LABoral presents its ecoLAB with a sowing day
“Narratives of a Non-garden” sets off a wide-ranging activity programme in this space set aside to explore the meeting points of art, ecology and open electronics
The ecoLAB is a space at the South courtyard
This Saturday 26th, under the slogan of “Narrativas de un no jardín” [Narratives of a Non-garden], LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial in Gijón will publicly present ecoLAB: a research area mining the possibilities of crossovers of art, ecology and open electronics, included in the activity programmes of LABoral´s Plataforma Cero, Centro de Investigación, Producción y Recurso [Centre for Research, Production and Resources]. A sowing and planting day has been organised for this presentation, open to all those wishing to take part, and there will also be a series of activities, aimed at all audiences, led by Susanna Tesconi and Lorena Lozano.
The sowing will take place between 4 pm and 7 pm and will include the planting of some wild and domestic species as well as other unusual ones such as the Woodwardia fern, a protected and retained species from the Tertiary period. Recently-sown seeds and seedlings, along with other plants and species already existing in the Centre of Art’s Patio Sur, will be signposted offering a guided tour around the grounds while reading the information on the signs which include the specie’s cultural significance and spatial poetry.
At the same time as the sowing, there will be an introductory presentation on the processes that can be carried out at ecoLAB - activities related to the perception of natural elements and human actions which make up the alchemy of ecoLAB, also showing the connection between nature and open source technological solutions. Each component will be attached to a knowledge node, a portion of space on the grounds that will be set aside for experimentation using prototypes fabricated by fabLAB at LABoral, the interaction between the biological and the technological fields in terms of information visualisation, energy production, sound engineering, artistic production, collaboration and the holding of events.
The participants will be able to explore the ecoLAB space through the senses in the guided activities geared towards enhancing the sensations created in natural environments. Afterwards, they will be able to access all the forms of visualisation provided by the prototypes.
A SPACE FOR INVESTIGATION AND EXPERIMENTATION
Many artists have started to get involved in the cross-sections of ecology, social action and electronic and digital art. This new paradigm of innovation requires open and collaborative spaces.
ecoLAB of LABoral is an ecosystem, a meeting point for research and a space for experimentation in the intersections of open source electronics, art and ecology. Operating as a node of knowledge arising from the exchanges between the different participants, it generates areas for training, research and production. By setting up its open processes, ecoLAB intends to contribute towards the generation of relationship dynamics with the biosphere and its ecosystems through the implementation of eco-technologies (high-tech and low-tech), supporting knowledge-sharing among group members and participants in the activities.
Inspired by Hacklabs and civic organisational practices, ecoLAB works by following a free and collaborative model. The main decision-making body is the assembly, which oversees the various projects and work groups flourishing in the space. This implies that there is no central planning for Patio Sur but, on the contrary, it is used in accordance with its specific characteristics and its users´ needs.
In this sense, the social organisation of the space is organised following the methodology of Permaculture in farming fields. Based on the close observation of space and bioregionalism, Permaculture aims to closely replicate the processes of nature.
Lorena Lozano graduated in Biological Sciences, specialising in Botany, Universidad de Oviedo, Asturias, Spain (1998). BA (Hons) Degree in Fine Arts: Sculpture and Environmental Art, Mackintosh School of Art, Glasgow University (2007). She has worked in the field of landscaping and gardening in Switzerland and Majorca and over five years, she collaborated on the regeneration and community project, The Hidden Gardens (Tramway, Glasgow, Scotland). Also, she has done artist residencies at the Permaculture Centre in Rubha Phoil (Island of Skye, Scotland), Trondheim Art Academy (Norway) and Museo Manuel Felguérez (Zacatecas, México). In Barcelona she worked with Sitesize, Ciudades Ocasionales and Idensitat on projects related to citizen participation, territorial interpretation and landscaping and the use of public space in contemporary cities.
She has collaborated on publications such as Post It City-Ciutats Ocasionals at Centro de Cultura Contemporánea y Diputación in Barcelona and the Renga Platform (Morning Star Books Ed., Edinburgh).
Her work has been exhibited at the Centro de Cultura Antiguo Instituto de Jovellanos in Gijón, the Barcelona Off-Loop Festival (Museo de Historia de la Ciudad), Biomed Forum (Instituto de Recerca Biomédica IRB, Barcelona), Post- It City (Centro de Cultura Contemporánea, Barcelona) and Mackintosh Museum, Glasgow, Scotland. Currently working with CeCodet (Centro de Cooperación y Desarrollo Territorial de Asturias) of the University of Oviedo, Asturias, and participating in experimental academic nets such as the organisation Campo Adentro (education, art and the rural environment).
Susanna Tesconi is an interaction designer and a teacher with a strong edupunk attitude. Her work aims at interaction between children and technology. Her workshops explore the integration of low technology and digital fabrication with the objective of supporting children in the development of their own technologies.
Since 1996 she has been designing educational programmes and workshops for various centres and institutions. In recent years, she has coordinated the programme FabLabKIds at Fablab Barcelona: a series of workshops undertaken to foster the ability to create inventions using digital fabrication with the goal of converting children into the creators of their own technologies instead of being confined to the roles of consumer/user. In 2009 she designed Glob@s, an educational experiment developed at Medialab Prado in Madrid in which children were invited to use mobile devices to monitor air quality. Along the same lines, together with performer Penélope Serrano, she devised Inventar Jugando, a series of game activities in the public sphere aimed at encouraging the use of renewable energy sources. Currently involved in the project friKIDS, an action research platform for games and technology.
ACTIVITY PROGRAME: ecoLAB
26.03.11
Sowing Day
Time: from 4 pm to 7 pm
Intended for: all audiences
Venue: Patio Sur at LABoral
In collaboration with: Jardín Botánico Atlántico
Further Information: 985 185 577 / ecolab@plataformacero.ccç
www.laboralcentrodearte.org
30.04.11
Construction of a water system – the collection of water from rooftops in the Patio Sur area and creation of a pond (aquatic ecosystem).
Special Guest: Javier Palacios
28.05.11
Building of a straw house
Special guest: Mikele
25.06.11
Construction of a dry bath and composting system
Special Guest: Javier Palacios
20-23.07.11
Workshop: Ecosexuality: Understanding Space through the Body
Special Guest: Annie Sprinkle & Elizabeth Stephens
30.07.11
Preparation for SummerLAB 2011
02-06.08.11
SummerLAB Gijón
Electro-acoustic concert at ecoLAB. Instruments originating from the garden itself and data transfer produced by sensors and other energy monitoring devices in the gardens.
01-23.09.11
Preparation for the Exhibition
24.09.11
Opening of the exhibition in the Almacén Sur area at LABoral
Activities for children
29.10.11
Cycles of organic material and preparation of the earth
26.11.11
Final Meeting of the Year
