RESPOND!!! Network Exchange
Wednesday 2nd to Saturday 5th April 2003
Cambridge
Future Physical/The Junction/CUMIS

RESPOND is a cutting-edge programme of cultural events and discussions exploring the blurry edge between physical and virtual space. RESPOND presents a programme of public events in venues throughout Cambridge.

You will encounter astonishing artworks where you least expect them and many need YOU to activate them!

An adventure for people of all ages, these events highlight a diverse range of responsive environments being developed today for tomorrow’s world. This is an unprecedented opportunity to find out how data, spaces and human bodies co-exist and interact, giving a glimpse of future environments for play, living, relaxation, social connection, learning and work.

At the heart of RESPOND is the InterChange, three days of debate for those with an active interest or specialisation in performance, design, architecture, video, film, visual arts, computer science, digital media and gaming.

RESPOND is a co-production between Future Physical (shinkansen/East England Arts) and The Junction in association with CUMIS.

RESPOND features as the last in a series of four Network Exchanges produced as part of the Future Physical programme September 2002 to April 2003. RESPOND culminates the four research strands of Future Physical and draws on shinkansen’s research into touch, intimacy and presence, The Junction’s Smart Space research programme and the work of CUMIS in the evolution of intelligent moving image architecture.

Cambridge, April 2003

The Respond Network Exchange presents a number of commissions as presentations, performances, exhibitions, process demos and installations.

whisper
wednesday 2 – saturday 5 april | cambridge drama centre

* * * full RESPOND calendar * * *

RESPOND InterChange
wednesday 2 – friday 4 april
babbage lecture theatre
Cambridge University

An interchange for specialists and those with an active interest in the themes of: BODY, DATA and SPACE

For registered participants only, the RESPOND InterChange offers four days of research, debate and practice around the theme.

• Working groups and presentations of research and process by commissioned artists.
• Guest inputs including Christa Sommerer, Marcos Novak & Paul Sermon.
• Lines of enquiry include Re-Imaging Space, Touch, Intimacy and Presence, The Creative User and New Consciousness plus the additional theme of practice-based research in higher education.

InterChange registrations open from 10th February 2002.
CLICK HERE FROM INFORMATION ABOUT ACTIVITIES RATES & HOW TO SIGN UP!

whisper
participatory installation
Thecla Schiphorst/Suzan Kozel
Kristina Andersen/Julie Tolmie
Norm Jaffe/Sang Mah
Andruid Kerne/Jan Ekke
Rob Lovell/Laetitia Sonami (CANADA)

wednesday 2 – saturday 5 april 2003
cambridge drama centre

entry: free event (no booking required)
times: 12:00–14:30 & 17:00–19:30

whisper is a participatory installation based on small wearable devices and intelligent garments that are linked to a network. These affectionate computing devices gather physical data and signals generated by the body, and respond to it. whisper rewrites the body as a networked ecosystem of data flows and information, visualising the invisible.

Up to six participants may enter whisper and put on the devices and intelligent garments. They can then experience, share, and interpret each other’s bio-data such as breathing, heartbeat and brainwaves. The participants’ proximity, movement and intention are made visible and audible by the network in an intimate and ironic way.

Here's an unprecedented opportunity to find out how humans, clothes and technology will coexist and interact in the near future. This participatory installation may push back boundaries and employ new technologies, but that doesn't mean it won't be fun.

At the heart of whisper, you will find linked, networked devices, designed to be worn on or near to the skin, which will gather various types of data from your body. Through cutting-edge techniques of visualisation and sonification, that data will be interpreted, and fed back to everybody else participating in whisper, bringing all manner of insights into the interior of the human body and how we interact with others.

The all-woman whisper team draws together some of the world's leading lights in dance improvisation, design, engineering and computer science, and gives everyone the chance to push back boundaries.
http://lab.v2.nl/projects/whisper.html

whisper is an acronym [wearable, handheld, intimate, sensory, personal, expectant, responsive system]

whisper has been produced with the support of V2, DEAF 03, Daniel Langois Foundation, B.C Arts Council, Canarie, Canada Council for the Arts, Future Physical (shinkansen/East England Arts) and The Junction.

related fp links>>
> Co-Production info

> WEAR ME! WEBCAST:
Thecla Schiphorst
keynote speech from
December 2002

> WEAR ME! ARTICLE:
Schiphorst gives
keynote speech from
December 2002

> of whisper @ RESPOND

Bookings Info

Please click here for a full venue listing.

JUNCTION BOX OFFICE
For booking RESPOND public events and installations
Tel: 01223 511 511 (Access, Visa, Switch)
Website: www.junction.co.uk
E-mail: bookings@junction.co.uk (enquiries only please)

FUTURE PHYSICAL
For booking RESPOND InterChange, Creative User Research Day and/or
Research/Practice//Research/Practice
Tel: 020 7357 0824
E-mail: interested@futurephysical.org (enquiries only please)
or click here

RESPOND Information Stations will be based at the Grafton Centre and The Junction from 2–6 April 2003.

RESPOND acknowledges the support of the host venues: arts picture house, cambridge drama centre, cb2 café, corpus christi playroom, grafton centre, homerton college, mumford theatre, sedgwick museum.

Participation

The Future Physical website provides an entry point to the programme online debate forums and details of the programme.

ACTIVATE: Register through the web site to join the Future Physical Community, and you will be kept informed of forthcoming Future Physical events.

ENGAGE: Join the online debate forum to engage in debates and air your views on body and technology.

EXCHANGE: Sign up for the InterChange gatherings for specialist exchange/debate within the series of Network Exchange Events.

Note: InterChange places are limited, please register early:

Open from 10th January 2003: RESPOND

Follow these links to discover the activities/outputs from previous Network Exchanges:-
WEARME!!! / BIO-TECH / ECO-TECH

Virtual Participation

If you cannot attend these exchange events physically, sign up for the online discussion groups and web casts and join in to and follow debate.

Check this website to keep up to date with events and activities: