ROBOTS AND AVATARS – OUR COLLEAGUES AND PLAYMATES OF THE FUTURE
Interdisciplinary exibition
Maribor, Slovenia, October 5–30, 2012

Robots and avatars – our colleagues and playmates of the future is an interdisciplinary exhibition based on technological objects and extensions such as robots, avatars, virtual worlds, telepresence and real time presence in correlation to social creative places, cultural environments, interactive entertainment and play space. This interconnected framework of events comprises selected mobile exhibition artworks, workshop learning experiences, and artist interviews and discussions.

Opening – Friday, October 5, 2012:

2–4 pm performance
Martin Bricelj Baraga, Slavko Glamočanin / MoTA (SI): Public avatar, interactive social experiment; online
Venue: KIT KIBLA, Glavni trg 14, Maribor, Slovenia

8 pm Opening of the exhibition
Robots and avatars – our colleagues and playmates of the future
The exhibition presents a variety of immersive experiences – from unconventional approaches to social networks, re-defining and exploring their influences and dead ends, through virtual worlds rendered into pixels through the act of touch, collaborative landscapes stretching beyond the confines of popular gaming, to electro-acoustic biological extensions, wearable technologies and interactive robotic elements that affect and try to define us, to seemingly ordinary, human behavior imitating robots.
Exhibiting artists:
Louis Philippe Demers/Processing Plant (CA, DE): The Blind Robot; Ruairi Glynn / Motive Colloquies (UK): Sociable Assymetry; Michael Takeo Magruder, Drew Baker, Erik Fleming, David Steele (UK): Visions of Our Communal Dreams; Niki Passath (AT): ZOE; Mey Lean Kronemann (DE): lumiBots; Sašo Sedlaček (SI): Beggar 1.0; Andre Almeida, Gonçalo Lopes, Francisco Dias, Guilherme Martins (PT): NAVI; Marco Donnarumma (UK): Music for flesh II; Martin Bricelj Baraga, Slavko Glamočanin / MoTA (SI): Public avatar, Martin Bricelj Baraga (SI): RoboVox; Aymeric Mansoux, Dave Griffiths, Marloes de Valk (FR, UK, NL): Naked on Pluto; Salvatore Iaconesi, Oriana Persico / Art is Open Source (IT): The Electronic Man; Matthieu Cherubini (CH): rep.licants.org; Martin Hans Schmitt (DE): Robot world
Venues: Multimedia Centre KIBLA, Ulica kneza Koclja 9 (entrance from Svetozarevska street)
and KIT KIBLA, Glavni trg 14, Maribor, Slovenia

9 pm Opening performance
Marco Donnarumma (UK): Music for flesh II
Venue: KIT KIBLA, Glavni trg 14, Maribor, Slovenia
After: social gathering/open communication between artists and audience

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October 8–30, 2012
Guided tours from Monday to Friday each full hour from 9 am till 4 pm, on Saturday by appointement -  by Maja Vuksanovič – Pardeilhan
Multimedia Centre KIBLA, Ulica kneza Koclja 9, entrance from Svetozarevska street, Maribor, Slovenia
KIT KIBLA, Glavni trg 14, Maribor, Slovenia

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Debate Robots and Avatars No. 1:
Ethics and Behaviours – of robots and avatars in real world usage
Friday, October 5, 2012, 6–8 pm

Introduction and moderation: Ghislaine Boddington (body>data>space)
Artists’ input to a specific question about ethics and behaviours in relationship to their work in the exhibition and how they see this relating to the “real world” evolving around us: Mey Lean Kronnermann, Michael Takeo Magruder, Niki Passath, Martin Hans Schmitt, Martin Bricelj Baraga
Experts overview/comments: Jože Slaček, Istvan Szakats, Peter Tomaž Dobrila
Venue: Multimedia Centre KIBLA, Ulica kneza Koclja 9, entrance from Svetozarevska street, Maribor, Slovenia

Debate Robots and Avatars No. 2:
Artificial Intelligence – evolutions in robotics and virtual worlds
Saturday, October 6, 2012, 7–9 pm

Introduction and moderation: Ghislaine Boddington (body>data>space)
Context set-up/ present situation on AI/slide show: Noel Sharkey, Professor of AI and Robotics at the University of Sheffield.
Artists’ inputs on AI in relationship to their work in the exhibition; how they see this relating to the “real world” evolving around us and where will AI be in these worlds of representation 10 years from now: Louis Philippe Demers, Drew Baker, Marco Donnarumma, Ruairi Glyn
Experts: Istvan Szakats, Peter Tomaž Dobrila, Cameron Bobro, Denis Savkić
Venue: Multimedia Centre KIBLA, Ulica kneza Koclja 9, entrance from Svetozarevska street, Maribor, Slovenia

Workshop: Visions of Our Communal Dreams
Mentors: Michael Takeo Magruder and Drew Baker
Date: from 2nd till 4th of October 2012, from 3pm till 7pm
Location KIT KIBLA, Glavni trg 14, Maribor, Slovenia

Workshop concept
The Visions of Our Communal Dreams workshop will give participants the opportunity to learn various digital media skills and processes that are related to working within shared virtual environments like Second Life and OpenSimulator. During the 3-day event, participants will use their newly learned skills to collaborate with members of the Visions of Our Communal Dreams creative team to develop resources for the artwork’s communal virtual forest. These collaborative outcomes will be integrated into the Visions of Our Communal Dreams art installation in the Robots & Avatars exhibition at MMC KIBLA.

More information about the workshop:
Tanja Grosman
e-mail: tanja.grosman@kibla.org
phone: 059 076 371
gsm: 031 682 579

Registration of participants:
Brigita Galun
e-mail: galun.brigita@kibla.org
phone: 059 076 371
gsm: 031 457 975

The workshops will focus on teaching participants digital content creation skills concerning avatars and virtual worlds that will include:
– virtual body creation
– avatar navigation
– in-world communication (text, voice and gestures)
– real-time 3D building
– texturing 3D objects
– in-world scripting

Additionally, participants will be taught social networking and communication methodologies that enhance collaborative experiences and group practice within shared virtual environments.

Over the course of the workshop, participants will:
– gain an understanding of the histories, technologies and potentials of avatars and virtual worlds
– learn digital media skills and methodologies concerning avatar and virtual world content creation
– use their newly acquired skills to create within a shared virtual environment
– develop strategies for avatar communication and collaboration within virtual environments
– consider the future impact of avatars and virtual worlds on their lives

The required skills for participants are:
1. general computer knowledge (i.e. using computers on a regular basis is a must)
2. desire to use virtual worlds (i.e. we want to teach people who want to participate and use this kind of technology)
3. English language.

Very beneficial skills for participants are:
1. any experience in using or creating in Second Life or OpenSimulator
2. good at using Photoshop or another image manipulation software (important for texturing 3D objects)

Computer equipment and software:
It is highly recomended that each participant brings his/her own personal computer / laptop.

It is also highly recomended that each participant creates a free user account on OSGrid and installs the free open source virtual world browser Phoenix Viewer. Easy to follow instructions are available via the Visions of Our Communal Dreams: Virtual Participation Setup Guide which is available here:
http://www.takeo.org/nspace/sl008/VOCD_virtual-participation-guide_v1.0.pdf

Biography
Michael Takeo Magruder (b. 1974, US/UK) is an internationally recognised visual artist and researcher based in the Department of Digital Humanities, King’s College London who works with digital and new media including real-time data, immersive environments, mobile devices and virtual worlds. His practice explores concepts ranging from media criticism and aesthetic journalism to digital formalism and computational aesthetics, deploying Information Age technologies and systems to examine our networked, media-rich world.
In the last ten years, Michael’s projects have been showcased in over 200 exhibitions in 30 countries. His research focuses on the intersections between contemporary art, emerging technology and interdisciplinary practice, and his writings have been widely published. In 2010, Michael was selected to represent the UK at Manifesta 8: the European Biennial of Contemporary Art and several of his most well-known digital artworks were added to the Rose Goldsen Archive of New Media Art at Cornell University.
Website:
http://www.takeo.org

Drew Baker (b. 1968, UK) is a Research Fellow within the Department of Digital Humanities, Kings College London. One of the founding members of the King’s Visualisation Lab he has worked in the field of 3D visualisation and interpretation of archaeology and history since 1997. He specialises in the use of 3D systems, employing technologies ranging from interactive web-based platforms like VRML and Unity3D to shared virtual environments such as Second Life and OpenSimulator. His primary areas of interest concern developing real-time 3D environments that transform consumers of humanities scholarship into active participants and researching issues surrounding the long-term preservation of digital cultural heritage.
Website:
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/ddh/people/research/baker/index.aspx

Workshop concept
The Klackerlake (clack roach) is an invasive species: A crossbreed of vibrobot and LED-Throwie, a rattling and glowing bug. In this workshop, children (and grown-ups) learn how to build their own solderless glowing vibrobot. No previous knowledge is needed. Participants first explore how LEDs and motors work, and can then build their own designs.

This workshop is suitable for children age 8 or older (younger children might be able to participate with some assistance). Children under age 12 should bring their parents. The workshop will be held in English with Slovene translation.
Videopresentation of workshop:
http://meyleankronemann.de/klackerlaken/

Duration: 2 hours
Maximum number of participants: 30

Biography
Mey Lean Kronemann is an artist, hacker and researcher from Berlin, who explores the topic of emergence, swarm behaviour, and how interaction and rules generate complex structures. Mey defines emergent interactive installations as an advanced form of generative design/art.
Mey has presented and exhibited her works at several media art festivals including lab.30, Piksel, and LiWoLi, and international conferences including DIS, ICRA, and technarte. Her works were awarded by Digital Sparks (Honorary Mention for schuechterne lichter, 2008), Japan Media Arts Festival (Jury Selection Work for lumiBots, 2011) and Art of Engineering (Prize award for lumiBots, 2012).
Mey Lean Kronemann (born 1982) has studied Interaction Design in Malmö, Sweden, and Product Design and Interface Design in Potsdam, Germany, where she graduated in 2009. In 2010, she was a research fellow at Potsdam University of Applied Sciences.
Website:
http://meyleankronemann.de

More information about the workshop:
Tanja Grosman
e-mail: tanja.grosman@kibla.org
phone: 059 076 371
gsm: 031 682 579

Registration of participants:
Brigita Galun
e-mail: galun.brigita@kibla.org
phone: 059 076 371
gsm: 031 457 975