The Digital Cultures Conference is the first event in Poland that will address digital culture so globally. The interdisciplinary programme of the conference covers a wide scope of this rapidly developing sector: from computer games and narrative museums to interactive storytelling and topics related to digitalisation. It will be the first time one event will provide the opportunity to speak about such diverse topics as digital re-use, the role of new media in the theatre, the potential and challenges of interactive journalism, archiving of the Internet, the applications of artificial intelligence and the role of technology in cultural institutions.
Renowned experts from Europe, the USA, and Asia have been invited to participate. Among them, there will be directors of important festivals, museum directors, representatives of key technological institutions, artists and game developers. The panels will feature, among others: William Uricchio (MIT), Rodrigo de Benito Sanz (New York Times), David-Michel Davies (Webby Awards Director), Matthieu Bonicel (Bibliotheque National de France), Paul Hanraets (Gambitious) and Navid Khonsari (iNK Stories). In total, there will be several dozen foreign guests participating in the conference.
Thanks to the diversified character of participants and the wide range of topics, it will be possible to consider the subject from very different points of view. For instance, games will be discussed not only by their designers and producers, but also by museum employees, while game developers will take part in the debate on exhibition design.
The conference aims to present the most interesting changes in Polish digital culture in recent years and to create a platform to facilitate international networking and share experiences and knowledge. Apart from panel discussions, the programme includes workshops, thematic stands with experts, artistic actions and film screenings. The conference will contribute to building relations between Polish and foreign institutions and creators. It will also help bring Polish digital culture into the global exchange, both at the level of content (productions, art projects, curatorial initiatives) and at the discursive level of participation in international debates and recognition from creators and institutions abroad.
The conference is conceived and organised by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, under its flagship brand Culture.pl.
Conference partners include Indie Games Poland Foundation (merit partner), Future Processing (technology partner), Copernicus Science Centre, The National Library, Polona, CSW Ujazdowski Castle in Warsaw, We Are Museums, Pixel Magazine, Solec 44, National Audiovisual Institute, Fundacja Pełne Zanurzenie, Cross Video Days and Wikimedia.
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Find more information at: www.digitalcultures.pl
What is digital culture?
Digital technologies form an important part of culture today. Art that makes use of digital codes extends far beyond gallery spaces, where interactive installations or sculptures made with cutting-edge technologies are on display. Technology appears in theatres and cinemas, facilitates the everyday work of reporters and documentarians, helps to tell complex stories to museum visitors, digitises cultural heritage, and builds spectacular worlds in computer games.
Poland has many creative artists and designers, as well as world-class narrative museums that attract millions of visitors every year and have received acclaim through international prizes such as the European Museum of the Year Award 2016 for the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, EMYA distinction for the Silesian Museum and the Council of Europe’s Museum Prize 2016 for the European Solidarity Centre.
Digital culture in Poland
Digital culture in Poland is a relatively young field, rapidly developing over the last five to eight years. Nonetheless, close relations between art and technology date back to the 1950s and include the activity of Zakłady Artystyczno Badawcze ZAB (Art and Research Centres), the inauguration of the Experimental Polish Radio and the first TV shows by Adam Słodowy – the pioneer of the Polish DIY movement.
Today, artists and institutions approach technology in an increasingly creative and thoughtful manner. The gaming sector has enjoyed a lot of attention, due largely to the global success of the Witcher series. The conference is partly aimed at presenting the wide and diverse spectrum of Polish digital culture to foreign visitors.
Key concepts
- Augmented Reality – the use of technology to augment perception by blending virtual and real elements (used, for example, in the game Pokémon Go).
- Virtual Reality – a technology that uses stereoscopic glasses to create the feeling of immersion in a digitally generated world, thus maximising the impact on the viewer’s senses and perception.
- Interactive storytelling – projects aimed at telling a story, usually in a non-linear way. The interactive element is extremely important here, providing viewers with the ability to shape the storyline.
- Gamedev – a game development sector including creators, producers and script writers.
- Webdoc – a documentary or reportage, usually presented on a website. The viewer choses the order of the narrative and the form in which it is presented, selecting from elements of blogs, animations, texts and films.
Partners:
Biblioteka Narodowa, Polona, FINA, Muzeum Polin, Aleksander Baron Chef, Centrum Cyfrowe, Wro Art Center, Wikimedia Polska, Kino Elektronik, PJATK, Centrum Nauki Kopernik, Fundacja Indie Games, We Are Museums, Cross Video Days, Fundacja Pełne Zanurzenie (brak logotypu - piszemy nazwę tylko), Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe, Pixel, Arte po polsku, NASK, Medialab Katowice, TR Warszawa, HTC,
Technology Partner:
Future Processing