Ljudmila Art and Science Laboratory

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Društvo Ljudmila, laboratorij za znanost in umetnost
Rozmanova ulica 12, SI-1000 Ljubljana
Luka Frelih, President



Past Events
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Ljudmila in lights.jpgLjudmila in lights, Ljudmila - Ljubljana Digital Media Lab, the predecessor of Ljudmila Art and Science Laboratory.

Set up in the middle of the 1990s, Ljudmila Art and Science Laboratory has been bringing together technology, art, science, and civil society ever since. As such it is not only a place where hackers, researchers and artists meet, but also a platform for reflecting and modifying culture through the lens of politics, as generated by the developments in communications technologies.

Its programmes are rather wide-reaching. Ljudmila runs the Strictly Analog Festival and the art&hacking meeting PIFcamp. Since 2010 it operates the Culture.si portal, and as of 2013 also the metasearch engine and culture aggregator Kulturnik.si. From 2011 it acts as a public lead of Creative Commons Slovenia. It organises workshops on the uses of open source software and on making DIY technological hacks; supports the production of new media artworks; has an orchestra; and more.


Mission

Ljudmila engages in the development and popularisation of open culture, free licences and software, and in new ways of data distribution. It detects the ways through which the transformations in the field of information and communications technologies affect the society and encourages the corresponding cultural and artistic practices.

As of 2017 Ljudmila is stationed in a skyscraper in the centre of Ljubljana, sharing its 8th floor with two other NGOs, the Delak Institute and the Projekt Atol Institute. Together they work on establishing the place as a multifunctional venue for new media art and contemporary theatre.

Background

The laboratory is a successor to the Ljudmila - Ljubljana Digital Media Lab, as of 1994 a programme of the Open Society Institute Slovenia and later also the KUD France Prešeren Arts and Culture Association. Self-proclaimed as 'the latest spin-off' from the Open Society Institute - Slovenia (1992–2000), the Ljudmila Art and Science Laboratory was established by 10 new & all media artists, software developers, hackers, and computer engineers in 2010.

The founding members of the Ljudmila Art and Science Laboratory are Urban Belina, Mitja Doma, Luka Frelih, Tomaž Ižanc, Žiga Kranjec, Igor Križanovskij, Zoran Obradović, Alenka Pirman, Robertina Šebjanič, and Živa Zupan.

Ljudmila Art and Science Laboratory 2014 Dorojevic Stupica Neur-O-Matic Photo Miha Peterlic.jpgNevromat [Neur-O-Matic] by Lenka Đorojević & Matej Stupica, produced by Ljudmila Art and Science Laboratory and Projekt Atol Institute, 2014

Educational programmes

Ljudmila organises regular courses in basic and advanced use of open source software (Blender, Pure Data, MediaWiki), as well as the Free Circuit [Prosto-vezje] workshops and Digital Dish public lectures and artist talks by international new media artists.

The workshops usually feature various modes of 'tinkering' with electronic circuits and technology in general, hacking and re-imagining it with the help of free software ('home-made synths' and 'wearable electronics' serving as a typical example). The participants are encouraged to search for further uses and include the findings in their artistic work. Since 2013 Ljudmila is developing its education programmes together with the Projekt Atol Institute.

Ljudmila - Ljubljana Digital Media Lab 2012 Interactivos Photo Helena Bozic (3).jpgInteractivos?’12 Ljubljana: Obsolete Technologies of the Future at Ljudmila - Ljubljana Digital Media Lab, 2012

Art projects and residencies

Ljudmila's artistic endeavours, also often involving Projekt Atol, usually fall under new media art. It focuses on young artists, offering them technological and other support for their productions. One such example is Neur-o-Matic, an awarded analogue media-art installation by Lenka Đorojević & Matej Stupica.

Tha laboratory also organises artists residencies, inviting and hosting one artist from abroad per year.

Strictly Analog Festival and PIFcamp

In 2013 Ljudmila launched the Strictly Analog Festival, then an international joint project with partner institutions from Graz, Trieste, and Tokyo as well as with the locally based Lighting Guerrilla Festival, MoTA Museum of Transitory Art, and Projekt Atol Institute.

PIFcamp, a temporary hacker-base set in the idyllic valley in Trenta, was first set up in 2015. Hands-on workshops, presentations, field trips, artistic explorations and random gadget tinkerings take place in an atmospehere of collective research and creation. Participants are assisted by experienced local and international guests from different fields.

Theremidi Orchestra

As a result of a theremin and theremidi physical interface workshop at Ljudmila in 2011, the electronic noise ensemble Theremidi Orchestra was founded in 2011, in collaboration with Borut Savski from Cirkulacija 2. The Theremidi audiovisual public presentations at festivals are usually combined with open workshops on making DIY instruments and gadgets.

Ljudmila Art and Science Laboratory 2013 Theremidi Orchestra.jpgTheremidi Orchestra, group of enthusiasts from Ljudmila Art and Science Laboratory performing at Mladi levi Festival and 7th edition of U3 Triennial of Contemporary Slovene Arts, 2013

Portals and digital agenda

On the behalf of the Ministry of Culture Ljudmila runs two web portals – Culture.si, which offers information on Slovene cultural producers, venues, festivals and support services, all in one place; and Kulturnik.si, a digital aggregator and search engine for all things (Slovene) culture.

In 2013 Ljudmila Art and Science Laboratory was invited by the Ministry of Culture to collaborate with the National and University Library and Archives of the Republic of Slovenia and organise a line of discussions related to Digital Agenda in the Field of Culture in order to identify the issues and outline basic standards and recommendations for a common strategy. The working group led by Ljudmila focused on data acessibility, while the other two groups discussed the processes of digitisation and permanent data preservation.

Ljudmila has also been collaborating with the Slovene Museum Society, organising discussions on museums and the web. It advises art institutions on web design, manages the servers infrastructure for various NGOs, and is generally interested in the developments of digital politics and policy.

See also

External links

Gallery

Društvo Ljudmila, laboratorij za znanost in umetnost +
Luka Frelih +
Društvo Ljudmila, laboratorij za znanost in umetnost +
SI-1000 Ljubljana +
President +
Rozmanova ulica 12 +
Set up in the middle of the 1990s, Ljudmila Art and Science Laboratory has been bringing together technology, art, science, and civil society ever since. +
Set up in the middle of the 1990s, Ljudmila Art and Science Laboratory has been bringing together technology, art, science, and civil society ever since. +
Ljubljana +
SI-1000 +
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