Test_Lab: PLAY!

Test_Lab is a bimonthly public event hosted by V2_, Institute for the Unstable Media, that provides an informal setting for the demonstration, testing, presentation, and discussion of artistic research and development (aRt&D).

Test_Lab: PLAY! will feature a selection of the best European electronic-art graduation projects of 2007. The pieces have been selected according to originality and quality, and especially the way they use the concept of play - that is, the playfulness evoked by the work. At Test_Lab: PLAY! these projects will be demonstrated, tested, and discussed among makers, audience and experts.

Play as a form of social interaction has a rich tradition in various branches of the arts. But it was only recently that human-centered-technology designers realized play offered interesting new approaches and techniques for the development of their field. This brings them together with contemporary artists who explore play by experimenting with a wide range of (often wearable) human-machine interfacing technologies. Such experiments often combine a strong DIY attitude toward technology design with a desire to take advantage of people's naive or intuitive understanding of technology through play.

In Test_Lab: PLAY! the audience and participants will test and discuss the approaches and techniques used to implement play. They will also discuss the broader context of the demonstrated work.

Demonstrations:

    * Dobrze
      by Dorota Walentynowicz (Interfaculty Image and Sound, The Hague)
    * Block H.
      by Faith Denham (Goldsmiths, University of London)
    * CollecTic
      by Jonas Hielscher (Media Technology, Leiden University)
    * Wi-Fi Straitjacket
      by Gordan Savicic (University of Applied Arts Vienna)
    * Paraphernalia
      by Nancy Mauro-Flude (Piet Zwart Institute, Hogeschool Rotterdam)

Invited speakers:

Simon Jones (Human-Computer Studies, University of Amsterdam)

Dirk Paesmans and Joan Heemskerk (jodi.org)