24/7 with minimal staffing and low running costs. Not only can this make valuable budget savings, it also accommodates far higher audience numbers over time, and can easily be adapted to allow for social distancing measures.

• Digital works can easily have their content re-purposed to suit different objectives. Content can be refreshed regularly to suit seasonality, adapted for VIP or stakeholder events, and used for advertising purposes if required.

• It is relatively easy to scale digital work depending upon size of venue or audience size, meaning this approach can be considered for a variety of projects, places and budgets.

• Digital can be used to extend and enhance audience engagement before and after the event/exhibition itself, through engagement online and via apps, creating more touchpoints with your intended audience and opportunities to capture insights and data.

• By digitalising the content for a digital installation, you are simultaneously archiving it too, preserving it for future generations and achieving important cost-savings.

• Given the huge range of digital formats available – apps, projection, light shows, VR, AR – there will always be a format suitable for your budget, timescale and objectives.

Case Study: 400 Conejos.

As part of the Bahidora 2018 festival, Medusa Lab created a unique experience for Ache Producciones and its client: Mezcal 400 conejos.

Attendees received a complimentary drink of mezcal prior entering the dome, and once inside they discovered the mezcal making process through an immersive, colour-filled experience using animations and 360 video.

Case Study: Pinata Tweet.

Piñata was a project made by MID for +Castro agency and the SAKE production company. The piñatas were installed as part of a collaboration with Trident Senses at Benicàssim International Festival.

The interactive piñatas are controlled via Twitter messages sent by the audience. Every tweet contained #TridentSensesPinata, which activated a device that inflated the piñata. As messages accumulated, eventually the piñata exploded over the audience!

Audiovisual City and The Revels Office plan to now work together.

We aim to connect arts organisations with digital artists and commercial partners, creating inspirational and viable projects in a time of pandemic.

Together we will champion the skills, value and authenticity that digital art and digital tools can bring those looking to find new audiences and new revenue. Get in touch to discuss how these ideas could be applied to your own organisation – hello@therevelsoffice.co.uk

This article was written by Kate Rolfe from The Revels Office and Marco Savo from Audiovisual City with contributions from Hayley Cantor (Audiovisual City Creative Director, Multidisciplinary Graphic Designer and VJ), Sean Carroll (Business Improvement Project Manager), Nicola Casperson (Brand Marketing, Events and Place-Making Consultant), Steph Clarke (Digital Arts Producer), Marta Minguell Colomé (New Media Artist, VJ and Photographer), Amy O’Brien (Events Producer), and Mónica Rikic (New Media Artist). Collectively our experience includes roles at the National Gallery, Natural History Museum, Secret Cinema, Battersea Power Station, Westfields, and London’s Philharmonia Orchestra.

The post What digital did next: Digital Arts and Social Distancing appeared first on Audiovisualcity.

They explore the newest ways of using video, sound, light, tracking technology and generative graphics to allow viewers to dive into that digital space. And feel it to the fullest!

Kuflex large-scale interactive installations dismantle stereotypes of sensory perception.

Immersive effect switches off rational evaluative perception and provokes spontaneous emotions of inner child.

A small team creates magic installations and art projects, exploring mechanisms of interaction and inter-influence of inter-subjective reality and its digital projection.

Interacting with constantly changing projection, the viewer enters meditative state, turns from a passive observer into a co-creator.

Thus, in “Symbiosis” installation the viewer literally merges with the alien creature, becoming a digital avatar that can be controlled by him or her. 

Installations by Kuflex have been featured in many Russian and foreign exhibitions, festivals, museums, science and education centers in Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Krasnoyarsk, Tyumen, Abrau-Dyurso, Netanya (Israel), Antalya (Turkey), Athens (Greece, ADAF), Las-Vegas (USA, CES), Beijing (China,China Science and Technology Museum), Manila (Philippines) and others.

Since 2018 the studio has been working on Kusmos software system for interactive visual content of online home concerts.

In April 2020 they started  developing Kusmos live version thus turning any stream from home into a fantastic 3D show.

Contact

Website

Facebook| Instagram | Vimeo | YouTube

The post KUFLEX appeared first on Audiovisualcity.

Time in quarantine seems to have developed into a huge focus on creative minds, with more online festivals and artistic projects than you can shake a stick at.

At Audiovisual City, we’ve been taking advantage of the time to network with artists and discover more projects than ever.

We got in touch with Miguel and Rodrigo AKA Boris Chimp 504 through the audiovisual network #supportvisualists.

We were particularly keen to learn more about their experiences, experimentations and creativity outcomes during the quarantine so far…

1. You guys are based in Portugal. How is the situation there at the moment and how have you been affected professionally, as audiovisual artists?

We had some shows and projects cancelled or postponed, not only with Boris Chimp 504 as with other parallel projects.

In the case of Boris Chimp 504 we started presenting a new AV Show – Vanishing Quasars – last September and had some nice shows in the end of 2019 Electro Alternative (Toulouse), Fotonica (Roma), Criatek (Aveiro), 948 Merkatua (Pamplona) and we were hoping to tour the show around in 2020.

But now with these situation, everything is on standby, and we are unsure about when we’ll be able to get back on stage.

R: In my particular case I also teach at the university (and are running the classes on videoconference), so I am able to have a fixed income.

But many Portuguese artists/technicians/AV/…. who work as freelancers or project based in the cultural, events, music and AV scene are struggling as everything has stopped right now, and many are left with zero income for an unpredictable amount of time.

M: Luckily I have some savings (ah ah) and the government gives some financial help to “independent workers” [autónomos in Spanish] but I’m still working (at a much lower rhythm) on projects that hopefully will happen when this situation ends.

2. As an audiovisual collective, you usually collaborate together in a physical space. How has your way of working changed in the current situation?

In our case, our way of working has not changed much, as we live in different cities (Porto, Faro).

So working remotely is our normal way of working: making video calls, changing emails with ideas, sending audio/video files back and forth, etc… 

The project started when we were both living in Barcelona, and then we were working in the same physical space and developed some nice working and communication skills between us.

When eventually we came back to our hometowns, we managed to change that on a virtual basis, although we frequently travel between Faro and Porto, and also so every time we have any kind of presentation we use that time fully for rehearsing, test stuff, etc…

Right now it looks like we won’t be travelling soon, so this gives us more time to work on audiovisual content, than when we are touring.

3. What things have you learned as a result of the quarantine and what would be your message to other AV artists around the world about how to manage the situation in order to prepare for the future?

R: In the beginning I thought that I would be super-productive during these days, and spend days coding and creating visuals, learning new stuff, but in fact it is super difficult to concentrate, as I am constantly checking the Covid19-news social media etc.

So my artistic productivity is really low. Also I ended spending even more time in front of the computer, which is not good, as after some hours I start to get dizzy, tired and without patience to create anything.

On the other hand I have been really enjoying cooking, speeding time in the kitchen and try new dishes (maybe because I am not looking at screens.).

So my advices would be: low your productivity expectations, avoid check the news all the time (maybe only 1 time a day to keep track of the situation). And manage your screen time, avoid spend all day in front of the computer.

M: In my case I have a small toddler home to keep me busy, so soon I realised it would be much more difficult to work (at home) than before.

After accepting the facts, I work with a different pace now, enjoy time with my family and try to watch the minimum news possible about Covid-19.

I’m still aware and not disconnected of all around but I think it’s wise to try to keep a “safety distance” from getting overwhelmed.

I would say that more than trying this moment to work more (and get stressed about it), maybe this is a time to slow down and accept it. Sooner or later we’ll all gonna go back to crazy schedules so we better enjoy while we can.

To find out more about Boris Chimp 504, see their artist page

Find out more about the #supportvisualist network.

The post Creativity in Quarantine by Boris Chimp 504 appeared first on Audiovisualcity.

Light Move Festival is now in its 10th year in Łódź, Poland. It started back in 2010 with the idea of changing the way the city of Łódź is viewed, but painting its buildings with colourful light. Now it is a well-developed festival of light putting Poland on the map, which includes installations, projections, spatial light shows, 2D/3D mapping, and conferences.

Light.Move.Festival. combines sound, color, light and movement. In 9th edition in 2019 it developed into an international, anticipated event with a recognizable brand promoting Łódź as an innovative, multicultural, friendly and open city. Its ever-growing popularity contributes to the formation of a positive image of the city and gives reason to visit Łódź in late autumn, outside the tourist season. In 2019 alone, the festival gathered 850,000 guests, and all its previous editions – over 4 million!

On Instagram, #lightmovefestival, has an impressive rate of publication, where you can really see the success of the festival and its colourful installations and 3D mapping of buildings.

For more information:

Website | Facebook |Instagram

The post Light Move Festival appeared first on Audiovisualcity.

PRAGUE, October 10-13 2019

The SIGNAL Lighting Festival is the largest cultural event in the Czech Republic, which, thanks to the unique interconnection of art, urban space and modern technologies, has attracted more than 2 million viewers for its five-year existence.

The festival uniquely combines visually attractive works with demanding installations of international quality. Its approach thus appeals to both broad and professional public.

The SIGNAL Festival brings to the streets of Prague cutting-edge forms of art which show the streets and recesses of the capital city in new perspectives due to the connection between technology and light.
About twenty installations annually combine visually attractive work with demanding installations of international quality.

The festival concept determined by its art council aims at the public and also experts. Owing to its support of new artworks, the SIGNAL Festival represents a respected platform also on an international level and it is a popular place to see new projects in the field of visual art.

For four days in October, the historical heart of Prague will be turned into a center of new technologies, amazing ideas, and unbound creativity. SIGNAL Festival will revive both well-known and hidden mysterious places of Prague with creations of renowned Czech and foreign audiovisual artists.

Signal Festival 

Kubelíkova 1548/27

Praha, Czech Republic

Contact 

LINK BOX

Signal

See on the map

The post SIGNAL Festival appeared first on Audiovisualcity.

Jean Poole is an audiovisual artist living and working in Melbourne, Australia.

His interests include real-time video, and the relationship between sound and image, especially in a performance context.

Recently this has emphasised exploring space and atmosphere through projection mapping, and multi-screen projections – for theatre, performance and installations.

He has performed and produced video material for various events, artists and festivals over the last decade, including gigs in most Australian capital cities as well as Istanbul, Barcelona, Berlin, Los Angeles, Porto, Rome, Jakarta and many cities in Mexico.

Contact

Website

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Vimeo | Youtube

The post Jean Poole appeared first on Audiovisualcity.