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WRAP UP - Season's Greetings from Colab
As the 2013 academic year winds down and we head into Christmas and the summer holidays, we’d like to thank you all for your interest and involvement with Colab this year.
It has been a HUGE year with major institutional reorganisation, moving into new premises in the fabulous Sir Paul Reeves building, taking on new staff, reorganising our academic programmes, building our public programmes, new initiatives and developing an impressive momentum. Phew! Next year promises to be just as busy and even more amazing.
We'll be enjoying a well deserved summer hiatus and will bring you more news from Colab in early February 2014. We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and (even through we're in the Southern Hemisphere) we hope you've got your interactive Christmas jumper ready to wear!
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REVIEW - Photos from the 'As A Whole' exhibition
On November 13, Colab’s studio space came alive with an exhibition curated by two BCT students, Rachael Short and Waimarie Dashper. The evening was a great showcase of selected work ranging from digital and physical games, interactive installations, a camera stabilisation system, sustainable packaging and products, photography, and more.
The diversity and skill of the work was outstanding and staff, students and external guests enjoyed seeing the work and celebrating the end of the year.
View photos of As A Whole and the Colab Open Studio which preceded the exhibition. |
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REVIEW - MINA2013 Symposium and Screenings
The 3rd Mobile Creativity and Mobile Innovation Symposium & Mobile Innovation Screenings were held November 21-22 at AUT's City Campus.
Highlights from the Symposium include: 12 sessions, 30 authors, and 8 countries represented via the range of national and international presenters. There were presenters from seven key universities in New Zealand, nine international universities, as well as designers and digital artists.
Highlights from the three Screenings include: 34 pocket films, mobile-mentaries and smartphone films presented, 12 countries represented; and seven international mobile film festivals partners.
The #MINA2013 hashtag was trending in New Zealand for 40min. You can view photos from the event, or read in-depth reviews from Helen Keegan and Sy Taffel.
We are looking at running further mobile filmmaking workshops throughout next year and are looking forward to MINA2014 already. Thank you to Laurent Antonczak and Max Schleser for putting the outstanding Screening and Conference programmes together.
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WELCOME - New Colab Advisory Board
The rejuvenated Colab Advisory Board met for the first time on Friday 14 November to discuss the strategic development of Colab.
AUT welcomes back returning board members Pete Rive (Chair), Fiona Milburn and Brenda Frisk; and extends warm greetings and thanks to new board members Jillian De Beer, Andrew Plimmer, Brett Telfer, Jennifer Clamp, Maru Nihoniho, Luke Krieg, Jon Baxter, Haare Williams, Penny Hagen, Sally Manuireva and Heather Shotter.
This impressive team of advisors comes from across the technology, design, innovation, social and cultural enterprise sectors, representing Colab’s transdisciplinary engagement. The purpose of the advisory board is to provide strategic advice and to advance Colab's mandate.
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WELCOME - Javier Estevez, Performance Capture Lab Technician
From mid-January 2014, the Performance Capture Lab in WG will have a full-time technician and it is with great pleasure that we welcome Javier Estevez on board.
Javier has more than 10 years experience in 3D production, animation and production. He has worked as a 3D Character Animator at Oktobor, Huhu Studios, several studios in Buenos Aires, Argentina; and most recently at 2nd City Studios as a Technical 3D Artist.
He brings with him a vast array of technical skills and project management experience. Javier will be the main contact point for companies, schools, and creatives who want to access or learn about our motion capture technology.
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CALL- Applications for 2014 Colab Postgrad Scholarships
Colab will be offering stipends for 5 PhD students and 10 students enrolled in the Master of Creative Technologies and BCT (Honours) in 2014.
Stipends may be awarded to students researching in any of the broad areas of interest to Colab, these include: Play, Interaction and Games; Transmedia; Sonic/Electronic Arts; Visualisation; E-textliles; Technology, Mind & Body; Urban Futures; Educational Innovation: Creative Entrepreneurship & Innovation; Collaboration & New Communities of Practice.
To apply, please fill in a form (via the Colab website) and submit your application to Rosemary Bond: rbond@aut.ac.nz by 4pm, Thursday 19 December. Apply now.
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STAFF EXHIBITION - Sound Bites by Gerbrand van Melle
Sound Loops. Tangible Sound. Moments frozen in time. A cross-sensory experience.
Sound Bites is the public showing of work created by Colab lecturer, Gerbrand van Melle in a collaboration with Stefan Marks.
The works in this exhibition are the culmination of a year long practice-led Master of Philosophy thesis where personal audio recordings were translated into intimate physical experiences that synthesised sound and visual components into material form.
To find out more about this curious project read Gerbrand’s article,“Sound Bites: A work in process.â€
On December 18, join us for a coffee, and experience Sound Bites in this one-time, one-morning exhibition.
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WORKSHOPS - Love Creatures at Splore
We’re pleased to announce that Colab will be running workshops as part of the Love Creatures project at Splore 2014 Music and Arts Festival.
"Love Creatures gives the audience an opportunity to interact with one another through art, digital technology, and smartphones. You can become a Love Creature by attaching markers to your body or outfit, and with the Love Creatures app others will be able to see digital costume pieces thanks to augmented reality and digital creations by Kim Newall.
Share the love with other creatures by uploading photos of yourself, and join in the Love Creatures dance performance"
Love Creatures workshop at AUT
Saturday 1 February, 2014
10am – 3pm
$25 for lunch and materials
This workshop will enable participants to create a part of the Love Creature species by developing your own augmented reality creature features that you can wear to Splore and share with others at the workshops and performance. Pre-register your interest with Rebekah Foote, rfoote@aut.ac.nz.
Love Creatures workshops at SPLORE
Saturday 15 February, 2014
Drop-in workshops for Splore attendees to pick up a marker, add it to their outfit, download the App and interact. The culmination of the two workshops will be a performance. Join the Facebook event for updates.
Love Creatures is made possible with funding from the Auckland Council Creative Communities Scheme and SPLORE. The project team is Rebekah Foote, Harry Silver and Kim Newall, with assistance from Nolwenn Hugain- Lacire.
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EVENT - Registrations now open for Shapeshifting Conference and Workshops
Nick Cave, Ying Gao, Gareth Pugh, Otto von Busch, Shingo Sato and Elaine Ng Yan Ling have all confirmed their participation at the forthcoming Shapeshifting Conference being held at the Viaduct Events Centre from 14-16 April, 2014.
Not only is there a fantastic line-up of speakers but there will also be an exhibition of out-of this-world fashion, film screenings curated by the Film Archive and international guest speakers, and there are five workshops giving you one-on-one time with the world's best designers.
Register now for the three-day conference. Students discounts and Day Passes available. Early bird prices end January 30, 2014.
For more details visit: www.shapeshifting.aut.ac.nz
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DISCUSSION - Nick Cave: Studio Mechanics
- Sunday 13 April, 2014
- 2pm - 4pm
- Auckland Art Gallery Auditorium
- $140 Regular / $55 Student
As part of the 2014 Shapeshifting conference, Nick Cave will be delivering a keynote presentation and discussion, facilitated by Colab Co-director, Frances Joseph.
At Nick Cave: Studio Mechanics you'll gain an “under-the-hood†understanding of the mechanics of Nick Cave’s studio practice. Clips from recent films 'Drive-By', 'Gestalt', and 'Blot' will be shared, along with open discussions about identity and design’s role in the art world; as well as living, sharing, and developing your passion for art.
Nick Cave is an international Artist and Educator working between the visual and performing arts through a wide range of mediums inclusive of sculpture, installation, video, sound and performance.
This event is supported by the Auckland Art Gallery.
Register now.
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FUNDRAISER - Walking the extra mile(s) for Oxfam
For his students who are studying towards their Bachelor of Creative Technologies, Stefan Marks, Colab lecturer, always goes the extra mile. Now he is going even further.
In April 2014, with a team of four, he will tackle the Oxfam 100km Trailwalker in less than 36 hours, raising funds for causes like helping the victims of Typhoon Haiyan.
The team, calling themselves “Blistering Successâ€, are actively preparing for this arduous task, walking longer and longer distances every week.
Please support the team - and Oxfam - by coming up to Level 11 of the WG Building and purchasing a Fair Trade Chocolate bar for $3, or donate online at the team’s website.
We wish Stefan all the best for this courageous effort.
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STAFF EXHIBITION - Clinton Watkins video works
Sound and video artist (and Colab lecturer) Clinton Watkins currently has work in two exhibitions overseas: Video Arte Australia y Nueva Zelanda in Santiago, Chile and Landscape Painting: Contemporary Video from Australasia in Seoul
, Korea. Locally, you can see his work in two group exhibitions:
Idyll
November 9 –December 21, 2013
New Zealand Steel Gallery, Franklin Arts Centre, Pukekohe, Auckland
A visual critique and exploration of the lost paradise that was New Zealand, Idyll is a curated group exhibition that features a selection of works from 10 leading contemporary artists. Read more.
As if you were bringing back dust from the moon
14 December 2013 - 11 January 2014
Papakura Art Gallery
The selected works have in common the idea of little narratives, of quiet stories from the suburbs, of the edges and the peripheries, of the homely and the wonder of the everyday. Curated by A.D. Schierning and Tracey Williams. Read more.
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STUDENT SUCCESS - Another Award for filmmaker, Wenrui Dai
Masters of Creative Technologies student Wenrui (Dorothy) Dai won the 'Best International Micro-film Award' at the 2013 Asia Micro Film Festival in Yunnan, China.
This follows an award in Beijing last month, and she is currently showing her film, "Theo" at another micro-film festival in Chengdu.
The above photo features Wenrui (left) with the Minister for Economic Development, Steven Joyce at a meeting with AUT Chinese students alumni in Shanghai.
Well done, Wenrui!
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STUDENT SUCCESS - Summer Studentships Awarded
Congratulations to Colab postgraduate students, Charlotte Alexander, Amit Gupta, Sam Joe, Matt Martin, Justin White and Emile Drescher who have been awarded summer studentships by the Faculty of Design and Creative technologies.
These Awards allow postgraduate students to work on a paid research project relevant to their own area of postgraduate inquiry, over the summer break.
We look forward to seeing the results of their summer research.
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EVENT - Film Archive Screening: 'Don't Let It Get You' (1966)
- Wednesday 29 January, 2014
- 6pm - 7.30pm
- AUT City Campus, WG126 Lecture theatre, Level 1, WG Building
Our first Film Archive screening for the year is an entertaining 1960s summer road movie featuring a handsome, young Howard Morrison and Kiri Te Kanawa as herself.
“The big ALL FUN show for the whole family to enjoy!†was the tagline for this musical comedy classic. Sir Howard Morrison (as himself) and Rotorua are the stars in the tiki-flavoured tale.
Moving from Sydney to a Rotorua music festival the plot centres on a romance between a young drummer (Gary Wallace) and his girl Judy (Carmen Duncan) and the hurdles they face to stay true. But this is only an excuse for a melange of madcap, pep-filled musical fun. Made by John O’Shea’s Pacific Films, it features Kiri Te Kanawa, Lew Pryme and Aussie star Norman Rowe." -NZoS
Watch the trailer.
On the last Wednesday of every month we invite you to a free public film screening, organised by the NZ Film Archive and Colab AUT.
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EXHIBITION - Emerging Pixels #3 continues over the summer
October 30, 2013 – February 19, 2014
Digital Art Live, Level 2, Aotea Centre
Emerging Pixels #3 showcases the talents of Bachelor of Creative Technologies (BCT) students from Colab. The current work, Hungry Pixels, by Taura J Greig is on until December 17 before the next exhibition opens:
Finding Under Noise by Hubbub Studios
18 December, 2013 to 19 February, 2014
Finding Under Noise invites the audience to find the beauty in noise and to change their perception of how it’s experienced. Local sounds are transformed them graphic shapes on screen.
Hubbub Studios is a collective of AUT students: Martin Hill, Braeden Foster and Reuben Poharama.
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