Social
Spaces

On Friday 13th of May 2011, research group Social Spaces together with FASHIONCLASH organized a mapping session at the i_beta/event 2011 in Heerlen, the Netherlands. The participants, coming from various disciplines, were asked to visualize a Euregional platform for fashion. Together, they discussed what the aims of such platform could be, what key values it would represent, which (collaboration of) people would be essential to keep the platform active and whether there would be an online and an offline counterpart.

If you want to know how the mapping went, check out the MAP-it website or click here for the mapping report.

Some years ago, we (Media, Arts & Design Faculty in Genk) started with puntKom (a series of informal evenings on culture, technology, design,…). We had puntKom-sessions on SoundCode, on interactive textiles, on Bastard Culture,… and thanks to the interesting speakers and the enthusiastic crowd (and the chilled beer), they all turned out quite nice.

The next puntKom will be a special edition and will take place in the context of the i_beta/event 2011 in Heerlen (NL). This puntKom-session at the i_beta/event will feature some interesting presentations:

(1) Marlous Willemsen of Imagine IC will talke about the technological & participative art ideas of the Bijlmer Euro project.

(2) C-md students Patrizio Laforte and Nicholas Schepers will present their student projects. Patrizio will talk about his thesis project ad hoc music networks in public spaces, in which he focuses on the role of sound in public spaces. Nicholas will present his thesis project engaging the local self through pervasive play, in which he researches how game design can be used to help digital natives to take action against discrimination.

(3) The image of the London tube placed on the Euregion Meuse-Rhine represents an idea of this region being a networked city across nation-borders. The image is evolving and new layers and meaning are added to the map and the concept over time. At puntKom, some new layers of the Ambition map Eutropolis will be presented to the audience.

So, be sure to check it out! Visit the puntKom at Poppodium Nieuwe Nor (Pancratiusstraat 30, Heerlen (NL)) on Friday 13th May from 13.45 – 15.30h!

As said before, on May 12th and May 13th the i_beta/event 2011 is organized by Social Beta, the – centre for media__culture__society. The i_beta/event is an event for creative professionals, entrepreneurs and students interested in new ideas on economy, society and culture. With keynotes, lectures and workshops on new business models, design, “Het Nieuwe Werken” and e-culture, i_beta/event 2011 is an ideal place to get inspired and to connect. The event will take place in Heerlen (NL).

There are still tickets for sale! So if you want to listen to interesting keynotes, visit the Turbo 3000 Design Supermarket or want to check out the PuntKom-session (on Friday afternoon at Poppodium Nieuwe Nor!), be sure to visit the i_beta/event!

For students, i_beta/event has a special discount price on their tickets. To get a student promotion code, mail a picture of your studentcard and at what school or university you study to student@ibeta.eu. You will get a whopping 50% discount!

For more info, check out http://www.ibeta.eu

On Wednesday April 6th, Social Spaces visited the i_beta/preview night in Heerlen (the Netherlands). The i_beta/event 2011 – which will take place on May 12th and May 13th – is organized by Social Beta, the – centre for media__culture__society. The i_beta/event is an event for creative professionals, entrepreneurs and students interested in new ideas on economy, society and culture. With keynotes, lectures and workshops on new business models, design, Het Nieuwe Werken and e-culture, i_beta/event 2011 is an ideal place to get inspired and to connect. The i_beta/event will take place in Heerlen (NL).

During the i_beta/event preview, Social Beta gave us an impression of what to expect on the on i_beta/event 2011. At Popstage Nieuwe Nor in Heerlen (NL), we had a live panel discussion – hosted by João Evangelista – with the “from Rust belt to Artist belt” conference in Detroit (USA). During the discussion, we talked about the transition of industrial cities to creative cities and shared experiences with the panel in Detroit. Afterwards, some of us did an interesting brainstorm on the ambition map of Eutropolis. The ambition map aims for increasing the visibility of Eutropolis’ ambitions and challenges. You can find the map here!

Social Spaces will also be present at the i_beta/event in May! We will present our “Open Garments” project, do a mapping session with Fashionclash and participate in a Master class on re-thinking the ambition map of Eutropolis. We will also co-organize a PuntKom-session on Friday May 13th.

Check out the i_beta/website for more information on the event. You can also buy your tickets for the event here!