Press - A Publication of the CultureNet Program @ Capilano University

CultureNet Presents: “THE LIBRARY IS DEAD! LONG LIVE THE LIBRARY!” Oct. 18

Press Admin — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 19:13:29 +0000

The CultureNet 2012-13 Speaker Series Presents

“THE LIBRARY IS DEAD! LONG LIVE THE LIBRARY!”

Thursday, October 18
11:30am-12:30pm
CSU Library Lounge
Capilano University
2055 Purcell Way, N. Vancouver

Free admission, Light Refreshments Served

If books are dying in the age of Wikipedia, will libraries of the future be like museums? This chat, led by Tania Alekson (Cap U. Instruction & Web Librarian) and Grace Makarewicz (Cap U. University Librarian) asserts that libraries today are very much alive and ever more attuned to the changing needs of their information-savvy users.

Join us for an audience- and student-driven panel discussion, as we chat about the ways new technologies, digital culture, social media, and emerging ideas about the connection between space and learning are transforming our libraries, here at Capilano U., throughout the province, and all across the information landscape.

Questions and comments can be submitted before, during, or after the talk using the Twitter hashtag: #libraryfutures.

The top three Cap. U. student questions/comments received via email (bganter@capilanou.ca) or tweet (#libraryfutures) BEFORE 5PM ON WED. OCT. 17TH will win a free usb flash drive courtesy of the CultureNet program. Winning comments/questions will be announced, read out loud, and discussed at the Oct. 18th panel event.

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For further information on this speaking event or about the CultureNet Speakers Series please contact Brian Ganter, CultureNet Convenor, at bganter@capilanou.ca.

CultureNet program www.capilanou.ca/cnet
Program publication “Press” at www.culturenetpress.net
On Twitter www.twitter.com/CultureNetCapU

Please forward this announcement to all interested persons.

CultureNet Presents GRAFFITI RESEARCH LAB, Capilano University, Oct. 29th 4-5pm

Press Admin — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 23:32:35 +0000

THE CULTURENET 2012-13 SPEAKER SERIES PRESENTS

GRAFFITI RESEARCH LAB

Monday October 29

4-5pm

Cedar Bldg. Room 148

Capilano University

2055 Purcell Way

North Vancouver

Graffiti Research Lab (Canada) is a local branch of a global media arts network that spans from Montreal to Berlin to Vienna to Brazil. The GRL conducts workshops on digital forms of graffiti, which they see both as a digital art and as a tool for the “liberation of the people from the psychological warfare of the ad executives.” Their tools? “Bombing with light and getting up with lasers”.

Agent Scott and Mirae Rosner, two leading members of the Canada/Vancouver branch of GRL will give a talk at Capilano University on Monday October 29, 4-5pm, in Cedar Bldg., Rm. 148. They will discuss graffiti as a digital art and a form of digital writing as well as addressing the nature and challenges of interactive art installations in global, public and urban spaces. A short Q + A will conclude the visit.

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Prior to their campus speaking engagement, on 12-14 October 2012 (opening from 9pm-1am, Oct. 12th), the Graffiti Research Lab (Canada) will be conducting a nighttime exhibition and participatory media event at W2 Media Cafe downtown on Hastings Street. Taking place simultaneously across three continents, this event is titled “PWN THE WALL”.

From the press release:

“PWN THE WALL is a 25 hour interactive digital graffiti event connecting Vancouver, Berlin, and Seoul. Created by GRL members in Canada, Germany, and South Korea, PWN THE WALL uses open-source technology to collapse geographical space through a real-time telematic exchange. Simultaneous live digital painting events in all three cities will showcase local graffiti writers. The installation is interactive and open to the public for the duration of PWN THE WALL.”

Read the announcement below or contact W2 Media Cafe for more information on PWN THE WALL event.

The GRL speaking engagement on campus is FREE and open to students, to the public and to visiting classes (with advance notice). Everyone welcome.

For further information on this speaking event or about the CultureNet Speakers Series please contact Brian Ganter, CultureNet Convenor, atbganter@capilanou.ca.

For more information about the CultureNet program or CultureNet events visit < www.capilanou.ca/cnet > or our program publication “Press” at <www.culturenetpress.net >.

Please forward this announcement to all interested persons.

CultureNet Program Partners with Creative Mornings-Vancouver

Press Admin — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 06:59:46 +0000

Watch here for more information in the near future.

Quebec Student Tuition Protests – Campus Discussion to be Moderated by CNET Convenor

Press Admin — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 16:04:24 +0000

As part of the Chat Live series at Capilano University for the Fall 2012 term, CNET Convenor Brian Ganter will moderate an informal, student-driven discussion tentatively titled “What Are Cap. U. students Saying About the Quebec Tuition Protests?”. Chat Live schedule for the Fall will be announced towards the start of the term.

What is Chat Live?

ChatLive are informal discussions over lunch (free pizza!) during which you explore interesting ideas with other students. It’s a great way to get a notation on your academic transcript while discussing topics such as environmental sustainability, the psychology of riots, Facebook, art, activism, films and more.

For more information about Chat Live visit the program’s home page.

Reflections of a Recent CultureNet Graduate

Press Admin — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 22:04:21 +0000

* Press Editor’s Note: We were pleased to see Christopher Gallardo-Ganaban graduate from Capilano University and complete the CultureNet program this year. He was kind enough to share his departing reflections on his experience with the program. With his permission we are publishing them here for the benefit of younger CNET students and for those, like Christopher several years ago, who may now be considering entering the program.

Reflections of a Recent CultureNet Graduate

by Christopher Gallardo-Ganaban

Christopher Gallardo-Ganaban, 2012 CultureNet/Capilano University Graduate

Capilano University’s website describes CultureNet as a “two-year multidisciplinary program designed for students interested in examining contemporary culture with a focus on how people interact with technology.” By definition, this synthesizes exactly what CultureNet at Capilano University entails. But that does not nearly characterize my personal experiences in CultureNet.

Two years ago when I finished high school, there was only one thing certain: that I would go to school to finish an undergraduate degree; I did not know what type of degree I would be pursuing. With the one school that I’ve wanted to go to since the age of six rejecting my application because I missed the admission average by merely two percent, I was faced with making a decision between schools that were not my first choice.

I picked CultureNet as it seemed the most versatile out of the list of programs to which I was accepted. I could not anticipate what an Associate of Arts Degree in Culture and Technology would get me. I might as well have flipped a coin to make my decision, because I knew I would be applying for another school within the next two years anyways.

My CultureNet intake year consisted of no more than five students with varying interests and educational backgrounds. We took three core courses together each semester as a cohort with other students who were not in CultureNet. At first, the courses we would be taking seemed unrelated. English, Communications, Art History, Anthropology, Computing Science, and Geography were just a few of the courses that we were required to take; the link between these disciplines was neither obvious nor apparent to me.

During my two years at Capilano University, I was immersed in the world of Marshall McLuhan, Sigmund Freud, Michel Foucault, René Magritte, James Carey and Karl Marx. The courses we took had very different perspectives on culture, yet many disciplines borrowed ideas from each other. The representation of reality was a recurring theme; we traced the history of technology and media and how they influenced the world as we see it. As I took more of the courses required by CultureNet, I felt as if I were escaping the matrix. Not only did I learn more about the world surrounding me, I also learned more about the world with respect to who I am and my part in it.

At the midpoint of my program in CultureNet, I had the opportunity to attend SIGGRAPH 2011 with a media pass representing CultureNet. I was honoured to have had this opportunity to cover the conference via articles and tweets for the readers and followers of the CultureNet Press, an online publication by CultureNet.

At the end of my program, I walked away with a better understanding of society and the world in which we live, a better understanding of myself and what I want to pursue, and also a set of friends and contacts whom I will keep in touch with for many years to come. I will be continuing my education at Simon Fraser University with the intent to pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree with a joint major in Communication and Interactive Arts and Technology.

My experiences at Capilano University were rewarding. In addition to completing a well-designed multi-disciplinary program and finding my educational path, my university experience was also enhanced by the extremely helpful professors, small class sizes that promoted discussion, and the additional clubs and activities that the school offered.

I would recommend this program to those who, like me, are questioning their career and educational path. CultureNet is a fresh, innovative program that covers many disciplines in Arts and Social Sciences; if you are passionate about the arts and culture, CultureNet may what you are looking for. If you are still not convinced, don’t hesitate to schedule a meeting with either an advisor at Capilano University or the convener of CultureNet to find out if it could be the program for you.

IKMQ: CNET Faculty Book Published by New Star Books

Press Admin — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 18:01:12 +0000

IKMQ, by CNET faculty member Roger Farr, was published and released this month on New Star Books press. The text consists of “sixty–four brief passages ––– stories, descriptions, instructions, scenarios, formulae ––– each involving the characters represented by the letters I, K, M and Q.” Visit the publisher’s website here for more information about IKMQ.

Image Courtesy of New Star Books

Graduation 2012 – New Program Graduates

Press Admin — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 17:19:29 +0000

Congratulations to our newest round of 2012 CultureNet graduates. This was our largest group of graduates since the start of the CultureNet program!

Congratulations to

Christopher Gallardo-Ganaban
Kerri Yuen
James Siddall
Charlie Macaulay

We will miss them and wish them the best!

“Digital Natives” Project – Roger Farr

Press Admin — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 16:53:02 +0000

In April 2011, CultureNet faculty member Roger Farr was one of several area writers invited to participate in the Digital Nativesproject, an installation at the Burrard street bridge.The work used Twitter and the billboard format as “a space for exchange between native and non-native communities in an exploration of language in public space.”

For a full description, see the visuals and information below (thanks to Art Agenda).

Digital Natives

curated by Lorna Brown and Clint Burnham
April 4–30, 2011

electronic billboard at the Burrard Street Bridge
Vancouver, BC
Canada
lorna@othersights.ca

www.digitalnatives.co

Other Sights for Artists’ Projects is pleased to announce Digital Natives, a public art project on the electronic billboard at the Burrard Street Bridge, in Vancouver, Canada.

Located on Skwxwú7mesh territory in the heart of the city, the digital signs, facing north and south, flash a static advertisement every ten seconds. Their scale, and their proximity to the bridge makes for an assertive relationship to the pedestrians, cyclists and motorists entering and departing downtown, and this occupation of visual space has been the subject of considerable controversy.

For Digital Natives, the billboard becomes a space for exchange between native and non-native communities in an exploration of language in public space. Using the form of tweets, artists and writers from across North America have contributed text messages to be broadcast during the month of April, coinciding with the 125th Anniversary of the City of Vancouver. Interrupting the flow of advertisements, the brief messages respond to the location and history of the billboard; of digital language and translation, and of the city itself.

digitalnatives.co extends the conversation, featuring a blog that captures the exchange between contributors across the continent. The contested history of the site is chronicled in text and images, and a live Twitter feed tracks public responses to the project.

Digital Natives is public art that the public not only ‘receives’, but may also produce. Contributions from First Nations young people have been gathered through a series of workshops, and local and remote audiences are invited to tweet their messages to @ diginativ to be considered for broadcast.

Public Language Trouble

Sixty messages were composed for Digital Natives: two contributions, and one Skwxwú7mesh translation were omitted before broadcast by the corporation that is under contract to manage the billboard’s content, Astral Media Outdoor. We present them below in solidarity with these respected artists:

“IMPERIAL CANADA AWARDED SEX ABUSE TO NATIVE YOUTH BY THE BLACK ROBES NOW PROUDLY BESTOWS BRONZE SILVER GOLD MEDALS WITH INDIAN IMAGE”

Edgar Heap of Birds

“Your grandparents’ unacknowledged debts return to you as rage against the car in front”

Larissa Lai

Other Sights for Artists’ Projects is dismayed at the exclusion of their work.

Contributing Artists and Writers:
Candice Hopkins, cheyanne turions, Chris Bose, Christian Bok, Daina Warren, Edgar Heap of Birds, Emily Fedoruk, Henry Tsang, Jeff Derksen, Larissa Lai, Lisa Robertson, Lori Emerson, Marianne Nicolson, Mercedes Eng, Michael Turner, Peter Morin, Phillip Djwa, Postcommodity, Rachel Zolf, Raymond Boisjoly, Rita Wong, Roger Farr, Sonny Assu, Tania Willard.

Digital Natives is commissioned by the City of Vancouver Public Art Program with the support of Vancouver 125 and the participation of the Government of Canada. We are grateful for the support of The Canada Council for the Arts and the Museum of Anthropology, at the University of British Columbia.

About Other Sights
Other Sights for Artists’ Projects Association operates as a collective of Vancouver-based individuals with expertise in curation, project management, presentation, delivery, and promotion of temporary art projects in public spaces. Other Sights is dedicated to challenging perceptions, encouraging discourse and promoting individual perspectives about shared social spaces. We seek to create a presence for art in spaces and sites that are accessible to a broad public, such as the built environment, communications technologies, the media, and the street, supporting critically rigorous work for highly visible locations. We collaborate and share resources with organizations and individuals to present projects that consider the aesthetic, economic and regulatory conditions of public places and public life, creating new platforms for temporary artist projects in the public realm.

Image above:
Barbara Cole.

Internship Opportunity: Multimedia and Journalism Internship with MetroVancouver.

bganter — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 17:08:36 +0000

Multimedia and Journalism Internship with MetroVancouver.
For youth aged 15-25.

May 11-13 and May 18-21

Over 7 days this May, join professional media educators, producers, journalists and documentary makers to explore the creative potential of social media-making with an unique focus on sustainability.

Interns will work in teams with an experienced and thoughtful mentor and professional equipment to create video blogs that investigate sustainability issues within Pacific Spirit Regional Park near UBC.

Interns will be mentored to research and produce multimedia content or broadcast-ready news-magazine stories to upload to their blogs and share online.

You can watch last year’s projects here:

http://www.metrovancouver.org/mediaroom/videos/Pages/Video.aspx?bcpid=888483

788001&bckey=AQ~~,AAAAtIJh4TE~,Ey0zR91VLds2WQTBHsEly2uYPZzBI2pw&bctid=109440
0261001

Please contact Corin Browne or Candace Ng for questions or to apply.

We accept only 12 interns each year, so please contact us very soon if you are interested.

Corin Browne
cbrowne@sfu.ca
778-888-3341

Candace Ng
Candace.Ng@metrovancouver.org

Screening of AVATARA documentary on Thursday, March 29th

bganter — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 21:32:53 +0000

AVATARA

The CultureNet Program hosts a screening and discussion of this experimental documentary on avatars, identity, and everyday life in virtual reality, with Donato Mancini of the 536 media collective. Capilano University, Room CE148, N. Vancouver, March 29th, 11:30 am, free, 604-986-1911 (2291).

Reviews and previews here and here.