hi all found out about this, very interesting and nice to see......Not too techie but some very good vibes and application of the Open Source model (sorry about the formatting, i've converted them from the .doc format they were sent to me in as i don't wish to start that debate again..........) Malcolm ------------------------------- Dr Malcolm Herbert Head of Technology R&D, Becta 02476 847126 Mob: 07801 612438 ------------------------------- OPEN 6th and 7th November 2000, Camden, London, UK Young People, Creativity and Digital Technology This autumn you can start talking to your jacket. Electronic clothing incorporating mobile phones and MP3 players hit the street courtesy of Phillips and Levi Jeans. It's just another small change that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. For the digital revolution has dramatically altered the way we live and work. In particular the traditional methods of accessing and distributing information have changed radically. Computers, email, mobile phones, text messaging and the internet have permeated all strands of life from international business to academia and the arts. Information is no longer simply passed down from textbook, teacher or from gallery wall to passive reader, student or viewer. Instead active participation in creating and sharing information is now more possible than ever. Information culture today is activist - you can modify information sent to you and pass it on, you can even mask or change your cyber-identity through the use of avatars. Information is supple, transformable and evolution of knowledge constant - in short, the digital revolution has meant an information revolution. OPEN, an international art programme that takes place in Camden on the 6th and 7th of November 2000, will take these changes as a starting point. Next April CODE, a conference in Cambridge will develop and focus in more depth on some of the themes raised by OPEN. Both events have been initiated by the Arts Council of England. One of the most startling developments in the way we communicate and use information is the rise of the open source concept. As computer software and programming originally developed the code which makes up programmes was shared amongst the computing community. However as business interests grew, corporations increasingly kept their programming code secret. In response to this a counter-culture grew that held on to the original principles of programming - that the code you write should be freely available to anyone else who could modify it before sending it on again. The open-source movement has been one of the most widely talked about phenomena in the electronic world, and now even big businesses are turning to its philosophy in an attempt to harness the benefits of group interaction. There is much written on the open-source software story, but very few have analysed the wider implications of it. For this is a development that turns intellectual property on its head. Texts become multi-authored, readers become active and empowered to change the text. Ultimately these are texts which have no origin, no final authority to appeal to. Obviously this is an ideal - in practice the open-source movement has some difficulties to overcome, not least the fact that many users do not have sufficient code knowledge to take advantage of it. Nevertheless as a model there is no doubt that open-source is a fruitful one. Cultural theorists, arts practitioners, social scientists, educationalists and even entrepreneurs are beginning to explore how open-source ideals and methodologies might impact upon the fields they work in. High profile media stories like the Napster case revolve around the changes taking place in intellectual property and distribution. Both OPEN and CODE take the open-source model as a launch pad for a series of investigations, moving it beyond the realm of software into visual culture and beyond. OPEN will act as a multi-faceted creative laboratory which explores the implications of the open-source model for the dissemination of information, ideas, projects and resources in visual culture. Central to OPEN will be the work of young practitioners who engage with ways of sharing information, modifying existing work and effecting the global through local intervention - ideas all central to the open source philosophy. Many young practitioners have adopted the ideas around open-source unconsciously. OPEN aims to provide a platform to analyse the relationship between theory and practice, a relationship that is productive rather than prescriptive. Thus exhibitions and workshops will be an integral part of OPEN, as well as lectures, masterclasses and presentations. This web-site will develop as an on-line presence during the run-up to the event and beyond it. Conferencing and debating areas will shortly be launched so that you can help shape the proceedings of Open. This itself draws on some of the central ideas behind open-source philosophy in particularly the idea of producing something "with many eyeballs" - with a multitude of users refining, debating and reshaping each others thoughts. After OPEN it will act as an on-line resource for those involved around visual culture, including practitioners, teachers, curators and critics. The physical focus of OPEN will be the network of tunnels and spaces beneath the Camden Roundhouse - the Undercroft. The intricate layout of the space will act as a metaphor for the intellectual site-map of the event. In turn this web-site will develop as a virtual manifestation of the Undercroft. With its historical links to transport and communication as well as its history as an arts and music venue, the Roundhouse is the ideal hub for this ambitious project. Works will be projected within the spaces, as well as events around the project, including live performances and webcasts. Information terminals will link the other venues of Open to the hub in the Undercroft. These other spaces have been chosen for their symbolic value in the history of information dissemination - the British Library, Interchange Studios and Haverstock School. Each site will act as a focus for the strands of OPEN: exchange, space, source, learning and access. As it acts as a hub the Roundhouse will be thought of as OPEN: exchange, in the sense of a meeting place to discuss topics raised throughout the programme. At the British Library, OPEN: space will be the main theme with key-note speechs and presentations exploring virtual environments and the new geographies opened up by digital technology. OPEN: source at the Interchange will take the implications of open source software for visual culture with established artists, theorists, educators, entrepeneurs and young practitioners contributing panel discussions as well as holding workshops. At the Haverstock School, OPEN: learning will be more tightly focused on the new ways of teaching and learning visual culture that have been emerged recently with regard to digital technology. An exhibition will be taking place of works by students who have worked with DARE - the Digital Arts Resource for Education. The Chrisi Bailey Award for 2001 will also be launched at this venue. Finally, the idea behind the web-site is OPEN: access where on-line debates will take place in addition to further information about Open being posted. Next Spring CODE - Collaborative and Ownership in the Digital Economy will approach these issues from scientific, historical, cultural, technological, legal and economic perspectives. CODE will bring together both theorists of the open source movement with practitioners. Issues and themes explored in OPEN will feed through to CODE. Both events will be multi-disciplinary, bringing together groups in order to exchange both information and viewpoints. Cultural theorists, practitioners, policy-makers, journalists, students and teachers are all already involved in formulating OPEN. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- DRAFT PROGRAMME OPEN: Young People, Creativity and Digital Technology Day 1 Monday November 6th BRITISH LIBRARY Open: Space 11.30-12.30 Press call: Walking with Avatars and related displays. DJ Spooky meets children in 'Vertex' virtual world. 1.30-3 Opening addresses: Dr John Ashworth (Chair British Library) Gerry Robinson (Chair ACE) and on-line link up with David Bowie in virtual world (tbc) 3.30-5 Open: Space explores different contexts and sites for learning, virtual environments and the new geographies opened up by digital technology Panel presentations: Kodwo Eshun (writer, critic and DJ), Hani Rashid (architect), Douglas Adams (tbc). Chair: Professor Lola Young INTERCHANGE STUDIOS Open: Source 6-7 Launch: Alan Howarth CBE, MP Minister for the Arts and Marjorie Allthorpe-Guyton (Director, Visual Arts Department ACE) 7-8 Open: mind looks at hypertextuality, interactivity and newparadigms of gaming. Presentations - Will Wright (Maxis, Simm City) (tbc) and Emma Westecott 8 - 8.30 Performance: Sound Beam by students at the Weekend Art College 8.30-9.30 Refreshments and social UNDERCROFT OF THE ROUNDHOUSE Open: Exchange 10am -10pm Exhibition and workshops Day 2 Tuesday November 7th INTERCHANGE STUDIOS Open: Source CHAIR: Richard Benson (critic and ex editor of The Face) 9.45-10.15 Keynote: Chris Yapp (ICL) 10.15-11.30 Open: market sets a social context for debate looking at issues such as discourse, identity and ethics. Panel: Francois Verges (Sussex University) (tbc) Ronny Fraser Monroe (artist) and Michael Century (Erasmus) 12-1 Open: question addresses pedagogical issues and explores new approaches to learning Panel Presentation: Dr Michelle Selinger (Warwick University /CISCO/ IMFUNDO), Dr Sungatra Mitra (centre for research in cognitive systems NIIT ltd, India) and Matt Locke (Kirklees Media Centre) (tbc) 2-3 Open: practice presents models of practice where cultural production is multi authored and collaborative often with invlovement from the viewer/audience Presentions: Mongrel, Gehard Schwoiger (Award of Distintion, Ars Electronica) and artists from undercroft programme 3-3.30 Keynote: Professor Angela McRobbie 3.30-4.30 Open: out explore the shifting paradigms and looks at implications for cultural practice, education and learning Plenary: Professor Stephen Heppell (ULtralab), Francois Matarasso (Comedia) (tbc), Viv Reiss (OPEN Director) and Bill Thompson (journalist and columnist BBC webwise). HAVERSTOCK SCHOOL Open: Learning 12.30-1.30 Press Call: presentation of work by students who have worked with DARE - Digital Arts Resource for Education. Launch of Chrisi Bailey Award 2001. Rt hon David Blunkett (MP) (tbc) visits the Big M (inflatable gallery). 4.45-6.45 Open: Learning focuses on new ways of teaching and learning visual culture Presentations: Rebecca Sinker (DARE researcher - Middlesex University and INIVA)) and students/staff at Haverstock School, Emily Randoe (Society for Old and New Media, Amsterdam) and Avril Loveless (Brighton University) Chair: Dr Malcolm Herbert??????? UNDERCROFT OF THE ROUNDHOUSE Open: Exchange 10am -10pm Exhibition and workshops