[spectre] SPACE AND PERCEPTION// SYMPOSIUM ON MIXED REALITY

[mara at camp.lv]

INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON MIXED REALITY
---- SPACE AND PERCEPTION ----
MAY 20th - 21st, RIXC MEDIA SPACE, /11. Novembra krastmala 35, Riga, Latvia/
*please see below for the programme and speakers

 The symposium will focus on new phenomenon of Mixed Reality
-- the environment generated by new technologies that contain significant
interaction possibilities in both virtual and physical spaces.
Artists, scientists, media researchers and technology experts will present their
creative discoveries, newest ideas, theories and researches that have taken
place in the fields related to space and perception.
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" During the last century the newest scientific theories and the researches in
the structures of micro (atom and quantum) and macro (the universe) seek to
expand the boundaries of the visible space. At the beginning of the 21st
century, when mobile media and wireless networks come into dominance - after
surfing in the virtual world the navigation in physical space acquired
importance. However nowadays in present reality we unavoidably interfere with
pervasive media, daily dividing the attention between the events in virtual
(m(edia) and physical (real) space. The merger of the digital and physical space
alters not only our perception of space but also the sense of the reality".
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Identifying the common in these different views on realities and perception of
space, the aim of the symposium discussions is to contextualise and to set up
the conceptual background for the development of emerging field of Mixed
Reality. It also intends to activate the collaborative potential of the
sciences, art, technology and other creative fields of contemporary society.

The conceptual background for the symposium is developed in collaboration with
the TRG - Trans Reality Generators team: FOAM (Belgium), TIMES UP (Austria),
and KIBLA (Slovenia). Through inviting participants from Nordic countries, and
being held in Riga and Latvia, this symposium also aims to highlight Nordic and
Baltic dimension in the emergent field of Mixed Reality and to promote
collaboration between various regions of Europe. Participating also are
eksperts from UK, Canada, Australia, The Netherlands, Croatia and
Colombia/Switzerland, thus the goal of the symposium discussions is to position
Mixed Reality as novel phenomena in broader (gloabal and local) cultural
contexts.
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PROGRAMME AND SPEAKERS

DAY 1, MAY 20 // 12.00 – 17.00
12.00-12.05 - Rasa Smite. Welcome
12.05-12.15 – Rob van Kranenburg. Overall intro  (5-10min.)
>Panel:MR1 + constructed realities (un/computable spaces)
12.15-12.40 (20-25 min.) Tim Boykett, media artist / Time’s Up / Linz/AT.
“Digital Physics and Emotional Godlets: Experience and Perception in
Protocognitive Mixed Realities”
12.40-13.00 (15-20 min.) Brigitta Zics, media artist / Ph.D. stud., The
University of Wales / UK-HU. „Mirror_SPACE”.
13.00-13.20 (20-25 min.) Maja Kuzmanovic, Evelina Kusaite, Nicholas Gaffney /
FoAM / BE. „Perilous universes and transient realities”.
13.20-13.30 - discussions
13.30-13.40 – coffee break
>Panel:MR2 + social interaction (public space in physical and virtual
environments)
13.40-14.10 (30 min.) Yon Visell, artist and physicist / Zero-Th / Pula/HR and
Karmen Franinovic, architect, artist and designer / Zero-Th / Pula/HR:
"Activating Space: From Representation to Being".
14.10-14.25 (15 min.) Margot Jacobs, interaction design researcher / Interactive
Institute, re:form studio / SE : “Public Play Spaces”.
14.25-14.40 (15 min.) Mirjam Struppek, urban planner and researcher /
Urban||ReseARTch / Berlin/DE : “New Urban Screens: Discovering the potential of
outdoor screens for urban society”.
14.40-14.50 (10-15 min.)  Robert Brečević, artist and filmmaker /
working with Interactive Institute / Share Studio / Stockholm/SE : „Reflections
of Me and You”.
14.50-15.00 (5-10 min.) Normunds Kozlovs, sociologist / Riga Stradins University
/ Riga/LV.“Transformation of public space; artist's role”.
FoAM / BE (5 min.) “
on the need for 'dislocative media'”
15.00-15.10 - panel discussions
15.10-15.40 - lunch break
>Panel:MR3 + responsive media space (immersive environments and reality games)
15.40-16.00 (20 min.) Sha Xin Wei, philosopher artist / sponge.org / Director,
Topological Media Lab / CA. “Experimental Phenomenology and the Poetics of
Performative Space”.
16.00-16.20 (15 min.) Steven Pickles, artist, programmer and free software
developer / AU-DE. “FIJUU” (http://www.fijuu.com/)
FoAM / BE (5-10 min.) „
on immersiveness (differentiating environments and
installations)”.
Peter Tomaz Dobrila (5-10 min.) / KIBLA / Maribor/SI. „
 on local feadback (TRG
at Kibla)”.
16.20-16.40 Perttu Hämäläinen, interaction designer/research scientist /
Helsinki University of Technology / FI.”Designing digital sports - a case of
mixed reality martial arts”.
16.40-17.00 – final discussions
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DAY 2, SATURDAY MAY 21  //  12.00 – 17.00
>Panel:MR4 + pervasive media (role of users in future applications)
12.00-12.20 (15-20 min.) Robert van Kranenburg, media theorist / Virtual
Platform / Amsterdam, NL : “Sleeping giants. The environment as dramatis
personae.”
12.20-12.40 (15-20 min) Geska Helena Andersson, Studio director of The
Trans-Reality Game Lab / Interactive Institute / Gotland University / Visby/SE
: “Play, performance, belief and the distrust of emerging “perversive” play”.
12.40-12.55 (15 min.) Alejo Duque, media artist /Colombia/Switzerland and Lorenz
Schori, musician / Zurich/CH "Jeztz Schemata. Open source mapping code" - tbc.
12.55-13.10 (15-20 min.) Laura Beloff, media artist / profesor, The Art Academy
in Oslo, NO.
 “/ART/PUBLIC/MOBILE/REALITY/SOCIAL/”.
13.10-13.20 – panel discussions
13.20-13.30 – coffee break
>Panel:MR5 + sonic environments (interfaces for synchronisation and spatial
organisation)
13.30-13.45 (15-20 min.) Voldemars Johansons, sound and performance artist /
student, Institute of Sonolog / Den Haag, NL / Riga, LV. „Pingsonik
Environment”.
13.45-13.55 (10 min.) Rasa Smite Riga/LV : “Transforming perception -- from
Acoustic.Space to Locative.Network -- from exploring non-linear acoustic
cyberspace to navigation in location based media territories”.
13.55-14.15 (20 min.) Jonas Runberger, architect and designer / Stockholm/SE and
Mikael Scherdin, media artist / BEOFF / Splintermind.com / Stockholm/SE :
“Streaming Architecture Projective Space”.
14.15-14.25 - discussions
14.25-15.00 – lunch break
>Panel:MR6 + language of Mixed Reality (mapping and navigation in-between real
and virtual)
15.00-15.20 (20 min.) Alkan Chipperfield, PhD stud., Cultural Anthropology at
the University of Adelaide, AU and Gent University / BE. “Towards an
anthropology of Mixed Reality”
15.20-15.35 (15 min.) Ilva Skulte, Dr., Department for Communication Studies,
Riga Stradins University / Riga/LV. “SpReading: the changing concepts of space
and language use”.
15.35-15.45 (10 min.) Tim Boykett / Time’s Up / Linz/AT. "SPIN, online projects,
representation and navigation".
15.45-16.00 – final discussions
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The symposium is organised by the RIXC Center for New Media Culture (Latvia) in
collaboration with FoAM (Belgium), Times Up (Austria) and Kibla (Slovenia) in
the framework of the EU programme Culture 2000 supported project “Transient
Reality Generator”.
Symposium is supported by: the Latvian Ministry of Culture, Nordic Culture Fund
and Latvian Cultural Capital Foundation.