Webinar on e-textile wearables and interactive technologies for the stage

In this webinar Åsa Unander-Scharin and Berit Greinke will present the concepts and
technologies developed for two recent artistic research projects: The Tale of the Great
Computing Machine and Interwoven Sound Spaces.

The Tale of the Great Computing Machine is an opera is based on a book written by Hannes
Alfvén in 1966. In the book, he envisages a great deal of the developments we are already a
part of today. His descriptions – partly disturbing and partly humorous – of the future
relationship between humans and technology makes it continuously relevant. In the artistic
rendering of the book, Opera Mecatronica (Åsa and Carl Unander-Scharin) used a long
range of their custom-built artistic technologies, as well as creating new artefacts for this
particular opera.

The project Interwoven Sound Spaces explored the possibilities of telematic music
performances for the field of new music. Wearable technologies enabled a tangible
interaction between musicians who played from different locations. This created a new
musical experience for the audience and the performing ensembles. During the webinar we
will present the technologies that enabled a concert taking place at two geographically
distant venues connected via telematic means.

The workshop will be targeted at performing arts institutions and professionals and will show
the concepts and technologies developed for Interwoven Sound Spaces networked music
performance project and The Tale of the Great Computing Machine opera.

This event is oganized by NorrlandsNavet.

Åsa Unander-Scharin

Åsa Unander-Scharin is a choreographer and dancer who creates choreographic works in
collaboration with composers, visual artists, programmers, robot researchers and dancers.
Her choreographic works have been presented at festivals, art galleries and conferences in
Europe, Japan, Vietnam, Canada, and USA. Since 2014 she has held a position of professor
and deputy scientific leader of Innovative Art and Technology at Luleå University of
Technology, and between 2013-15 she was member of The Committee for Artistic Research
at The Swedish Research Council.

https://www.operamecatronica.com

Berit Greinke

Berit Greinke is a professor in Wearable Computing at Berlin University of the Arts and
Einstein Center Digital Future (ECDF). Her research focuses on engineering design methods
and fabrication techniques for electronic textiles and smart materials, combining crafts with
novel manufacturing technologies. She holds a PhD in Media and Arts Technology from
Queen Mary University of London, and has previously gained an MA in Design for Textile
Futures at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. She has worked as a researcher
at Design Research Lab, Berlin University of the Arts and German Center for Artificial
Intelligence, and as a freelance e-textile designer and educator.

https://www.udk-berlin.de/studium/modedesign/forschung/wearable-computing/

Federico Visi

Federico Visi is a researcher in music at Luleå University of Technology. His work explores
the interplay between human and non-human agencies in music, embodiment in networked
music performance, and interactive machine learning. He has recently designed a
networkable feedback string instrument with embedded machine learning called the Sophtar.
He is a member of the TCP/Indeterminate Place networked hyperorgan quartet and
collaborates with research labs at several international institutions including University of
Iceland, Goldsmiths University of London, and Universität der Künste Berlin.

www.federicovisi.com

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