A presentation on the final project results of the ICT & Art Connect or EU FET-Art project at the EVA Conference, July 8-10, 2014, London

1. Dr
EU FP7 FET-Art Project / ICT & Art
Connect: Connecting Communities –
Final Outcomes
Dr Camille Baker,
Brunel University

2. ict-art-connect.eu
It aimed to:
• bring artists and technologists to work
together;
• foster development of new ideas and projects;
• foster new understandings, innovations and
directions for the future.
About ICT & Art Connect

3. ict-art-connect.eu
Sigma Orionis (Sophia Antipolis, France)
Brunel University (London)
Waag Society (Amsterdam)
Stromatolite (London)
Black Cube Collective (Edinburgh)
ICT & Art Connect- who are we?

4. ict-art-connect.eu
FET-Art project
FP7 funded support action project, addressing the FET (Future
Emerging Technologies) objective
Aims were to connect the European ICT and Art communities, and
foster productive dialogue and collaborative work between them, in
order to identify new research avenues, associated challenges, and
the potential impact of ICT and Art collaboration on science,
technology, art, education and society in general.
How did this evolve?

5. ict-art-connect.eu
Where did ICT & Art Connect originate?
Brussels 2012

6. ict-art-connect.eu
Workshop, conference and exhibition on the subject of Art & ICT
Outcome: there is a need for better facilitation of art & technology
collaborations and synergies across Europe.
How it all began- Brussels April 2012

7. ict-art-connect.eu
Where did ICT & Art Connect originate?
Brussels 2012
The 2012 event clearly confirmed that a great potential exists in fostering dialogue
between ICT and Art practitioners, and now is the time to support deeper
interactions and the emergence of novel projects, and to identify emerging areas
for the EU’s H2020 in the ICT domain and beyond.

8. ict-art-connect.eu
Key recommendations & questions from the ICT&Art Connect 2012 event report:
“We need to study what problems art and ICT can solve together. What are the elements that
work across both artistic and computational forms? Are there formulae (ie the golden mean, the
three act structure, the Navier Stokes equations) that can be jointly applied? To what degree can
craft wisdom be mathematised; what are the possibilities and limits of computational creativity? Can
we establish neural-based computational models and multimodal automated measures of aesthetic
experience? Does there first have to be a convergence process between art, ICT, brain
science and psychology, whereby each discipline better understands the process and
language of the other? What are the conditions of genuine cross-fertilisation between Art and ICT
both in the academic and the commercial environments? Do we need to understand better the
intradisciplinary benefits of art and ICT collaborations, before going on to understand the
inter- and transdisciplinary ones? What are the policy implications around artistic/software IP on
mass media platforms whose users often employ mash-ups, samples, hacks etc. (i.e. creative
commons, antitrust actions, copyright law)? How can we create coherent policy that both generates
innovation and protects rights holders? The element of the aesthetic in the ICT innovation
process may also need more study.”
What issues were revealed?

9. ict-art-connect.eu
Connecting ICT & Art Communities
• Online Community ict-art-connect.eu
• Consultation and Matchmaking Events
• Co-Creation Residencies
Response: FET-Art/ICT & Art Connect

10. ict-art-connect.eu
FET-Art approach
Focus on the concerns of artists and technologies, such as
addressing:
• perceptual, disciplinary, ‘culture’ or ‘language’ differences
between each discipline;
• a poor understanding of how the other discipline works and
thinks;
• grievances regarding past interactions in collaborative projects in
order to shape new processes and techniques to feed back to
funders(EU), in order that they fund better collaborations for
better outcomes.
• start new initiatives to nurture new, healthier interactions and
collaborations.

11. ict-art-connect.eu
Art & Tech Social,
Edinburgh, Sept 18, 2013
Promotional/Starting Activities (BCC)

12. ict-art-connect.eu
ICT & Art
Connect 2013,
Brussels, Nov
9-11, 2013
Promotional/Starting Activities (EC, ArtShare, Waag)

13. ict-art-connect.eu
European Parliament, Brussels,
Nov 11, 2013
Promotional/Starting Activities (EC, ArtShare, Waag

14. ict-art-connect.eu
Promotional/Starting Activities (Brunel)
ICT & Art Connect Stand, ICT 2013, Vilnius

15. ict-art-connect.eu
Promotional/Starting Activities (BCC)
Art & ICT Briefing,
Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh
November 28, 2013

16. ict-art-connect.eu
Economies of Art & Technology
Collaboration
Amsterdam
March 28 & 29, 2014
Promotional/Starting Activities(Waag Society)

17. ict-art-connect.eu
Media Buzz
Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the EC,
mentioned ICT & Art Connect as one of the
"great ideas" she witnessed at ICT 2013 for
the EU's ICT research and innovation
programme – Horizon 2020
http://t.co/KjZUTmxfnb
Robert Madelin, Director General of the
EC called for” artists and technologists to
help us make sense of/own our future”, as a
result of seeing ICT & Art Connect
presentations.
Brussels event participants’ showcase at
EC Parliament. Imperica’s article:
http://www.imperica.com/en/features/europe
an-futures-connecting-art-and-technology
Award for stand with most buzz at EU’s own event
ICT 2013 in Vilnius, November 6-8, 2013

18. ict-art-connect.eu
Magazine Articles

19. ict-art-connect.eu
Website, documentation and online community
Each partner was actively promoting the community, inviting their own networks
in Europe and worldwide to register on the website and on the social networks;
the FET-ART/ICT & Art Connect social media activity includes:
Facebook – with over 729 followers, and 71 friends. The project page had, on
average, 201 people actively talking about the posts by the project partners,
with a total reach. At one point the number of people who saw our page has
been 2,731+ people.
Twitter - with 544 followers, and during the project events the Twitter identity
has achieved up to 9 followers a day and has had 664 tweets in total for the
project duration (http://twittercounter.com/ICTArt) as of June 29th, 2014.
LinkedIn –with 134 active members.
Outreach/ Online community
Final Review Meeting| July 2014 | Brussels
C Baker/Y Matskevich | Brunel University

20. ict-art-connect.eu
What happened at our events?
• Presentations by experts on
collaboration methods;
• Consultation with artists &
technologists on past experiences on
collaboration and how to make it
more effective;
Matchmaking activities to start
new collaborations.

21. ict-art-connect.eu
• ICT & Art Connect
Hackathon
October 28 &29, 2013
NEM Summit
Nantes, France
Hackathon Matchmaking (Stromatolite)

22. ict-art-connect.eu
• ICT & Art Connect London West
January 18 & 19th, 2014
Watermans Art Centre
Consultation and Matchmaking (Brunel)

23. ict-art-connect.eu
ICT & Art Connect
Edinburgh College of Art
January, 24th & 25th, 2014
Consultation and Matchmaking (BCC)

24. ict-art-connect.eu
Consultation & Engagement (Waag Society)
ICT & Art Connect: “Public Engagement in
Science through Art”
Amsterdam, January 31, 2014

25. ict-art-connect.eu
ICT & Art Connect Barcelona,
Feb 20/21, 2014
Consultation and Matchmaking (Sigma Orionis)

26. ict-art-connect.eu
ICT & Art Connect London
East: Ravernbourne,
White Building & Bookclub
February 22 & 23rd, 2014
Consultation and Matchmaking (Brunel)

27. ict-art-connect.eu
Create accessible opportunities for artists.
Art organisations and artists should collaborate with scientists and
technologists for funding, involving artists from the start, for the whole
journey and a deeper collaboration. This should be encouraged as part of
future Horizon 2020 calls.
An understanding is needed that the role of the artist is not simply outcome
led, but that there should be equal focus on the process.
Artists need to be valued and paid as experts and treated as equal
members of projects.
Accept that artists are catalysts, innovators, disruptors and transformers
and that each role of is of equal benefit.
Create training in collaboration for both artists and technologists.
Provide appropriate mentoring for collaborative teams.
Consultation Outcomes

28. ict-art-connect.eu
Each partner organised their event differently and drew different types of
participants:
The Brunel audience in London for both events were composed
primarily of the very active, knowledgeable, and often academic digital
media community in London, they were very keen on the topics and
wanted an active contribution to the EC recommendations, or were
interested in the residency funding or were there for the speakers and
performers;
The participants for the BCC event in Edinburgh were generally
younger or emerging artists, mainly using traditional art forms; based
on the community the organisers were aimed at reaching and are a part
of. They were new to many of the issues discussed, as well as many of
the technologies.
Consultation Outcomes

29. ict-art-connect.eu
Each partner organised their event differently and drew different types of
participants:
Sigma’s Barcelona audience was more diverse and included artists,
technologists, citizen science practitioners and activists. They were
facing more funding issues, more fragmented communities of practice or
less organisational or structural support and more language barriers;
The Waag’s event in Amsterdam in January was a more informal
consultation and their audience was made from their mailing list and
regular community participants, who are already interested and engaged
in many of the issues addressed here and are practicing artists,
technologists or are hybrid practitioners. The facilitators were more
focussed on art & science public engagement, and thus, the audience
were interested in the wider topic of art/science.
Consultation Outcomes

30. ict-art-connect.eu
Emerging primarily from the 2 London events, the Edinburgh event and Barcelona
event some common themes arose:
1. Need for Infrastructures to support ICT & Art collaboration; the
suggestion were as following:
Pan-European match-making facilities and distributed collaborative centres
across Europe;
Sustainable platforms to access open source tools;
Virtual and physical incubators and hubs for collaboration;
Need more local hubs or providers of technology for open collaboration.
2. Funding needs
More diversified funding and more flexible application process;
Funding for travel between collaborators;
Funding across all levels from academia to industry;
More funding for small organisations;
More of follow-up funding (restricted time).
Consultation Outcomes

31. ict-art-connect.eu
Emerging common themes arose continued:
3. Open-ended projects as opposed to working towards particular
outcome.
4. Need for access:
To and guidance for application for funding - application for EU funding
seems to be perceived as very complex and unattainable (not specific
for Art/ICT communities);
To information about what happening in ICT & Art domain - for example
of relevant projects and their results;
To relevant networks in ICT/Tech/Art domain;
For artists to technologies: lack of information where to start and where
to get access; although some artists can develop their own technologies.
Consultation Outcomes

32. ict-art-connect.eu
Emerging common themes arose continued:
5. Networking
Match-making facilities (more accessible across Europe);
Pan-EU network of national/local networks.
6. Sustainability and dissemination
Post-project sustainability;
Available database of projects and their results and recommendations.
7. Training
Interdisciplinary courses for ICT professionals;
Creative practices in education;
Collaboration training.
Consultation Outcomes

33. ict-art-connect.eu
Emerging common themes arose continued:
8. Communication and support
9. Transparency of decision making and access to decision makers
10. Collaboration:
Effort, task and engagement equal for each collaborator;
Equal idea contribution and respect of ideas;
Interpretation and understanding of collaborators’ needs are essential;
Common motivators;
Collaboration should also involve not only artists and technologists, but also
the audience;
Negative experience: too much pressure to create consensus, lack of honesty
and transparency about each other skills, lack of communication, differences
in expectations.
Consultation Outcomes

34. ict-art-connect.eu
Open to artists or ICT specialists to help find project partners;
Pairs were formed during matchmaking events, OR in direct contact
with project partners, OR using the matchmaking tool on online;
Each pairing created a short project proposal, then submitted it for one
of our 3 deadlines(end of Dec 2013, end of January, and early March),
to start collaborations as late as April;
An expert panel made selection ratings for each proposal, then the final
decision was made by the consortium for the next phase, the
collaborative “residencies”;
Residencies were facilitated from 1 day (from the Hackathon) up to 3
months, on the premises of one of project partners or elsewhere (artist
studio or ICT laboratory).
Open Call & Matchmaking Activities

35. ict-art-connect.eu
Round 1
• BioStrike
• Data and Ethics
Working Group
• SenseShifting
• Magic Drawing
• AR Sign Battle
Round 2
• Seeing Healthcare
through a Data Lens
• Interactivity features for
a diasynchronic artwork
• Hacking Choreography
2.0
• Guerilla Toy Hack
Installation
• Gamification of US
Military
• Silicasonisphere
• Physical
Representations of
Time
Round 3
• Dances with Drones
• The Human Sensor
Residencies Projects Chosen

36. ict-art-connect.eu
Brochure or http://www.ict-art-connect.eu/residencies/
Residencies Projects Chosen

37. ict-art-connect.eu
Residencies Projects Chosen
Residents pilot projects exhibited and performed at the exhibition were the following:
BioStrike – artists and DIY Biologists of MadLab, Biologigaragen and the Open Wetlab: Pieter van
Boheemen, Martin Malthe Borch, Zack Denfeld, Cat Kramer & Asa Calow.
Hear the City – programmer, Andrew Faraday, musician, Kate Halsall, video artist, Annalisa
Terranova;
Linguify – developer/ designer, Benedict Allen and educator/developer, Siobhan Ramsey;
KrowdKontrol – musician Steve Lawson and programmer Liepa Kuraite;
SenseShifting – participatory artist Joana Mollà Hinarejos and interface designer Giovanni Marco;
Art of the Deep – musician/ artist, Thomas Flynn, coder, Daniel Lopez and educator/developer,
Siobhan Ramsey;
AR Sign Battle - artists and technologists from Nantes: Pierre Buffe, Mathias Mouchard, Arnaud
Perrillat, Félix Raymond.
Data and Ethics Working Group – artists, performers and designers: Elliott Burns, Susana Cámara
Leret, Kevin Logan, Geoff Howse, Jack James, Tadeo Sendon and Dave Young, Mike Thompson,
with physicist Josep Perello, and Open Data Institute statistician Ulrich Atz;
WIKI-Art Comic Strip – interaction designers and mobile games developers collaboration: Marie
Lamouret, Victor Pedraza, Sylvia Morgado and Richard Piron ;
Dances with Drones - Choreographer, Nina Kov and physicist/ 3D programmer, Gábor Vásárhelyi;

38. ict-art-connect.eu
Residencies Projects Chosen
Residents pilot projects exhibited and performed at the exhibition continued:
Seeing Healthcare through a Data Lens – artist/photographer Sujata Majumdar, software systems
designer, Ruud de Boo, biologist and informatics specialist, Irene Nooren, and database developer,
Barani Dakshinamoorthy ;
Interactive Butterflies for a Diasynchronic artwork – video artist Bruno Mathez, visual and media
artist Carol McGillvray, and artist/programmer Neil Mendoza;
Hacking Choreography 2.0 – Choreographer, Kate Sicchio and Audio/Vsual artist/programmer, Nick
Rothwell ;
Guerilla Toy Hack Installation – community artist, David Allistone and programmer and digital artist,
Louis d’Aboville;
Death From Above - computer scientist, Jonathan Jouty, visual artist, Richard Phillips-Kerr, and
filmmaker/sociologist, Igor Slepov ;
Silicasonisphere – glass artist, Carrie Fertig, and sound/electronics artist, Dave Murray-Rust
Not to be Reproduced: A Narrative Through Time – painter Mark Conolly and 3D printing
technologist, Diego Zamora;
Ministry of Measurement – performance artist group Thickear (Geoff Howse, Jack James, Kevin Logan
and Tadeo Sendon) with Open Data Institute statistician Ulrich Atz;
The Human Sensor – Digital Media Artist /Painter/Programmer, Kasia Molga, and electronics engineer,
Adrian Godwin.

39. ict-art-connect.eu
What happens during the residency?

40. ict-art-connect.eu
Experts’ research and experience
Literature review & other frameworks
Surveys (start and end)
Offbot (daily email asking participants about their
activities)
Face to face mentoring meetings
One-2-one interview with individual participants
Residencies data collected

41. ict-art-connect.eu
To answer when analysing the data:
Who is leading the work?
How is that working for them?
What methodologies, methods and processes are they using
to work on the project?
What cognitive, communication and knowledge style does
each participant seem to exhibit, and how does that work with
their partner? What is working what is not?
Residencies analysis

42. ict-art-connect.eu
To answer when analysing the data(continued):
Is the way of working together collaborative or is it
cooperative?
How are the pairings handling interpersonal relations,
problem-solving/conflict resolution, ego issues?
Are there any noticeable cross-disciplinary
culture/language/terminology/thinking differences?
What is the effort, tasks and engagement by each
collaborator?
Residencies analysis

43. ict-art-connect.eu
To answer when analysing the data(continued):
What are the skills and experience/background/ approaches
to work? What are the similarities and differences?
What (if there is one) is the split in idea contribution and how
are they respecting each others of ideas and IPR?
Are the collaborators sharing skills, knowledge, expertise,
space etc., equally?
How are the collaborators using their time over the duration of
the residency and what is the pacing of activities between
them – is it equal?
Residencies analysis

44. ict-art-connect.eu
To answer when analysing the data (continued):
Are there any facilities, equipment, space and environment
issues?
What is the post-collaboration legacy in terms of sustainability,
dissemination and future contact plan?
How did the mentoring process affect the residency?
How did the project timescale affect the residency?
Did the team feel the collaboration was a success? What did
they get out of it? What would they have changed about it with
the benefit of hindsight?
Residencies analysis

45. ict-art-connect.eu
• ICT & Art Connect Final Exhibition
at Fo.Am Studios
Final Event: Brussels, May 11 & 12, 2014

46. ict-art-connect.eu
• ICT & Art Connect Final Presentation
in European Parliament
Final Event: Brussels, May 11 & 12, 2014

47. ict-art-connect.eu
Summary of significant outreach results
Outreach activities: online community and dissemination activities have
been very significant and on-going past the project end;
FET-Art reached a larger European community and excited the artists and
technologists, to see the on-going activities and support;
Existing and new approaches for ICT /Art collaboration within
ICT/technology communities, organisations and industry have been
demonstrated by artists and technologists;
The project activities, conversations, and on-going activities of the ICT & Art
Connect initiative will encourage the European Commission to develop
additional initiatives to nudge the ICT industry to involve artists in their
future undertakings, research and development.
Conclusions

48. ict-art-connect.eu
● Pan-European matchmaking facilities and distributed collaborative
centres across Europe should be built;
● Sustainable platforms are needed to access open source tools;
● Virtual and physical incubators and hubs (needed in general and to ensure
a sustainable legacy beyond lifetime of FET-Art project of ICT & Art
Connect website);
● More diversified funding streams and funding across all levels from
academia to industry (technology sector should be encouraged to co-fund
public/private partnerships; public procurement…);
● Creation of Engineering, Computer Sciences and Visual Arts research
hubs coupling state and private funding, in graduate level institutions
(example is a model found at Concordia, Montreal (Canada)
http://hexagram.concordia.ca).
Policy Recommendations: Infrastructure

49. ict-art-connect.eu
1) Create Embedded Artists Residencies:
The artists should be deeply embedded within long term research projects
across the European Union’s research portfolio
2) Create a New Art/Technology Awards Programme:
Create an awards programme for new, innovative ideas in art/technology
collaboration. Artists/Designers pitch ideas and selected ideas are paired with a
research project/team.
=> Innovation
Both models offers the potential for highly innovative outcomes, in art, technology
and in citizen engagement which will to Europe to be known globally as leaders in
innovation, inclusivity, and creative forward thinking.
Policy Recommendations: Models of integration of
artists as experts

50. ict-art-connect.eu
● Programs to integrate technologists as advisors
for artists in residence.
● Awards for technologists tackling technological challenges
with interdisciplinary collaborations.
● Longer term relationship building to bring technologists on
board to understand the value of working with artists as
catalysers, not just to make artwork but to ask differnt
questions.
Policy Recommendations: Models of integration of
technologists

51. ict-art-connect.eu
● Projects should take place across more of Europe, to represent the
diverse cultures and communities, rather than mainly in north
western, more financially stable countries;
● Programs and the ICT & Art discourse is heavily modeled on the
UK and Northern Europe, thus, future support should take into
account Southern and Eastern Europe to support as well;
● The idea of connecting ICT & Artis not new, but those currently
engaged in it are already working collaboratively and supporting
such initiatives; thus, there is STILL a need reach those not
currently engaged, both in ICT and Art…
 it may be in these ‘hard to reach’ sections of the ICT & Art
communities that real innovation lies.
Policy Recommendations: Diversity & Innovation

52. ict-art-connect.eu
● Better access to existing projects across Europe with a
widely accessible database of artists and technologists;
● Wider, better promoted dissemination of project results;
● Funding for exhibiting prototypes, enaging with audiences
and getting feedback – which has been developed during
ICT & Art CONNECT residencies (e.g. fellowships or prizes
to exhibit at major ICT & ART CONNECT events).
Policy Recommendations: Dissemination

53. ict-art-connect.eu
● More time is needed, so that collaborators’ logistical situations
can be assessed in advance, and sufficient budget is allocated
to facilitate implementing collaborative methodologies that best
suit the teams – paying each ICT industry wages (esp. artists);
● Mentoring and project management is vital. Project needs must
be assessed initially, to enable best results, and that if required,
additional resources should be allocated;
● Greater examination of the personality matches of collaborators
and working style is essential to gain further knowledge of best
models and process for communication and collaboration;
● Time tracking is essential to plan against teams overworking.
Policy Recommendations: Residencies

54. ict-art-connect.eu
More time to develop projects and relationships overall;
Funding for art/tech collaboration within tech companies –
public/private partnerships in ICT& Art;
More open events like initial event ICT & Art Connect in
Brussels 2012 – with rotating participants to steer the EU
art/ICT activities and funding directions;
Develop funding for art/tech specialists to work within
academic environments to support the industry projects – 1M
a call for 5 projects per round per year was suggested.
Other Policy Recommendations

55. web ict-art-connect.eu
facebook.com/ICTArtConnect
twitter: #ICTArt
www.linkedin.com/groups/ICT-Art-Connect