Digital meets Culture

‘Metamorphosis’ is the name of the new artwork, while 2018 sees important upcoming projects

Renowned sculptor Helaine Blumenfeld uses digital technology to create monumental sculpture

Helaine Blumenfeld is a renowned artist who is appreciated all over the world. In 2007 she became the first woman to win the Il Premio Pietrasanta e la Versilia Nel Mondo, adding her name to the list of winners of this honour including Botero, Pomodoro and Marc Quinn. In 2008 the Royal Society of Sculptors held a major retrospective of her work and in 2011 Blumenfeld was awarded an honorary OBE to mark her achievements in sculpture.

She is currently working on a monumental sculpture, ‘Metamorphosis’, using digital technology including a 5 axis CNC router, laser scanning and 3D printing at Europe’s leading sculpture foundry, Pangolin Editions. ‘Metamorphosis’ has been commissioned by Canary Wharf Group for Wood Wharf; a new luxury residential quarter to be installed in 2019. Two other sculptures Blumenfeld is creating at Pangolin include a sculpture which will be exhibited at Ely Cathedral and one which will be a exhibited at Blumenfeld’s solo show in 2019 in Pilane, Sweden.

Blumenfeld is embarking on one of the most ambitious periods of her career, while also exploring a completely new way of working using digital methods that are a far cry for the artisan, hand crafted nature of her artworks to date. Her upcoming projects include a group show at the Venice Biennale (26 May – 25 November 2018), a solo exhibition at Ely Cathedral (13 July – 28 October 2018) and the new film about her life and work to air on Sky Arts (18 April at 10pm). Please see the press releases and image sheet attached for further information.

The solo exhibition of large-scale sculptures will be presented in the magnificent setting of the 900-year old Ely Cathedral, Cambridgeshire, from 13 July – 28 October 2018 . Bringing together 17 bronze and marble sculptures, including six new works, the exhibition will be displayed throughout the cathedral and in the surrounding grounds.
The title of the exhibition, Tree of Life , takes its name from one of the most important and enduring themes in Blumenfeld’s fifty-year career – despite atrocities and widespread destruction, life finds a way to renew itself. Featuring five sculptures from the Tree of Life series, presented together for the the first time, the exhibition explores the spiritual and cultural symbolism of these works and the other sculptures on display, projecting a compelling narrative of energy, optimism and hope.

Helaine Blumenfeld says: “I found myself creating a sculpture that began with what looked like the trunk of a tree formed by many bodies twisted and turning, combining and informing the trunk. I realised, as I was completing it, that it represented the victims of the Holocaust. However, instead of disappearing in smoke, the trunk moved upward and opened into a panoply of branches with a regrowth of blossoms, and clouds of many leaves, creating a sense of hope. I was trying to express that, although there had been almost unbelievable destruction, there could still be renewal and regeneration. These bodies were vanishing, but their loss might provoke society to respond
with greater compassion and greater creativity.”
This piece was the first in a series of sculptures that centred around the Tree of Life motif.
Although each has a different emphasis, they are all about possibility and hope, healing and renewal, and represent a shift in Blumenfeld’s focus, moving from largely figurative and introspective subject matter, towards an outward-looking perspective in reaction to world events.

Press release Hard Beauty
Press release Ely Cathedral
Image sheet
More on to Hignell Gallery

Contacts FLINT PR
2 Newburgh Street, London, W1F 7RD
+44 (0) 203 470 0094
zara.doshi @ flint-pr.com
www.flint-pr.com

Paris (France), 16-17 January 2019

Museum Connections

Museum Connections is the international place for museum businesses that gathers every year more than 313 exhibitors specialized in retail, museum shops, equipment & site valorisation, and more than 3 853 professional visitors coming from various cultural sites (museums, zoos, tourism office, castles, entertainment parks…).

Museums have been highlighted by media for a few years not just for their cultural activities, but also for their strategic and economic innovations. Institutions now have to rethink their models, management processes and even their role. Museum Connections answers the needs of professionals of the field who want to increase the resources of their venue and are looking for new products and services, expertise and exchanges.

Next to the fair, which takes place in Paris on January 2018, Museum Connections includes a full cycle of international conferences throughout 2018, gathering international experts coming from worlwide well known institutions (MoMA, TATE, V&A, Chateau de Versailles, MUCEM, Musée du Louvre…), who create economic relationships for museums of tomorrow to inspire and suggest keys to succeed at rethinking institutions’ cultural strategy.

https://www.museumconnections.com/en/conferences/

Museum Connections 2019 – The international place of Museum businesses

Dates: January, 16th & 17th 2019

Location: Paris, Porte de Versailles, FRANCE

Key figures:

313 exhibitors
3 853 professional visitors
20h of inspiring conferences and workshops

Contact:

Mrs Milena LEVENT, Director

+33 1 49 52 14 39

Milena.levent @ europ-expo.com

http://www.museumconnections.com

the annual event of ECHIC European Consortium of Humanities Institutes and Centres took place in Leuven in April 2018

E-Space MOOC at ECHIC 2018 conference

The Faculty of Arts of KU Leuven and KU Leuven Libraries hosted a European Conference for the Humanities on behalf of the European Consortium of Humanities Institutes and Centres (ECHIC, http://www.echic.org/). the 2018 theme is “Equip & Engage: Research and Dissemination Infrastructures for the Humanities”.

Among the presentations, Clarissa Colangelo (KU Leuven) illustrated the E-Space MOOC “Creative with Digital Heritage”, that has achieved a successful second edition this year and will be repeated again in the future.

Programme of the event: https://www.arts.kuleuven.be/echic-2018/Programme

Leuven (Belgium), 4-6 April 2018

ECHIC 2018: “Equip & Engage: Research and Dissemination Infrastructures for the Humanities”

Like the preceding ECHIC conferences in Dublin, Utrecht, Nottingham, Oporto, Pamplona, Macerata and Edinburgh, the conference aimed to probe some of the most pressing issues facing the humanities as academic disciplines and interdisciplinary fields. In 2018, the theme was “Equip & Engage: Research and Dissemination Infrastructures for the Humanities”. Papers and discussions were focused around (challenges connected to) digital scholarship in the humanities and the dissemination and impact of the results of this research.

The conference programme featured keynote lectures, conference papers, project presentations/demos and a panel discussion, as well as the annual meeting of ECHIC and diverse networking opportunities. Keynote speakers were Jane Ohlmeyer, who is Erasmus Smith’s Professor of Modern History and Director of Trinity Long Room Hub at Trinity College Dublin, and Martin Paul Eve, who is Professor of Literature, Technology and Publishing at Birkbeck, University of London, and well-known for his work on open access and HE policy.

Programme of the event: https://www.arts.kuleuven.be/echic-2018/Programme

The high-level event took place on 20th March in the framework of activities of the European Year of Cultural Heritage

REACH at “Innovation and Cultural Heritage” conference in Brussels

A Horizon 2020 conference of The European Year of Cultural Heritage was organised in Brussels by the European Commission Directorate General for Research and Innovation, in close cooperation with the Directorates General for Education and Culture and for Communications Networks, Content and Technology.

Focus of the event was on showcasing the dialogue between contemporary European society and the most promising innovation initiatives in the field of Cultural Heritage, supported by the EU. Commissioners Carlos Moedas (Research, Science and Innovation), Tibor Navracsics (Education, Culture, Youth and Sport) and Mariya Gabriel (Digital Economy and Society) participated in the conference and its interesting discussions.

Most European citizens consider Cultural Heritage to be very important to create cohesion at the European level and new job opportunities, and the most important challege for EU research and innovation policy is improving access and sharing of Cultural Heritage by promoting new ideas, new forms of social organisation and human agency.

REACH project, because of its research on participatory approaches in culture, was represented at the event by network coordinator Antonella Fresa. On the occasion of the conference, dissemination materials and the invitation to the Budapest Opening Conference were distributed to the participants. During the programme, a presentation about Innovation in Cultural Heritage Research was delivered by prof. Gábor Sonkoly, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest.

Also, Prof. José Civantos from the University of Granada, mentioned the partnership of MEMOLA project with REACH Social Platform, during his talk about community-led traditional cultural landscape management. In addition, the conference also saw a presentation of the ROCK project, that is associated to REACH, by Pamela Lama from the Municipality of Bologna.

Report and outcomes are available at the conference webpage:

https://ec.europa.eu/info/events/innovation-and-cultural-heritage-2018-mar-20_en

Conference Program

Read more about the conference on Horizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine

Athens (Greece), 24-27 May 2018

14th Athens Digital Arts Festival | Call For Volunteers

Athens Digital Arts Festival (ADAF) announces its 14^th edition on 24 – 27 of May, 2018. This year, the Festival will take place at Megaron – The Athens Concert Hall. Under the theme Singularity Now, ADAF 2018 aims to explore the future through the triptych art – science – technology.

ADAF 2018 collected 4.237 proposals from 3.852 artists (125 countries) who submitted their tales from the Event Horizon.

Website of the event: http://2018.adaf.gr/

Call for volunteers: Athens Digital Arts Festival invites you to join the team!

Volunteers are a vital part of Athens Digital Arts Festival. Every year, plenty of creative people join the Festival’s team in order to develop their abilities and help in all sectors of the festival, such as in the audience reception, exhibition set-up and production as well as in guided tours. By participating at ADAF you will have the opportunity to live a unique experience and contribute, according to your dexterity, skills, interests and availability, to all creative and organizational processes of the 14^th edition of the festival. If you are over 18, please fill in the following form. Deadline: 15.4.2018

Singularity has arrived at ADAF 2018! Will you miss it?

At the end of the festival, all volunteers will receive a certificate of participation.

More Info: volunteers@adaf.gr

*/ 14^th Athens Digital Arts Festival | 24 – 27 May 2018

Main Venue:

Megaron – The Athens Concert Hall

2018.adaf.gr | #ADAF2018 #SingularityNow

Rome (Italy), 3-5 October 2018

Technology for All 2018 – the international forum

technology for all

Great news for “Technology for All 2018“, a forum dedicated to technological innovation for the territory and the environment, cultural heritage and smart cities. Now in its fifth edition, the event will be held in Rome next October 3 to 5 in a new and prestigious location to be announced soon. Also renewed the format of the event, which will always offer information and training moments of high level, as well as opportunities for discussion and business between public administrations, universities and specialized companies. When defining the intense program of conferences, lectures and workshops, which will address the entire process of using innovative technologies, from data acquisition to processing them until the dissemination to end users.

The Forum will be organized with workshops in continuous field, alternating with training and conferences necessary to promote the comparison between producers and users of new technologies .

https://www.technologyforall.it/

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In the previous edition of the Forum for ALL TECHNOLOGY it was held in the conference room of the National Library in Rome from 18 to 19 October 2017 , preceded by a workshop in the field in the archaeological site of the Villa dei Quintili Via Appia Antica in Rome.

The role in the development and preservation of the World Heritage is the framework within which you can see the ‘ weighted contribution of technologies that exceeded the enthusiasm of the first innovative impact, it may actually be admitted to a production cycle normed with shared standards for sustainable socio-economic development in which the intelligent innovation play a key role in the Territory, the Cultural and Heritage Cities .

The program emphasizes general, to the extent possible, the emerging content of the Forum in the fruition within the international scenario and operation of Italian companies in the sectors in which Italy plays a testimonial role in the world, where not only aim to integration and interactivity of the impact of technology, but also sustainable socio-economic contribution in the production cycle to the final destination.

Parallel to the conference will be carried out training of relief, development, structuring and organization of information also web and mobile vertical applications. The described production processes affect a broad range of users, ranging from government agencies to private companies, professional researchers, from students to citizens.

The Forum also aims to collect experiences, the interventions and the application workshop results on the ground, giving way for participants to retrace the process of acquiring and processing, enriched with the expertise and the presentation of keynote experts, best practices, achievements and projects.

These processes involve a wide range of users, from public bodies to private companies, professional researchers, from students to citizens. In particular, the workshops allow participants to actually see in action, touch and experience, innovative technologies and the consolidated figures that best suit the proposed theme.

The conference is divided into thematic depth sessions that, in addition to giving way participants to retrace the experiences of the workshops in the field, hosting talks by experts. The Forum hosts one exhibition space dedicated to companies, who will have the opportunity to take part in sessions with socializing and sharing.

A Forum in three intense days of information and training, socialization and sharing, discussion and debate.

From 27-31 May 2018, 300 culture professionals will debate the changing role of museums in our society

“ARE YOU READY TO PARTICIPATE?” Communicating the Museum’s 20th edition

Today’s museums are working towards being more inclusive, encouraging participation and a greater diversity of audiences, ideas and perspectives. The main challenges remain as museums strive to meet with their audiences in genuinely participatory ways. The pressure is on museums to be more representative and to embrace community involvement.
Across a five-day programme of events, debates, workshops, talks and tours, you will discover the best museum participation initiatives, the most challenging collaborations, and the most insightful successes (and failures) in the fields of communications, education and audience engagement.
HOW TO CREATE MEANINGFUL PARTICIPATION WITHIN THE CITY? Lessons from London, Los Angeles and Mons
From organising the Olympic Games to managing a city-wide festival of 70+ institutions and being a European Capital of Culture, learn how to become an active member of your community.
Munira Mirza, Head of HENI Talks and former Deputy Mayor of London for Culture and Education, Gloria Gerace, Co-Founder of Culture Projects and Director of PST: LA/LA, USA and Xavier Roland, Director of the Pôle Muséal de la Ville de Mons in Belgium, will step on stage to share their story and key advice.
With this panel conversation you will find out how to build a strong legacy in your city and organise events and exhibitions that are relevant to local audiences and partners.
MIGRATION AND THE CHANGING ROLE OF MUSEUMS
A specific session is dedicated to explore how collaborative practice helps build relevant programs that broaden educational opportunities and participation when working with immigrant communities
IS THE MUSEUM A DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTION?
The idea of Cultural Democracy has become a new focus of attention for both policymakers and practitioners – and promises to radically re-invent how we understand the role of subsidised cultural organisations. In this context, a dedicated keynote session, will face the important question “Is the Museum a democratic Institution?”
These are just some spots about a rich and intense Conference programme.
After that, you are invited to join the post-conference day on 31 May to explore 3 major cultural institutions of Brussels and learn about their collections and latest projects.
For the first time in 18 years, the conference is going to take place in Brussels not only because is the capital of Europe, but also for its complex and fascinating environment, which offer one of the most diversified populations on the planet and where 152 languages are spoken.
Start the day at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. From raising funds for a new dino to promoting a more respectful approach to nature, learn about the RBINS’s mission and communication strategy.
Step inside the Cinquantenaire Museum. This historic building, one of the biggest museums in Belgium, was erected by King Leopold II. Visit the recreation of the Wolfers Frères jewellery store as designed by Horta in 1912 and enjoy a lovely lunch in the museum Cloister and garden.
Last but not least, go behind the scenes of the City Hall, on The Grand-Place, a masterpiece of Gothic civil architecture from the 15th century. Discover the impressive paintings, sculptures and tapestries, many of which are not open to the public.

Contacts
Programme & Promotion & Participants
Clémence Ferry: cferry@agendacom.com
Partners & Sponsors
Corinne Estrada cestrada@agendacom.com

A night dedicated to contemporary poetry with digital media, on the occasion of World Poetry Day

Digital Nights: Digital Poetry

Onassis Cultural Centre organized an interesting encounter with J. R. Carpenter, moderated by Prodromos Tsiavos and Thodoris Chiotis.

Athens (Greece), 21st March 2018, h19:00
Galaxia & Evridamantos str. (behind the OCC building)
Website: http://www.sgt.gr/eng/SPG2112/

J.R. Carpenter first began using the internet as a medium for experimental writing in 1993. She has been publishing books for just as long. In this talk she lead audience on a tour of early and more recent web-based works, demonstrating how she explores themes of place, displacement, community and the environment through performance, print and digital media.

J. R. Carpenter is a Canadian-born UK-based artist, writer, performer, and researcher working in Performance Writing, Digital Literature, and Media Archaeology. Her pioneering web-based works have been exhibited, published, performed and presented in journals, galleries, museums and festivals around the world. She is a winner of the Dot Award for Digital Literature (2015), and the New Media Writing Prize (2016). She is the author of three books with a fourth forthcoming from Penned in the Margins in April 2018. She lives in Plymouth, UK.
http://luckysoap.com

to celebrate the Museums' 2013 reopening, a huge stunt show was organized in a shopping mall

2013 flashmob by Rijksmuseum, always worth to watch!

A flashmob recreated one of Rembrandt’s paintings in a shopping centre in Breda, to mark the painting’s return to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The museum was going to reopen on 13 April 2013 following a 10-year renovation.

Passers-by were both shocked and amused to see performers taking part in a large-scale live reconstruction of Rembrandt’s famous painting “The Night Watch”. The painting, completed in 1642, depicts Captain Frans Banning Cocq and his lieutenant, Willem van Ruytenburch, leading out their city guard, Schutterij.