Lab 1
Make a Move Art Incubator Galway – Digital Practices
25th April–04th May 2019, Galway, Ireland
Photo credit / Off-Beat Photography
The ‘Digital Practices’ Art Incubator is the first pilot Art Incubator of the ‘Make a Move’ project. It is organised and hosted by Galway Theatre Festival, and takes place from April 25th – May 4th 2019 in Galway City and out on Inis Oirr, an island off the coast of County Galway. The ‘Digital Practices’ Art Incubator will bring the group of 10 international artists selected for ‘Make a Move’ together for the first time. It will also see 10 Irish artists join this group for the co-creation laboratory.
The main areas of focus for the ‘Digital Practices’ Art Incubator are:
Provide the 10 selected international artists the time and opportunity to learn about each other and each other’s work, and to exchange practices and project ideas.
Support the international and national artists to build new skills in the area of digital practices. These skills will be developed through an approach that focuses on curriculum as praxis and process: artists will learn by using the technology to create several short projects, and will produce works that are ‘in progress’.
Encourage artistic excellence by providing artists with opportunities for discussion and reflection on relevant topics, including the interaction of the live and the virtual in everyday living, the aesthetic considerations of working with technology in live arts, and the changing role of the audience in interactive and experiential performances.
Provide artists with the opportunity to learn new skills in the area of online audience development. Artists will gain insights into designing a social media plan, evaluating social media strategies through metrics, and build practical skills in creating social media content (vlogs, blogs, live streaming, etc.).
Develop artists’ business skills by focusing on project producing and funding for co-production projects. Artists will learn about creating and managing projects that involve a number of partners, exchange knowledge on how to build a sustainable career in the arts, develop their own project ideas, and gain insights into preparing Creative Europe funding applications.
Allow the international artists to network with local artists and audiences in Galway by linking in with the Galway Theatre Festival 2019. The works-in-progress from the co-creation laboratory will be presented to audiences as part of the opening of the festival, and the international artists will have the opportunity to meet and work with local artists throughout the course of the incubator.
The “Digital Practices” Art Incubator is organised and delivered by Galway Theatre Festival
Location
Experts
The ‘Digital Practices’ Art Incubator will be led by ‘Make a Move’ Artist Director Ivana Peranić and Galway Project Manager Dr. Máiréad Ní Chróinín. The incubator will consist of hands-on workshops and discussions led by national and international experts in the areas of digital technologies, digital marketing and audience development, project development and creative producing. These experts will include:
Brian Kenny
Video Artist and Projection Mapping specialist
Tom O’Dea
Digital Artist and Researcher, Trinity College Dublin
Niall Campion
Founder of VRAI (VR & AR)
Karl Caulfield
VR content creation
Paula Keogh
Immersive VR film-maker
Loretta Ní Ghabháin
Founder & Director of Digital Marketing Agency Lorg Media
Barbara Rovere
Cultural Manager and grant writer
Local artists
In February 2019 Galway Theatre Festival held an open call for applications from artists from Ireland and the UK to join the ‘Digital Practices’ co-creation lab.
The 10 artists who were selected from this open call are:
The local and regional artists will join the international group of artists from April 26th – May 3rd. They will participate in the co-creation lab out on Inis Oirr, developing new skills in digital technologies, working with the international artists on project ideas, creating the works-in-progress and participating in the reflection and communication activities of the project.
Resident Artists & Collectives
The local and regional artists will join the international group of artists from April 26th – May 3rd. They will participate in the co-creation lab out on Inis Oirr, developing new skills in digital technologies, working with the international artists on project ideas, creating the works-in-progress and participating in the reflection and communication activities of the project.
Brochure
Researchers
The researchers attending the ‘Digital Practices’ Art Incubator are: Lia Contiu (UAT), Traian Penciuc (UAT) and Lorand Janos (IAB / Choreoscope).
In keeping with the project’s commitment to ‘action research’ methodology the researchers will evaluate the incubator using artist questionnaires, focus groups and observation. From this they will develop learnings and recommendations for the subsequent two art incubators which will be held as part of ‘Make a Move’. These learnings and recommendations will also form part of the project’s final report.
Host, Location and Co-funders
The ‘Digital Practices’ Art Incubator is organised and delivered by Galway Theatre Festival (GTF), which provides a platform for new work by local and national emerging and mid-career independent theatre artists in Ireland. Now in its 11th year, GTF draws on Galway’s unique theatrical heritage, and is one of Ireland’s only festivals dedicated to theatre and performance. This year the Festival will run from May 3rd – 11th, and will host the works-in-progress of the ‘Digital Practices’ co-creation laboratory on its opening day, May 3rd. ‘Make a Move’ artists will have the opportunity to attend the opening of GTF, meet local and national theatre artists, and learn more about the independent theatre scene in Ireland.
In 2020 Galway will become a European Capital of Culture (in conjunction with Rijeka, Croatia). The themes of Galway 2020 are ‘Landscape, Language and Migration’, and the project will introduce participants to the unique language and landscape of the West of Ireland. Galway is a vibrant city that mixes the medieval and the modern. It is a haven for artists, and its large student population keeps the city feeling young! Recently designated Ireland’s only bilingual city, Galway has strong connections to the Irish language and Irish culture, including traditional music, food, and new Irish fashion. Inis Oirr (Inisheer) is the smallest and most eastern of the three Aran Islands, located off the coast of Galway. It is characterized by its distinctive charm and friendly atmosphere, and is a beautiful and inspiring landscape in which to create, collaborate and reflect.
The ‘Digital Practices’ Art Incubator is made possible through the additional co-funding of Galway 2020, the Arts Council of Ireland, and Galway City Council.
