Author: henriettaknight

Our Solar System Game

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Exploring our Solar System
There are eight planets in our Solar System, but hundreds of moons, thousands of asteroids, and even a few dwarf planets and comets too. Join Dr Natasha Stephen, Director of Plymouth Electron Microscopy Centre, and explore the Solar System, from our closest neighbour the Moon, to Mars, and beyond. Natasha will show you some real Moon and Mars rocks, and you might have the chance to see an asteroid too!
FUTURES2020 is funded by the European Commission under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions; delivered collaboratively by the University of Bath, Bath Spa University, University of Bristol, University of Exeter and the University of Plymouth.

Cutting together-apart: Transimage 2020

henriettaknight News
Cutting together-apart: Transimage 2020

Cutting together-apart: Creative and critical practices as agential cuts within digital economies

Date: 6 November 2020.

Stephen Loo / Warren Parry / Chris Speed / Mike Phillips / Pip Thornton / Andrew Dwyer / Birgitte Aga / Coral Manton.

 

 

Dark Eden Program

6.30 – 7.35 pm (7.30 – 8.35 am UK)

 

 

Session 5 (part 1) – Chaired by Mike Phillips (Plymouth)

Cutting together-apart: Creative and critical practices as agential cuts within digital economies

6.30 pm Presentation 1: Stephen Loo (Hobart?)

6.45 pm Presentation 2: Warren Parry (Sydney)

7.00 pm Presentation 3: Chris Speed (Edinburgh)

7.15 pm Discussion

7.35 – 7.50 pm Break

 

7.50 – 8:55 pm (8.50 – 9.55 am UK)

 

 

Session 5 (part 2) – Chaired by Chris Speed

Cutting together-apart: Creative and critical practices as agential cuts within digital economies

7.50 pm Presentation 4: Mike Phillips (Plymouth)

8.05 pm Presentation 5: Pip Thornton and Andrew Dwyer (Edinburgh)

8.20 pm Presentation 6: Birgitte Aga and Coral Manton (Plymouth?)

8.35 pm Discussion 8.55 pm

Action at a Distance

henriettaknight Remote

Fernwirkung*.

The Action at a Distance (Fernwirkung) series of research presentations embraces the telematic opportunities of the pandemic-social-distance and brings a range of international presenters entangled in the landscape of i-DAT’s research. Far away so close, this superposition will deliver some action at a distance.

i-DAT’s underpinning research concerns making ‘data’ palpable, tangible and accessible. It involves creating new experiences through the design and construction of networked, sensing and intelligent ‘things’ and software.
Digital Practice is central to exploring the significance that data, its harvesting, processing and manifestation, can play in contemporary culture.
The research is collaborative and participatory at its core, engaging audiences and communities and cultivating a rich transdisciplinary approach through collaborations across the arts and sciences.
Quorum – Cultural Computation / Small-Faraway / Behaviourables & Futuribles* / Interactive & Immersive Environments / Ludic Systems

The Action at a Distance sessions will normally be every other Wednesday afternoon beginning with #1: 11/11/2020 (13.30-14.30).

Future speakers include: Laura Beloff, Tegan Bristow, Keith Piper, Rebecca Sinker, Paul Thomas, Mark Waugh, ... watch this space.

Chronon:

Action at a Distance #1:

Professor Chris Speed.

Location: Zoom Link

Date: Wednesday 11/11/2020.

Time: 13.30-14.30.

Title: Keep Cutting.

Chris Speed introduces a design research project and trial with Oxfam Australia that places public donors to the charity within an economic relationship with earthquakes (amongst other humans and more than humans) that reveals issues of trust, presence and gambling. The public trial using iOS and Android apps that took place in Autumn 2019 revealed a series of tensions that emerge when personal economic transactions (the act of donating) become entangled within a network of social, environmental and temporal feedback loops. Interested in exploring the role of smart contracts across a blockchain that are sealed according to parameters set by the donor, for example: if there is an earthquake of greater than 5 on the Richter scale, in Asia, Oceania and Africa then release funds to the Oxfam Emergency Disaster Aid Programme, the trial also revealed a series of unexpected outcomes. It is these outcomes that are of interest to the author. The talk will outline the intentions of the design research project before exploring its affect as an ‘agential cut’ within the 86 participants who used the apps.

Prof Chris Speed is Chair of Design Informatics at University of Edinburgh where his research focuses upon the Network Society, Design for the Digital Economy, and The Internet of Things.

Action at a Distance #2:

Presenters: Mark Waugh and Ellie Porter

Location: Zoom Link

Date: 25/11/2020

Time: 13.00-14.00

Title: The Art360 Project

The Art360 project is based on principals of networked knowledge resources that can consolidate in material archives but are essentially ephemeral. These networks are understood to function like circuits between artists and groups of artists whose practises are in dialogue directly or indirectly due to the materials they work with;  their political sexual, geographic affinities and other strange attractors. These affinities might be understood as forces that have the capacity to create black holes in art history and radicalise what might otherwise be overlooked. Our presentation will look at questions of material in the archive and their status as information and artworks and how Art360 as a project has come to understand the volatile interface between the realms of analogue and digital artefacts. This session will be a preface to the later session with the pioneering artist Keith Piper who has produced hybrid aesthetic forms in diverse media including the now obsolete; Marco Media Director. WIKI Says; “Adobe Director (formerly Macromedia Director) was a multimedia application authoring platform created by Macromedia and managed by Adobe Systems until its discontinuation. Director was the primary editor on the Adobe Shockwave platform, which dominated the interactive multimedia product space during the 1990s.”

Ellie Porter is Head of Programme Art360 and has overseen the development of the Art360 Programme since 2017.

Mark Waugh is the ART360 Co-Artistic Director and Business Development Director of DACS.org.uk.

Action at a Distance #3:

Presenter: Dr Tegan Bristow

Location: Zoom Link

Date: 10/03/2021

Time: 14.00

Title: Fak’ugesi

Dr. Tegan Bristow is the Director of the Fak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival, Senior Lecturer in Interactive Digital Media at the Wits School of the Arts – with a specialisation on African Art, Culture and Technology and Editor in Chief and Digital Editor of the Ellipses Journal for Creative Research. Bristow is additionally a developer of interactive digital media in installation, performance, screen-based and online media.

In 2017 Bristow completed her PhD on Decoloniality and Actional Methodologies in Art and Cultural Practices in African Cultures of Technology, which she wrote with the Planetary Collegium at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Arts at Plymouth University in the U.K.

In Bristow’s Directorial role for Fak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival The Festival supports: VR / AR, Animation, Gaming, Critical Digital Arts Practices and questions of the digital in Creative Economies in Africa. Under Bristow’s directorship the Festival has grown into an internationally recognised IP that not only critically supports the development of culture and technology in Africa, but has become an important market place for new work with in these industries in the region.

In her role as Senior Lecturer at the Wits School of Arts, Bristow developed and ran the Masters in Interactive Media in the Digital Arts Department from 2007 to 2017. And further developed three programs in Internet Art, Creative Coding and Data Visualisation and most recently theory  in African Culture and Technology. In this period, Bristow has continued to supervise Masters research and more recently PhD’s in these areas.

As curator (outside of Fak’ugesi Festival) Bristow’s curatorial highlights include in 2018, Digital Imaginaries with Afro Pixel (Senegal), Wits Art Museum (South Africa) and the ZKM (Germany). In 2017, the 2nd Season of the Centre for the Less Good Idea.  In 2015, Post African Futures with the Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg.

Action at a Distance #4:

Presenter: TBC

Location: Zoom Link

Date: TBC

Time: TBC

Title: TBC

Action at a Distance #5:

Presenter: TBC

Location: Zoom Link

Date: TBC

Time: TBC

Title: TBC

Action at a Distance #6:

Presenter: TBC

Location: Zoom Link

Date: TBC

Time: TBC

Title: TBC

*The Born-Einstein letters: correspondence between Albert Einstein and Max and Hedwig Born from 1916–1955, with commentaries by Max Born. Macmillan. 1971. p. 158.

Blue Grindrod

henriettaknight i-DAT, Researcher

Blue Grindrod is a speculative designer, multimedia artist and researcher whose work deals primarily with the aesthetics of the future human body and human cultural practices. Rooted in queer theory, mythos and post- and trans-humanist philosophy, their design ethos is one of play, of craft, of DIY biological speculation that aims to provoke and question what it means to inhabit a body.

Part-performance art, part-installation, part-biology experiment gone wrong, their practice makes use of aesthetic prosthetic adornments in order to showcase new ways of being that seek to remove the inside/outside, us/them paradigms that mark the human being, as well as exploring facets of behaviour central to the human experience. Working with biomedical processes, 3D design softwares and prosthetic sculpting tools, Blue builds bodies for an alternate universe in which biotechnologies rather than electromagnetic systems are the dominant form of technological progress. Strange, uncanny, disturbing, yet also playful and beautiful, their work crosses boundaries in order to challenge preconceived notions of what a body can be, or what a body should be.

Adam Russel joins SWCTN Automation Prototype Grant

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Adam Russel joins SWCTN Automation Prototype Grant

i-DAT’s Adam Russell joins SWCTN Prototype Grant: AIM (Agroecological Information Model)

AIM is a prototype intelligent software tool for automating the design and ongoing management of human-scale agroe-cological food systems.

Agroecological systems (permaculture, forest gardening and other types of perennial horticulture) utilise plant and insect polycultures to generate biodiversity and soil fertility alongside the production of human food. Agroecology suits the creation of ‘edible urban landscapes’ and ‘food forests’. In conjunction with other forms of urban growing, edible urban landscaping can reduce food miles and a city’s overall carbon footprint as well as improve urban food sovereignty.

AUTOMATION PROTOTYPES:

We are looking to invest in prototypes that use creative technologies to deliver original immersive processes, experiences, products or services. The making phase will run through April, May, June with showcasing at the end of June 2019. We anticipate awarding grants of between £20k and £40k.

 

 

3D3 Open Research Residency at the Eden Project

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3D3 Open Research Residency at the Eden Project

Call for applications – The 3D3 Open Research Residency at the Eden Project.

This residency is only available to 3D3 researchers.

The 3D3 consortium in partnership with the Eden Project Cornwall are pleased to offer an opportunity for an ‘Open Research Residency’ at Eden for its 3D3 cohort (from groups and individual) to support and facilitate public engagement with research that aligns with Eden’s Curatorial Statement and one (or more) of the Arts Programme themes 2020-21.

This Residency offers a unique opportunity for 3D3 creative scholar-practitioners working at the forefront of a rapidly expanding research landscape of emergent technologies for the incubation of public engagement with research. The successful candidate/s will be offered a bursary of £4k (to include all fees, material, travel, accommodation and per diem costs) and access The Eden Project’s incredible resources and facilitates. It is expected that the successful candidate/s will spend minimum two week of the residency in situ at the Eden project (to be negotiated) and that it will involve activities which engage the public (the visitors to the Eden Project and / or their local communities) with their research. This may take form as talks, workshops, installations, performances and or other forms of engagement activities.

Please see attached documents for information and for the application form.

Application Deadline: 20th January 2020

Bethany Thomas

henriettaknight i-DAT, Researcher

Bethany Thomas is a young artist currently completing a Research Masters in i-DAT. Her practice focuses on portraiture and abstract expressionism. She often studies how life is perceived by individuals who cannot control their mind – aiming to portray mental illnesses. Everything in her work links back to control.

While her background is in painting and drawing, she has begun to produce digital and print works. Thomas has an interest in the history and philosophy of art – particularly influenced by the notion of original thought.

Thomas studies creativity through the lens of mythos, literary criticism, repetition and origin of thought. Her current research will examine the notion that human creativity emanates from a collective, structured and innate resource evidenced by storytelling. She is aiming to establish whether humans are, to some degree, pre-programmed and consequently whether human creativity is largely determined and predictable.

Website: https://bt3335.wixsite.com/artsite

Instagram: beththomasart

Email: Bethany.thomas@plymouth.ac.uk

Adam Russell

henriettaknight Core Team, i-DAT

Adam is a Lecturer in Computational Media Arts in i-DAT. He studied philosophy at Oxford and Artificial Intelligence at Sussex, then spent some years working in the videogames industry on the design and coding of simulated characters, where he became an authority on the tension between authored narrative and individual autonomy (of both player avatar and non-player characters). He began to move away from conventional videogames into more experimental practice with his award-winning interactive cinema feature Renga. This led to a breadth of work with VR headsets, skeletal and facial expression tracking, and visual programming environments such as VVVV, PD and Node-RED. Some recent work has dispensed with screens entirely, building an interactive control system for a 7-foot tall robotic figure, and constructing a new data model for nonlinear temporal markup. This range of work reflects a nomadic attitude, underpinned by philosophical concerns.

Associate Professor in Digital Media Design

henriettaknight News
Associate Professor in Digital Media Design

Associate Professor in Digital Media Design

Job reference: A6499

Application closing date: 16/06/2019

Location: Plymouth.

Salary£50,132 – £58,089 per annum, Grade 9.

Contract Type: Permanent, Full-Time Job, Academic/Research

Digital Media Design (formerly Digital Art and Technology) is a vibrant programme of awards in the School of Art, Design and Architecture, situated within the Faculty of Art & Humanities. It is part of the school of Art, Design and Architecture, which includes connected programmes of study at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. From September 2019, this will include connected Awards including BA/BSc (Hons) Digital Media Design, BA/BSc (Hons) Digital Design Innovation, BA (Hons) Game Arts and Design, BA (Hons) Immersive Media, to name a few.

Digital Media Design and Game Arts Design are now well established, the former (running for nearly twenty-five years as Media Lab Arts and more recently Digital Art and Technology) embedding the production of digital media and design within a framework of creative and experimental artistic practice. As an award, BA/BSc (Hons) Digital Media Design includes connected pathways of study – Game design, Interaction design, Information design and Live Media design with exciting new developments in planning.

Importantly, these Awards have relationships with high profile research groups in the School, in particular i-DAT (the Institute of Digital Art and Technology), an open research lab for playful experimentation with creative technology. They also have strong international connections with the Game Arts Design programme being delivered as a 3+1 at Nanjing University of the Arts. You will be expected to contribute to this TNE activity.

The position is based on the main University campus at the heart of the city of Plymouth. Course facilities include a unique 40 seat, 9m Full Dome digital projection environment and newly built Digital Fabrication and Immersive Media Labs on the ground floor of the Roland Levinsky Building.

We are seeking an Associate Professor to lead the programme of undergraduate study and the ongoing development of the connected named Awards working with Award leaders. You will contribute to practical and theoretical teaching and research in immersive media technologies, in particular game technologies and ludic strategies, virtual/augmented reality, digital art and experimental perception.

The position requires someone with academic critical skills combined with practical digital art & technology software, hardware and design experience. You will have substantial HE teaching experience, and will have the necessary technical skills to teach and research in the field of immersive media technologies and their application to art and design practice.

The post will also involve input at postgraduate level and you will contribute to the development and exploitation of digital media resources for research (PhD’s and post-doctoral) and innovation (commercialisation and public engagement) within the i-DAT research group. Importantly, this exciting position requires strong leadership moving forward.

You will hold a PhD (or have equivalent professional experience) in a relevant discipline and be able to demonstrate an established research track record and evolving profile appropriate to the role. Experience in supervising masters/doctoral students is desirable. We will also consider applicants with extensive practical or industrial experience in relevant areas.

Accountable to the Associate Head of School (Design) and working closely with the Award leads, you will have strong communication and presentation skills and be expected to lead in curriculum development and course management as required. Key aspects of the role include delivery of teaching/lectures, module leadership, supervision of practical and theoretical study, personal tutoring, assessment and feedback, maintaining quality of delivery as well as organisation of educational field trips/visits, visiting lectures, career spines, student work placements, student competitions and end of year shows as required.

You will be responsible for developing and maintaining good working relationships with all stakeholders in the University as well as in industry, to ensure the overall aims of programmes are met. Being highly motivated and an excellent communicator, you will actively contribute to aspects of a university academic position as well as contributing to external profile and recruitment events for the Awards and the School.

Every member of staff at University of Plymouth contributes to delivering the University’s mission to advance knowledge and transform lives through education and research.

At Plymouth, being an outstanding teacher involves being an outstanding scholar, so that delivery enhances the learning environment and contributes to a high-quality student experience. In this role, you will also enhance professional practice in the subject area as appropriate. You will ensure that innovations in learning practice are adopted and that methods of learning and delivery continuously develop, so that the University is at the forefront of teaching practice and innovation.

Recruitment and selection will be based on individual merit; however, we should particularly like to encourage applications from women, black and minority ethnic people who are under-represented in this area within University of Plymouth. Please include a PDF portfolio of practice with your application or a link to your personal website.

More information on the Awards can be found at:

https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/ba-digital-media-design

https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/ba-game-arts-and-design

https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/ba-immersive-media

Contact for informal discussion: Professor Chris Bennewith, Head of School – Art, Design and Architecture chris.bennewith@plymouth.ac.uk

This is a full-time position working 37 hours per week on a permanent basis.

Job Description

Teaching Qualifications and Recognition Policy

Apply Online

The University of Plymouth is committed to equality of opportunity, promoting a diverse and inclusive culture, demonstrated through our commitment to the gender equality Athena SWAN Charter and as a Stonewall diversity champion. All applications will be judged solely on merit, however, we particularly welcome applications from groups currently under-represented in the workforce, for example black and minority ethnic groups.

University of Plymouth holds a TEF (Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework) Silver by the Office for Students.

South West Creative Technology Network

henriettaknight Projects, Uncategorised
South West Creative Technology Network

[panel background=”#ffffff” color=”#000000″ border=”2px solid #b7b6b6″ shadow=”2px 0px 2px #eeeeee” radius=”10″ text_align=”left” target=”blank”]i-DAT is leading the University of Plymouth’s component of the South West Creative Technology Network (SWCTN).  The £6.5 million Research England funded project will expand the use of creative technologies across the South West of England through three one-year funded programmes around the themes of Immersion, Automation and Data.[/panel]

 

IMMERSION

AUTOMATION

DATA

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The project is developing a new, networked model of Knowledge Exchange for creative technologies innovation through a collaboration led by the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), in partnership with Watershed in Bristol, Kaleider in Exeter, Bath Spa University, the University of Plymouth and Falmouth University.

The grant is part of Research England’s Connecting Capabilities Fund, which supports university collaboration and encourages commercialisation for products made through partnership with industry.

 

The collaboration will invest in interdisciplinary R&D fellowships and prototype production across three challenge areas: Immersion, Automation and Data. Our focus on creative technology brings together arts, design, computer sciences, engineering and business development to deliver new products and services.

[/panel]

 

Fellowships

Fellowships are at the core of the South West Creative Technology Network. Each theme supports Industry, New Talent and Academic Fellowships. In addition, a number of Producer fellowships have been supported. Each cohort will run for twelve months and focus on one of three challenge areas: Immersion, Automation and Data. The For more information check out the SWCTN website…

Prototypes

Following this deep research phase, the partnership invests £240k in making prototypes in response to the research findings. The Prototypes are offered through an open call and Fellows are encouraged to bid for this prototype investment. The For more information check out the SWCTN website…

Showcasing

A series of Showcase events are held to share the outputs and findings of the Immersion, Automation and Data themes. The Fellowships and Prototypes are presented through these public events, demos, podcasts, conversations and publications to attract business investors and sharing across networks and sectors. For more information check out the SWCTN website…

Support

The South West Creative Technology Network is supported by focused Creative industries professional support for the region. This includes business investor, Legal Services, Accountancy Services and Intellectual Property advice and support. For more information check out the SWCTN website…

Grants

The South West Creative Technology Network offers a number of Small Grants (£1-2k) to members of the network to enable strategic interventions, proof of concepts, experiments and small productions. These small grants are offered by each of the partner organisations. For more information check out the SWCTN website…

Events

The South West Creative Technology Network generates and supports events across the region, from workshops, presentations exhibitions and professional services, these events form a regional backbone for dissemination across the region, nationally and internationally. For more information check out the SWCTN website…

Network

Let’s not forget the value of the network itself. Whilst each partner organisation provides a dynamic node of activity and support, the distributed network of individuals creating connections, interactions, sharings and exchanges is the substrate for innovations within the creative industries and creative practices into other sectors. For more information check out the SWCTN website…

SWCTN Team

The South West Creative Technology Network team are highly experienced in operating across the creative industries and overlapping sectors. The team is drawn from across the partner organisations, offering strengths in academic, research, producer, technology, business development and knowledge exchange support. For more information check out the SWCTN website…

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The process

 

 

[/panel] [testimonial name=”Professor Mike Phillips, Director of Research at i-DAT, University of Plymouth.” target=”blank” border=”yes”]“Digital technologies are transforming the way we work and play, and this collaborative initiative focuses on some of the most exciting aspects of this evolution. The use of Data to improve our understanding of complex problems, the ability to generate powerful immersive experiences and the insights generated by artificial intelligence provide completely new perspectives on the world. We look forward to focusing the wealth of research experience we have in these areas to nurture innovation across the region.”[/testimonial] [testimonial name=”Professor Jon Dovey, Professor of Screen Media at the Faculty of Arts, Creative Industries, and Education at UWE Bristol, SWCTN Project Director.” target=”blank” border=”yes”]“This project will bring together the best and the brightest researchers in creative arts, technology and design to work with companies old and new to show what new kinds of value can be unlocked by the application of creative technologies. We are going to be working with immersive media, processes of automation and the new availability of big data to support business to find new ways of working with their customers and our citizens. Watch this space for the amazing new products and services we invent in the next three years.”[/testimonial] [testimonial name=”Professor Tanya Krzywinska, project lead for Falmouth University.” target=”blank” border=”yes”]“Falmouth University is geared for digital creative innovation, so we are delighted to be part of this initiative. The creative economy provides one in 11 jobs and is one of the fastest growing sectors of the UK economy. Building on the region’s well-established digital expertise, this collaborative project offers real opportunities to deliver economic impact for the South West.”[/testimonial] [testimonial name=”Professor Kate Pullinger, Director of the Centre for Culture and Creative Industries at Bath Spa University.” target=”blank” border=”yes”]“The creative industries – from the smallest micro-businesses to the larger players – are a hugely important asset for our region and the UK as a whole, and this collaborative project is going to generate new opportunities which will transform how we engage with ideas and digital technology across the sector. We are delighted to be working with colleagues across the South West on a project which plays to our region’s world-leading strengths.”[/testimonial]