THE SPACE/COLLECTIVE
Fournos, Center for Digital Culture
Fournos is a center for art and new technologies situated in Athens of
Greece that functions as a flexible Model in the research and
production space of the Digital Culture of the 21st century. Fournos
collaborates with a network of media and cultural centers as well as
researchers, technologists, artists, philosophers, representatives of
cultural centers and representatives of governmental and
non-governmental organizations, aiming to explore new modes of cultural
expression and create a platform for a broader public that can play an
active role in the upcoming digital culture.
Fournos believes
- in the important role of new technologies in the formation of the ethics and lifestyle of the 21st century
- in the combination of arts rather than in producing and promoting one specific art field
- in the substantial role played by the modern artists, scientists and technologists in forming the upcoming digital culture
- in the collaboration among inter-disciplinary persons / teams /
institutions from various countries, with different social and
financial backgrounds
Main Activities
MEDI@TERRA FESTIVAL
Creation and organization of Medi@terra International Art and
Technology Festival, which is co-organized with the Hellenic Ministry
of Culture. The events of medi@terra operate as an axis for the
organisation, process and classification of information and data
relating to contemporary culture and the new media, as well as for the
support of artists, scientists, researchers and organisations working
in this area.
Medi@terra can be described as a creative encounter between
organisations and individuals from all over the world. It is a
long-term project for research and recording in the areas of art and
technology and cultural events worldwide. The activities unite the
different art forms that are being created and are evolving in
accordance with the needs of the era. It is ultimately a project in
continuous development, its purpose being a creative criticism which
seeks to advance social concepts with a cultural content for a society
based on .
Every year it has a different theme. In the year 02 the festival
focused on New Platforms and took place in the old east airport which
worked as the perfect no-place area to host lectures, artworks and
installations, performances, workshops and events that reflected areas
that are now being developed and are based in interdisciplinary areas
of art, science and technology.. (like the new interactive cinema, the
interactive theatre, immersive interactive environments etc) . The aim
was to explore, record and present new artistic works that allow
audience participation, continuous change and evolution
[www.mediaterra.org)
http://www.virtualcentre-media.net
Foundation of the Virtual Centre Media Net, a new center for
art and digital culture. The project started on the initiative of
Fournos with the support of the programme Culture 2000 and is
co-organised with 10 European centers from the field of the digital
culture. The center will be a new platform for the co-production and
the promotion of activities in the virtual and real space, for the
development of new artistic projects based on the collaboration of
artists and theoreticians, for the information and education of artists
and professionals from the new media art field.
By creating this center, our aim is to present a new opinion, a new
thesis stated by the collaboration of these centers and to build new
ideas on a new common ground.
The center has the following activities:
a permanent collection with projects created by artists especially for
the center, temporary exhibitions and alternative artistic activities
with the participation of well-known and young artists, collaborative
art projects in progress, workshops and seminars, an on line magazine,
on line research, a dynamic database for youth resources, news for
events and activities in the real and the virtual space, audiovisual
and printed material.
The center is co-organised by the centers: Fournos, Center for
Digital Culture (Greece), European Media Art Festival (Germany),
Foundation for Art and Creative Technology (UK), KIBLA (Slovenia),
Student Computer Art Society (Bulgaria) and D.EP.A.S (Greece). The
International Center for Contemporary Arts (Romania), V2 (Netherlands),
Axis (Netherlands) and Zo (Italy). The infrastructure for the center is
being developed and will be supported by the Netmode Lab of the
National Technical University of Athens .
RESEARCH
Fournos conducts research on new forms of art, entertainment and
training and continuously develops a cultural network of artists,
centers, researchers, philosophers, technologists, activists. This
enables the development of inter-disciplinary teams working on
collaborative projects.
Fournos center often undertakes the production of experimental artworks
such as interactive installations, virtual reality environments,
feature video art works, collaborative net projects, interactive
theater platform, multimedia performances etc.
In 2002 Fournos Lab was founded, a spin off company with the aim
to establish a flexible workshop-company, focusing on culture and
social applications, with the purpose to produce innovative
applications that combine artistic creativity and advanced scientific
and technological knowledge. In charge of Fournos Lab is Manthos
Santorineos, the artistic director of Fournos and lecturer at the
school of Fine arts in the course of Multimedia
CURATING & RESIDENCIES
Fournos continuously supports and promotes the international media art
in Greece and the Greek media art abroad . In particular Dodo
Santorineos, the director of the center is often invited to undertake
the curating and presentation of greek artists abroad.
Being one of the centers participating in Map, the european programme
of Pepinieres, Fournos hosts young media artists from Europe that
develop their project in our center for a certain period of time .
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Fournos has organized a number of workshops, presentations and
seminars that aim to bring young people close to art, media, and the
new technologies. These have taken place in our center, or in
municipalities and communities in and ouside Athens, as an outreach
activity.
Also, the directors of the center have been invited several times to
participate as lecturers at workshops organized by Centers for
Professional Specialization and Career Consulting.
Manthos Santorineos, the Artistic Director of the center, participates
as an expert in the field of Art and New Technologies, in International
Conferences organized by the Council of Europe. The themes covered
involve the new technologies, the cultural institutions, the new
professional profiles created and the qualifications required.
Also very often and especially during the festival we invite young
people and postgraduate students to come and work with us in Fournos,
as part of their placement/ training.
FOURNOS STAGE
Fournos hosts and often co-produces activities such as
performances, concerts of electronic music, theatre plays, dj - vj
shows, screenings and open discussions, lectures and round tables on
art and new media.
A full list of our activities that is updated regularly can be found in our website
www.fournos-culture.gr.
FOURNOS has a permanent collaboration with the following Institutions:
CICV Pierre Schaeffer (France), European Media Art Festival (Germany),
Student Computer Art Society (Bulgaria), Communication Front
(Bulgaria), MC KIBLA (Slovenia), Intima Virtual Base (Slovenia),
International Center for Contemporary Art -Bucharest (Romania),
V2_Organisatie (Netherlands), ZO Center for Contemporary Art (Italy),
Rote Fabrik (Switzerland), Vooruit Art Center (Belgium), WAAG Society
for old and new media (Netherlands), Foundation for Art and Creative
Technology (UK), Visionaria (Italy), Canariasmediafest (Spain),
Association MAP(France), National Technical University of Athens
(Greece), Computer Technology Institute, University of Patras (Greece),
Cypriot Ministry of Education and Culture (Cyprus)
168 Mavromichali str
11472 Athens
Greece
tel: +30 210 64 60748 fax: +30 210 64 70 069
email: info@fournos-culture.gr
http://www.fournos-culture.gr
http://www.mediaterra.org
Contact Daphne Dragona
Coordinator for Fournos and Mediaterra Festival Daphne Dragona
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