omg streaming has been really chill! I figured out my setup and feel ready to have a regular schedule. so here it is!
creative blocks will be things like: traditional art-making, physical computing, creative coding, etc. gaming will be mostly stuff like playing through indie and art experiences, with an eye towards talking about how they are made, but sometimes also just playing Animal Crossing or w/e. I am also gonna plan out one learning/tutorial session per week, plus will do a chat session Saturday mornings for stuff like unboxing materials, reviewing art books/zines, gossiping about tech and art, etc.
the first tutorial session next weekend will be on making a magical girl transformation experience for the web! if u wanna play w/ some rad javascript libraries for web-based 3D and hand-tracking, please tune in!
you can follow my channel here and sign up for alerts to get notifications when a stream is about to start! sessions will be archived on Twitch so if u miss a stream, u can always replay it later.
resource roundup!
Helen Leigh has been tweeting out some rad little pro tips lately, like this one on working with wire in wearables. she’s worth a follow!
this looks rad: beluga is an open-source software for creating your own ecommerce site! it’s built with React + Node.js and uses Stripe for payment processing. if you’re feeling a bit DIY this might be a nice alternative to relying on something like Squarespace, WooCommerce or Shopify (lol barf) for selling ur wares online.
random numbers! I use random numbers often in creative projects to help make experiences and animations feel spontaneous or “natural.” this post by Safia Abdalla digs a little deeper than just dropping a Math.random() into ur function. worth a read!
Unity and Oculus have a free, intermediate level VR course with 20 hours of content. it’s free so, why not! you can check out the curriculum and take the course here.
lately I have been digging Lana Lux on Twitch. she’s a game dev who works in Unity using C# and Maya, and live streams her work on 2 games, Birth to Death and Call of the Void, just about daily. her channel has a very chill, productive vibe, and, as someone who works from home, it’s nice to tune in on someone else’s creative process and catch a little of how they do what they do.
and… some more twitter love for this reference diagram by Adelle Lin on creating aesthetic layers in eagleCAD:
opportunities!
(omg so many new things this week! you should apply to something!!!)
in memory of creative coder Zachary Wilson, Gray Area will award a $5k grant and dedicated desk space in their Artist Incubator to one promising young artist/technologist on Pi Day. this could be you! what a lovely way to honor the tragic loss of a community member. applications are due by March 1. you can learn more and apply here.
!!Con has an open call for talk proposals:
What’s an idea that delights you? Did you learn something surprising recently? Is there a tool you love that you’ve been telling everyone about? Did you do something with computers that seems impossible or amazing or just really fun? Please take this call for talk proposals as an invitation to meditate on what you love about computing, and then submit a talk about one of those things!
this sounds pretty open and welcoming to creative interpretation, so it’s worth writing up that weird idea you’ve been kicking around and sending it in. proposals are due by March 1 and you can learn more and submit here.
LACMA’s Art + Technology lab is accepting proposals for artist projects with awards of up to $50k + museum support. big bucks! you’re encouraged to pursue new directions in your work and explore technology and culture. prior technological experience is not a must – just an interest in exploring a new trajectory in your work with technology! you can learn more and apply here by February 25. that’s tomorrow!!!!!!
Control Shift is a new arts program coming to Bristol in June 2020 exploring creative and critical approaches to technology. they’re seeking artworks, workshops, and provocations:
How could we conceive of new possibilities beyond neoliberal versions of computing? What might happen if there was more space for poetic or tactile engagements with the digital? Can we reconsider our connections, responsibilities and embodied entanglements with technology?
you can learn more and apply by March 15 here.
the “Geographies of AI” program is inviting residency applications from artists and researchers who wish to engage in an artistic ethnography on forms of AI and their impact on subjectivity, bodies, time and urban space. they’re looking for proposals that question the boundaries between data science, urban design and art and propose new ways of existing within algo-mediated environments. you can learn more and apply by March 2 here.
GAME ENGINES BEYOND GAMES is a one-day symposium that will bring together artists, curators and scholars to explore the expanded concept of game engines. they’re looking for 20-minute presentations from artists, scholars, and curators working on these themes. applications are due TODAY. learn more and submit here.
the California State Arts Council recently released a new grant opportunity, Innovations & Intersections, which includes a category for Arts & Technology. applicants must either be a California-based nonprofit arts organization, arts-based unit of municipal or county government, or tribal government. applications are due by April 14! learn more here.
? upcoming events!
Weds Feb 26! Centre Pompidou! Paris, France: this free event will have a bunch of artists (Robbie Barrat, Ronan Barrot, Mario Klingemann, Yang Lu, Jonas Lund, Stéphane Mallat, and Anna Ridler) in a panel discussion about art and AI. the program will also be broadcast on Ircam’s youtube channel, so you don’t have to worry about missing it if you’re far away. some of Ircam’s previous videos have English subtitles, and I would bet on English being the lingua franca of this event based on the artist list. you can learn more here.
Thu Feb 27! Supplyframe/Hackaday SF! San Francisco, CA USA: the Hardware Didactic Galactic is back with a special event in collaboration with Hardware Happy Hour! you can learn more and RSVP here.
Fri Mar 13! NYU School of Law! NYC, NY USA: this year is the 10th anniversary edition of the Open Hardware Summit, and friend-of-the-newsletter and all-around wonder woman Sophi Kravitz will give the keynote! you can learn more on the summit here and get your tickets here. they just announced the full schedule, so check the lineup and get amped!
Mar 19-20! LIMA Amsterdam! Amsterdam, Netherlands: Transformation Digital Art 2020 aims to show and discuss excising and new strategies for the documentation, transmission, and preservation of digital art for and by artists, curators and conservators. you can learn more and register here.
Mar 19-21! Barcelona, Spain: IAM Weekend 2020 is a call for organizations, designers, and citizens shaping and participating in the digital economy:
With this theme we aim to explore from diverse perspectives how organisations from private, public, academic, cultural and civic sectors can use a set of 5 key values to design tools and redesign systems, and collectively propose alternative ways to rethink how humans relate with EVERYTHING** in the next ten years (and beyond).
looks like an interesting lineup with some great workshop titles (ex., “Internet Death Support Tools,” “Make Data Small Again,” “Unleadership,” etc. ). you can learn more and register here.
Mar 27-29! Gray Area! San Francisco, CA USA: Algorithmic Art Assembly is back for a second year! this 2-day conference and music festival will showcase diverse artists using algorithmic tools and processes in their work. early bird passes are on sale now – you can learn more and get tix here.
Apr 24 – 26! Brooklyn Research! Brooklyn, NY USA: Brooklyn Research is hosting an arcade jam this April and challenge attendees to gather and make games on a secret TBA theme. beginners are 100% welcome, and you’re encouraged to have a pretty broad concept of what can be an arcade game. the jam will be followed by a playtest night on the Sunday with pizza and drinks! sounds like a rad weekend. you can get tix for the jam here and the playtest night here.
just for lulz!
can JAM Project make anything awesome? clearly yes:
*~housekeeping~*
if you have anything in the works that you are excited about (an event, a workshop, a new project), please send me all the details. the next newsletter will cover the week of March 2 – 8, but I’m happy to promote events further in the future as well and keep them on the calendar.
also re: the residency! I have had a lot going on personally, and have set aside reviewing submissions and publishing residencies as my White Page Gallery until the end of this month. I hope you all understand! I want to do a good job with supporting the work, and just have been drained and need to recollect my focus. stay tuned! and if you have a project to submit, please feel free to continue to send things my way.
