The RIXC Art-Science Festival: ECODATA and the Open Fields 2020 conference takes place from October 8–10, 2020, in Riga, Latvia and online, exploring the 'ecosystematic perspective'. More than just rising awareness that living organisms are highly interdependent on each other and their environments, this year's festival edition aims to reveal a web of connections that interweaves biological, social and techno-scientific systems, living and digital data, artistic and scientific approaches.
The ECODATA festival aims to become a space for artistic interventions and critical discussions, gathering together the scholars and artists who are engaged with ecosystematic approach, use techno-scientific tools and create new aesthetics to deal with the challenges of our time and envision the future for 'terrestrial coexistence' (Latour).
The festival program features the Ecodata EXHIBITION and SYMPOSIUM taking place in the The National Library of Latvia in Riga; Open Fields 2020 CONFERENCE – online, and a hybrid program of online and onsite activities – artistic interventions, screenings, virtual bio/eco-artworks and performances by young artists from Riga, Liepaja, Basel, Karlsruhe and Boston.
This year's festival is a collaboration with "Ecodata–Ecomedia–Ecoaesthetics" research group of The Institute of Aesthetic Practice and Theory at HGK FHNW in Basel, Switzerland. “Ecodata–Ecomedia–Ecoaesthetics” is the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) funded project that explores the role and significance of new media, technologies and technoscientific methods in the arts for the perception and awareness of the ecological.
The festival takes place in the framework of Creative Europe's supported project “Ungreen Revisited. Encountering Emerging Naturecultures”,
CONFERENCE
Open Fields 2020: Ecodata
October 9–10, 2020, Online
Open Fields conference is the RIXC's festival based annual gathering bringing together international scholars and artists to discuss topics related to artistic research, the changing role of art in societies, and art and science collaboration.This year's Open Fields: ECODATA conference for the first time will take place virtually. Yet it will be (thematically) connected with the exhibition and onsite program of the RIXC festival, thus extending a space for discussions on contemporary challenges and the role of art in dealing with them.
Conference speakers:
Adesola AKINLEYE, Sandra ALVARO, Laura BELOFF, Karla BRUNET, Antje BUDDE, Jill CARTER, Fernando CAVALCANTE, Oksana CHEPELYK, Nina CZEGLEDY, Maija DEMITERE, Tiziano DERME, Juan Carlos DUARTE REGINO, Desiree FOERSTER, Stelios GIANNOULAKIS, José GARCIA, Kyriaki GONI, Adnan HADZISELIMOVIC, John KAZIOR, Raivo KELOMEES, Michal KINDERNAY, Diana KNĚŽÍNKOVÁ, Martin KRUPA, Martin KULINNA, Carlos LENTINI, Amanda LEWIS, Eva-Maria LOPEZ, Mia MAKELA, Montgomery C. MARTIN, Karyn MCCALLUM, Sally MCINTYRE, Margarida MENDES, Lina MICHELKEVICE, Vytautas MICHELKEVIČIUS, Michal MITRO, Toni OLIVEIRA, Jakub ‘Preppikoma’ PALM, Ji Yun PARK, Matteo PIZZOLANTE, Gonzalo PRECIADO-AZANZA, Anna PRIEDOLA, Daina PUPKEVIČIŪTĖ, Tivon RICE, Byron RICH, Paul ROSERO CONTRERAS, Ellen RØED, Vincenzo SANSONE, André SIER, Don SINCLAIR, Eva SJUVE, Christina STADLBAUER, Vicki ZHANG.
EXHIBITION
Ecodata
October 9 – November 17, 2020, The National Library of Latvia, Riga,
As this year's festival is a collaboration with "Ecodata–Ecomedia–Ecoaesthetics" research group led by researcher and theorist Yvonne VOLKART, (Basel, Switzerland), it's featured event is the ECODATA Exhibition, taking place in the Exhibition Hall of The National Library of Latvia, from October 9 – November 17, 2020.
The exhibition opening program takes place on October 8-9, 2020, including the ECODATA symposium with the participation of invited keynote speakers, scientists and artists-researchers of "Ecodata–Ecomedia–Ecoaesthetics" project – Marcus MAEDER, Rasa SMITE, Aline VEILLAT. The Symposium aims to introduce the context and outcomes of the SNSF-funded research project "Ecodata–Ecomedia–Ecoaesthetics" (2017-2020) that explores the role and significance of new media, technologies and technoscientific methods in the arts for the perception and awareness of the ecological.
The exhibition features twenty artworks by internationally acknowledged artists working in the field of media art, science, and ecology – Ursula BIEMANN, Sarah BURGER, Marcus MAEDER, Eva & Franco MATTES, Francois KNOETZE, Diana SCHERER, Maayke SCHURER, SEMICONDUCTOR, Rasa SMITE, Raitis SMITS, Susana SOARES, Tamiko THIEL and /P, Leena ja Oula A. VALKEAPÄÄ, VARVARA & MAR, Aline VEILLAT, Elaine WHITTAKER.
OPEN FIELDS 2020 Conference Chairs and ECODATA Exhibition Curators:
Rasa SMITE, Raitis SMITS (Latvia), Yvonne VOLKART (Switzerland)
The RIXC Festival is produced by The RIXC Centre for New Media Culture. The Open Fields 2020 Conference is co-organized by RIXC and The Art Research Lab (MPLab) of Liepaja University (Liepaja, Latvia).
Festival producer: Agnese Baranova (agnese@rixc.org)
PR and information coordinator: Liva Silina (rixc@rixc.org)
Contact e-mail: rixc@rixc.org
Phones: +371 29635167 (Agnese Baranova), +371 26546776 (Rasa Smite)
Address: RIXC the Centre for New Media Culture, Lenču iela 2, Riga, LV-1010, Latvia
Support and Partners:
“Green Revisited” project supported by EU program Creative Europe, State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia, Riga City Council, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, Goethe Institute Riga, Pro Helvetia, Swiss Embassy in Latvia, National Library of Latvia, Modriaan fund, Canon, LG, REVERIE|TG™, EMAP, JCDecaux, Arterritory, Echo Gone Wrong, KDi.
“Ecodata-Ecomedia-Ecoaesthetics” Research Project funded by The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), hosted by The Institute of Aesthetic Practice and Theory IAeP at FHNW Academy of Art and Design, Basel (Switzerland), in cooperation with Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL (Switzerland).