for humanisation of technology
NETWORK OF ART RESEARCH AND CULTURE CENTERS mcruk.si
NETWORK OF ART RESEARCH AND CULTURE CENTERS
Koper - Trbovlje - Maribor
RUK is a Slovenian and European network of art research and culture centers operating at the intersection of art, science and technology. This interdisciplinary triangle is a platform for developing innovative products and services for a humane technology of the future.
RUK is a network of creatives and organizations connecting art to scientific disciplines. Our ideas focus on humanizing technology and fostering technological systems to support humans as co-creators in the arts, culture, the natural environment, architecture and urbanism. Our innovative products shatter the one-dimensional goals of market growth. RUK’s primary mission is to create bridges between natural and social sciences in areas such as information and communication technologies, virtual, augmented and mixed realities, robotics, biotechnology and nanotechnology. Non-linearity and processuality reveal new possibilities for production practices in the economy as well. The project’s goal is to integrate arts and culture into scientific and technological research, development and innovation, digitalization, entrepreneurship, training and education, with an emphasis on the humanities and social sciences, ecology, circular economy and sustainable development. The creation of links between domestic stakeholders and the promotion of breakthroughs in the field of integrated new products and services will enable the design and implementation of complex new development projects.
DDT.lab
Trbovlje, Slovenia
http://dd-trbovlje.si
is a research lab operating in the fields of cybernetics, virtualization, BCI systems, and robotics. DDT.lab enables regional, national, and international connectivity. As part of social innovation for smart factories, demands for the humanization of technology are being placed through robotization. Robotization is one of the key directions of progress at the onset of the 21st century. Advancements in this field are moving towards increasing autonomy, flexibility, and sustainability. Thus, a modern-day “machine” is not only intended for a mechanic performance of a single function, but is becoming an increasingly independent agent, designed to solve complex problems faced by the individual, the economy, the society, and mankind. The development of robotics thus actually refers to advancements in human-robot interfaces, i.e., artificial intelligence. BRAIN LAB Handwriting with the use of brain signals Spherical robot control with the use of brain signals Brain-computer interfaces (BCI) are devices that were initially developed in the field of biomedicine. Biomedical applications of BCI have facilitated restoring the movement ability for physically challenged or locked-in users and replacing lost motor functionality. Through the use of BCI, we develop computer systems for capturing brain signals, analyzing them and converting them into commands which are passed on to an output device to finally carry out a desired action. At the same time, our efforts are focused on educating the general public about the capacity and plasticity of the brain based on latest research in the fields of neuroscience and the arts. VR LAB Demo: Sensory integration manipulation through VR tools The goal of the VR Lab experience is to gain basic knowledge of the neurophysiology of the human body. Participants will learn that the human brain is constantly adapting its functioning to various external stimuli. The ability of the brain to create new neural pathways based on new experiences confirms the fact that the human brain is a highly plastic organ. Participants will learn about the concept and importance of sensory integration, which is responsible for the smooth flow of information in the brain. Sensory integration is a neurological process that helps us properly utilize the body in its interaction with the environment. The body organizes sensory information and stimuli that a person receives from the environment through various sensory systems: tactile (touch), visual (sight), auditory (hearing), olfactory (smell), proprioceptive (pressure, temperature, vibration), vestibular (position and motion in space). Participants will gain this knowledge by learning about scientific and artistic experiments that deal with manipulations of sensory integration (manipulation of visual, haptic and tactile stimuli), using VR technologies. Demo: Virtual worlds experience __________________________________________________________ Trainings with the goal of democratizing scientific achievements, arts and technology, will also take place as part of our production.
Head of laboratory: Maša Jazbec
festival Speculum Artium http://speculumartium.si
Modern art has ended up in a grid of partial knowledge and interests, an uncompromising dictate of the post-capitalistic mindset and capital. Somehow, it has slipped away from the hold of poets – explorers. Speculum Artium builds upon previous festivals and their organization structure. The Speculum Artium Festival will present productions emerging from the very structure of new media art practices in the world: - synthesis of artistic and scientific principles, - socialization of new media production, - establishing a dialog between traditional visual and new media practices, - revitalization of degraded social spaces trough new media practices.
PiNALAB https://www.pina.si
Koper, Slovenia
is a meeting space, a place of collaboration between different stakeholders, designed to ensure sustainable experimentation as well as product and service prototyping at the crossroads between creative industries and the economy, with an emphasis on virtual and augmented reality. The PiNALAB is the first of its kind in Istria. Divided into two levels, the PiNALAB will primarily enable the basic prototyping of potential products and services. The space will be furnished with modern equipment for 3D modeling, scanning and printing, material processing, programming, electronic circuit production and testing, production of complex mechanic tools, as well as a basic woodworking and metal workshop, etc. At the second level, it will pursue the idea of “augmented experience”, through experimentation in the field of virtual and augmented reality and state-of-the-art multimedia presentation practices. PiNALAB’s basic principle will be the enhancement of human senses and the creation of targeted experience with a focus on social innovation, tourism, and education. Through the use of technology, knowledge and stakeholder networking, PiNALAB will generate progress in the following fields of innovation: - presentation practices in natural and cultural heritage, - educational tools and methodologies, - multimedia experiences for mass events, and - tools and methods for active participation in the field of social development. Head of laboratory: Marko Vivoda
festival IZIS http://stara.pina.si/izis-7-invazija/
In its past editions, with the goal of infiltrating intermedia art into the programs of venues in Slovene Istria, the festival has successfully navigated between reluctance and rebellion, between institutionalization and guerrilla. The group of artists and cultural producers who launched it is forging an alliance with the galleries of the Slovene Coast and placing the Monfort exhibition grounds at the center of interest. IZIS regularly presents works produced by authors/ members of PiNA Koper, and at the same time provides an exhibition space for other central producers of Slovene intermedia art.
Mark Farid: Seeing I
KIBLA2LAB www.kibla.org
Maribor, Slovenia
KIBLA (=cybernetic laboratory) was established in 1996 as the first cyber point in the city of Maribor. In that time, DTP KIBLA was set up as a digital lab for desktop publishing, audio-visual archives and promotional actions. Currently, a new KIBLA2LAB is being created at KIBLA PORTAL, an interdisciplinary lab that will join together complementary fields with a broad social focus, operating towards the digitalization of natural, cultural and industrial heritage, the arts, and the creative well-being of Maribor’s citizens. 1. KIBLA2LAB aims to democratize access to technology, critically keep up with technological developments, and promote democratic processes and critical reflections related to technology. Our society is becoming increasingly dependent on technology at a fast pace. As the human capacity to understand grows deeper and quicker, people are getting better at comprehending reality, and influencing it. Household machines, toilets, thermostats, and even personal care items are becoming digitally connected to the internet. It is important to provide open, transparent and inclusive processes that are relevant to all stakeholders. KIBLA2LAB focuses on global networks, data packages, digital statistics, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and development towards an ethic of emerging technologies, models and algorithms. We work towards an inclusive society, living culture improvement, intergenerational symbiosis, equality, employment, and active citizenship. 2. KIBLA2LAB is about digitalization of natural, cultural and industrial heritage and the arts; a working space based on storytelling, where people are free to deal with objects and their representations. In order to enhance the cultural impact of heritage and the arts, they need to be connected to the modern-day social context, so that we can change the perception of heritage and the arts as an up-to-date identity, social connectedness, and creativity. We will develop interactive installations, applications and methods, with the aim of increasing the visibility of local, regional, national, global, and interplanetary spaces. In technical terms, some of our VR products include: 3D models, laser scanning of interiors and exteriors, online VR, real-time mapping, VR navigation, etc. 3. Creative well-being is related to providing contents concerned with radical changes in our attitudes towards the body, nutrition, health care, birth, ageing, and dying. KIBLA2LAB will develop methods connecting pharmacy, alternative methods, health care and citizens’ needs; give voice to vulnerable social groups, and develop speculative and practical applications. We strive towards connecting a large number of organizations and innovators into an international network. Artists, designers, scientists and hackers are involved in projects that also include the participation of the public.
festival
http://www.kibla.org/festivali/kiblix/
KIBLIX is an open-code festival connecting art, technology and science. Since its first edition in 2002, KIBLIX has been primarily addressing two issues: the impact of science and technology on the social life of the individual, and an in-depth research into the secrets of science, which holds the key to our future. Both topics are attempting to provide solutions for bridging the powerlessness of the individual in contemporary society. KIBLIX addresses a wide set of target audiences: elementary school, high school and university students, researchers, all those working in culture and the arts, IT and computer science experts and enthusiasts, pensioners and active citizens, etc. The list of artists who have participated in one of the KIBLIX festival editions points to centers of power in interdisciplinarity and connectivity at the European and global level; it also proves that the scientific and artistic production in Slovenia is catching up to the European. Statistics show that, given its population size, Slovenia is at the very top in the field of interdisciplinarity in Europe. In this sense, there is an attitude developing in the wider Slovenian space, mostly on behalf of university professors, researchers, students, i.e., in education system structures, among scientists and IT experts –in relation to those artistic segments that are concerned with understanding the present and developing the future.
RUK Network of Art Research and Culture Centers DDT, Trbovlje ACE PiNA, Koper ACE KIBLA, Maribor RUK Seat: Institute for Culture Delavski Dom Trbovlje Trg svobode 11a 1420 Trbovlje Slovenia
Editorship: Aleksandra Kostič, Živa Kleindienst Translation and Proofreading: Helena Fošnjar, Cameron Bobro Design: Sabina Vukalić Publisher: ACE KIBLA, Maribor, Slovenia Represented by: Aleksandra Kostič, president ACE KIBLA Front Cover: DDT.lab archive Print: Demago, d. o. o. Print run: 100 copies Printed in Slovenia 2020 Photographs © DDT, ACE PiNA, ACE KIBLA and authors
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NETWORK OF ART RESEARCH AND CULTURE CENTERS