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THE FUTURE OF THE LAB

Peter Sinclair

From November 30th until December 2nd, BALTAN Laboratories is hosting an international expert meeting titled The Future of the Lab at Strijp-S in Eindhoven. These three days bring together participants from media art labs and lab programmes worldwide - from Australia to Chile, to the Netherlands and Switzerland - to challenge and debate future strategies and forms of the laboratory (or media lab) and the importance of research and production spaces for artists and creative professionals working with technology.

BALTAN Laboratories, in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, initiates, supports and disseminates innovative research and development activities in the field of art, technology and culture. A pilot initiative located in the SWA building at Strijp S in Eindhoven, it is a first step towards a broader Art Science Lab in the NatLab (former Philips physics laboratory). Eindhoven is a distinctive location for this type of laboratory, taking into consideration its world-renowned history and contemporary context that is manifested in such organisations as TU/e, the Design Academy, Van Abbemuseum and Philips (Design, Research).

More information about BALTAN can be found here: http://www.baltanlaboratories.org

As part of our Blueprint programme devoted to exploring the roles and models of the art and technology lab of the future, BALTAN Laboratories is organising a 3-day expert meeting from November 30 - December 2, 2009 to challenge and debate future strategies and forms of the laboratory (or media lab) and the importance of research and production spaces for artists and creative professionals working with technology.

The Future of the Lab provides opportunities for discussion and engagement with a diverse range of professionals on three layers: closed meetings for a dozen invited international guests only, semi-open meetings bringing in local, regional and national participants from a diversity of sectors, and a programme for the general public.

We will also commission a series of articles around the key questions of the meeting which will act as trigger pieces and engage a wide group online before the meetings. In collaboration with the participants of The Future of the Lab, BALTAN will also identify key topics for a follow-up expert meeting as well as some urgent areas of research to focus on in 2010. All discussions and results of the meeting are openly shared. The tentative list of international participants includes Monique Savoie (SAT, Montreal), Andreas Broeckmann (ISEA2010), Gisle Froysland (Piksel, Norway), Clare Reddington (iShed, Bristol, UK) and others. There are also participation from a number of Dutch media art organisations.

The Future of the Lab is made possible thanks to the support of the Mondriaan Foundation.

In collaboration with Virtueel Platform and BAM, the Flemish institute for visual, audiovisual and media art.