Expanding creative computing: Beyond conceptual and national boundaries
This hybrid WG1/WG3 joint workshop will be dedicated to the boundaries of creative computing from two related perspectives: regional and conceptual:
- The first foregrounds regionality, taking the Mediterranean region, including North Africa, as one example. Beyond this, the workshop will explore the category of ‘regionality’ and its usefulness. The regional lens may bring to light trends and cross-border counter-currents that elude the national or Europe-wide view. Preservation efforts, research on regional scenes, and the identification of stakeholders will be discussed.
- The second perspective seeks to explore the conceptual boundaries of creative computing: what experiments, collaborations, narrative experiences, media art, or undefined spaces (such as chipcinema) are connected to creative computing and still under-researched?
By combining these two perspectives, the workshop will provide a space to explore the creation, distribution, and preservation of creative computing practices in regional spaces, separately or in dialogue with each other, especially in relation to cultural formats that have not been investigated before in the lifetime of the project.
In the spirit of GRADE and COST, the workshop especially welcomes Young Researchers and Innovators, participants from Inclusiveness Target Countries and from Near Neighbour Countries.
The results of the workshop should include adding a shared bibliography of references and updating the Zotero digital library, a conceptual map of connections, a list of formats and spaces of interest, and other information that could set future lines of research and work after the Action.
Compiling a summary of workshop insights into the state of the art of the regional research into creative computing practices from a regional perspective, showcasing the Mediterranean.
The summary will also revisit the current understanding of the blank spots related to borderline creative computing practices, and will be published as a pre-print in an open-access repository by the end of the GP4. This hybrid event will be streamed online and a recording will be made available on the Action’s website in the Virtual Library section.
Instructions for Participants
The workshop will consist of several 5-7-minute talks followed by lengthy sessions of group work. If you are interested in giving a talk, please send us a 100-word abstract by the 15th March, indicating in which section of the workshop it is to go (regional/conceptual). We
encourage participants to identify, introduce and describe examples of regional and/or conceptually liminal cases, and to use the talks to examine these case studies in more depth. The workshop will be an opportunity to gather and share some examples of good practice, which will also ground comparative discussion. We’d particularly welcome examples of regional practices of: preservation; creative uses of technology (such as ‘chipcinema’ or films made with gaming tech); media art; and other cross-media examples (challenging boundaries).
As general preparation for the workshop, please give some thought to the following guiding questions about your case study:
1. What are the key moments and elements of the history of creative computing in your country/region?
2. What preservation efforts (in creative computing, video games, or other) are there?
3. Do you have any formal or informal spaces worth mentioning (festivals, collectives, associations)? E.g. Rumxplora in Spain
4. Are these grassroot or commercial?
5. What are the key historical works that shaped creative computing in your country/region?
Schedule
8:30-09:00 Welcome Coffee
09:00-10.30 Workshop. Regionality: Presentations and discussion
10.30-11:00 Coffee break
11:00-13:00 Workshop. Conceptual boundaries: Presentations and discussion
13:00-15:00 Lunch
15:00-16:00 Working group meetings (parallel)
16:00-16:30 Summing up & Pending matters
Location
Valletta Campus, Old University Building, St Paul Street, Valletta VLT 1216
Image
Valetta, Hafen by Unbekannter Fotograf (Herstellung) (Fotograf) – Deutsche Fotothek, Germany – In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted.