Archive for the ‘Wales’ Category

Digital Culture Wales

27 March, 2012

Galeri, Caernarfon

We spoke with our own Martin Owen about Wales’s long history of collaborative creativity and what was learned about meeting the needs of Welsh arts communities in the 21st century. And we ended up learning something about Romanticism, wartime art rescue, and an unusual idea for an art museum.

What was the focus of the Digital Culture Wales event?

We had individual musicians, people who run performance spaces, art galleries, music ensembles, and we had people from the National Theatre Wales Community, who are peripatetic. It was a variety of people in the arts and culture space, all there to talk about ways that cultural businesses in Wales can improve their capacity to reach, build, and address their audiences.

We’ll get to the unusual art museum in a minute, but what were some of the problems and digital ideas people talked about?

They need to be able to up their marketing game. We need to help them improve their marketing capacity, find ways to help them get training, better business-to-business networking. They just don’t talk to each other enough across the value chain. So that was some of the focus.

You mentioned a concerted events database for north Wales. Can you tell us more about what that involves?

There was also talk about a good, central repository. It’d be the equivalent of something like Time Out, only digital, and without necessarily needing to approach an editor.

There would be properly structured APIs, so that, say, if I was running a series of guesthouse websites, and you were looking at my guesthouse, you could easily find out what else is happening during the time you would be visiting. And local papers, businesses — they would automatically have this updated database for events.

Wales has a history of loose but dynamic collaboration in the arts. Tell us how you came across a forgotten artists’ colony in Snowdonia

I was on holiday in Norway and I got kind of a shock. I had a day in Bergen, where it’s always drizzling, so I made for the art gallery. In amongst the Edvard Munchs was this painting of a local waterfall in Betws Y Coed.

I hadn’t been to the Norwegian hinterland yet, where there are waterfalls every few miles. But despite all of these waterfalls, this Norwegian artist had gone to north Wales to paint this relatively unimpressive waterfall.

He went, presumably, to hang out with this colony of artists. In this very picturesque mountain village of Betws Y Coed, in north Wales, there was one of the largest artists’ colonies in the world in the end of the 19th century.

What was it called? And why isn’t it remembered?

It wasn’t called anything — it didn’t have a name. But it was a fairly significant Romantic period colony but it somehow slipped from art history and was rapidly replaced by early 20th-century modernism.

The idea [for a collection] was brought up by a local artist called David Woodford, who was at the event. There’s no permanent collection and no collective memory of this fine art movement in north Wales. So you can see things on the walls of galleries in New York or Norway, but you can’t see them on the walls of galleries here.

People didn’t respond particularly strongly to it specifically, but one of the things that interested people is the idea that there’s a lot of “hiding lights under bushels” in north Wales. And it brought us back to an idea for a virtual gallery of fine art.

Can you tell us more about that?

We had a meeting on digital technology and tourism in late 2010, and there was a suggestion that we create a virtual art gallery in a quarry in another mountain town, Blaenau Ffestiniog.

Why a quarry in Blaenau Ffestiniog?

In World War II, the artistic treasures of the nation that were held in London — the Queen’s pictures, the contents of the National Gallery — they were all stored in a disused quarry in this mountain village, to protect them.

So the idea that was pitched then was that we create a digital or digitised national fine art museum with the treasures of the nation. We would have digital images and because it would be completely dark inside the cavern, we could do whatever we wanted, and have interesting ways of displaying these digitised works.

We could juxtapose works of art in ways that other galleries can’t. For example, if you were to take a single subject, say, The Last Supper or St Jerome, in the way that they’re hung in the National Gallery in London. If it’s an 18th-century French painting, it’s with the other 18th-century French paintings. But we could have a space where we could compare the interpretation across lots of artists and periods.

There are so many interesting ways we could use this space to rethink art galleries in a digital form. And it would also be an experience because you’re in an interesting space. One of the things north Wales needs, too, is more wet-weather attractions.

What has happened with this digital museum idea?

It’s an idea that the community around Blaenau Ffestiniog are still addressing. They have some money to support their regeneration. They’re considering a number of ideas.

+++

One of the reasons we love our Inventorium event participants is the way that the growing and ever-changing community and collaborations introduce us to ideas we might not have thought of, or have thought to put together.

The more people we meet, the more confident we feel about the creative and exciting ideas and projects that are either happening, or have the potential to happen. So when we’re addressing the digital needs of the culture industry in north Wales, how can we best tap into the strengths of these communities, so they can perform better?

We hosted a follow-up event on April 23 in Ty Menai, for anyone who wanted to take some of these ideas forward, so stay tuned for updates. Martin has also started a discussion on LinkedIn, where the conversation continues.

What happens when you combine experience and youthful exuberance without making young innovators feel they need to choose between education and ideation?

Jenny Dickinson talks about the excitement of working with creative media students from Coleg Harlech and Coleg Ceredigion at our Creative Technology and the Welsh Environment event back in February.

The Workshop

We’d intended to do an event in collaboration with Coleg Harlech because we’ve already been working with Xsportmap’s Chris Headleand, who lectures in creative media there. Coleg Harlech ran a seminar in the morning with a series of great speakers, focusing on creative businesses. We heard from Rebecca Colley-Jones, who talked about the impact of technology on the environment. We had a talk from Tom Beverley and Rhys Jones, who develop mobile applications for education.

At the Inventorium workshop, we ended up with students from Coleg Harlech and a group from Coleg Ceredigion. The idea was to give young people a chance to generate ideas, evaluate them, and look for business opportunities in them.

We split the 18 students into groups, where they played Inventorium Poker, then chose two of their best ideas to explore for business viability. They looked at the obstacles, the market, how to get customers — in general, how to take an idea and look at it like an entrepreneur. They presented the initial ideas to each other, and then spent the rest of the afternoon developing.

Idea highlights

A lot of the students are studying filmmaking, so one group had a recce app, which would make it easy to source filming locations that met certain criteria. For example, if you needed a location by the sea with mountains in the background that looked good at night, the app would help you find that. It would take in tidal information, information about the moon and artificial lighting that would tell you about brightness, etc.

There was a pair of students who want to convert old buses into environmentally friendly and bespoke mobile homes. They’re really keen on doing it, so we worked closely with them on how they would source the buses, do the design and conversion, and market themselves.

Another idea was a farm that would be controlled by virtual shareholders who would control what the farm did. They could watch through webcams and follow online, and make decisions about animals, crops, what to buy, and what to sell.

Young people as natural innovators

We’ve done a lot of idea generation workshops, but this was a different, much younger group than the ones we’ve worked with before. Young people add a really good angle to our events, I think. They have so many fantastic ideas, and they’re really boundless in terms of where their minds will go. They’re really good fun, and not afraid to say stuff.

When it comes to technology, and especially creative technology, they know what they want and they know what would work. They’ve been brought up with the technology, so they’re vital to the process of developing more of it. The challenge is helping them to be creative with the technology that exists already.

They were more aware of the entrepreneurial side of things than I thought they would be, so we’re excited to help them learn how to develop that kind of thinking. I was surprised how mature they were, and not only how interested they were in ways that you could make money out of creative media, but also how much they’d already thought about it.

And their presentation skills were really very good — they were so confident standing up and explaining their ideas. That’s something that can be built on to make them successful entrepreneurs.

What’s next?

We’ve been following up on the ideas and we’re looking at going to Coleg Ceredigion to run another workshop with students who want to take their ideas on further. If they’re interested — which we hope they will be — we’ll help them source people working in industry who might be able to see where the ideas will go, and perhaps develop a product. The idea will come from students, who will always be involved, but the industry expertise can help make it a reality.

We’ve talked before about creating situations where young people are encouraged to make their ideas happen, and we’re hoping that we can help them build on this without feeling they need to leave education before they’re ready.

This weekend the 870-mile Wales Coast Path (WCP) opens, a walkable route that stretches all the way from Chepstow to Saltney, Chester. Combined with the existing Offa’s Dyke Path, Wales will become the only place in the world where it’s both theoretically and practically possible to circumnavigate an entire country on foot.

Pembrokeshire or Shangri La?

What Wales lacks in ‘Land of Milk and Honey’ weather it more than makes up for with scenery, activities, coastal access, and natural and cultural heritage — not to mention actual milk and honey. That’s why last year the WCP was the #1 travel pick for Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2012, beating Borneo, Sicily, Arunachel Pradesh (described as a modern Shangri-La), and six other contenders for the top spot.

From the rugged cliffs of Pembrokeshire to the geologically unique landscape of Anglesey, dolphin-spotting in New Quay and heritage from the prehistoric to the industrial, any project of this scale brings a whole series of challenges and opportunities. That’s why GeoVation, the innovation arm of the Ordnance Survey has included the path and the communities along it in its 2012 GeoVation Challenge.

The GeoVation Challenge

In the past few years, the OS has been opening up its data, making it easier and more exciting for people with great ideas to use spatial data to make those concepts into reality. The GeoVation challenges offer £125,000 worth of prizes to help develop the best ideas that use geography and geolocation.

At Challenge-specific pow wows, GeoVation looked at some of the problem areas that arise with the new path, and at how it will redefine some of the long-standing questions and challenges for the relevant communities.

For example, we can’t change the wet Welsh weather, but we can find ways to make tourism less seasonal, by providing more wet-weather activities. There are increased (and existing) needs for accommodation, toilet facilities, transport and parking, and mobile and internet connectivity. Addressing these needs is not only helpful for visitors but provides engagement opportunities for communities, as well as potential business opportunities.

Inventorium and GeoVation

GeoVation and Inventorium were brought together by our shared dedication to open innovation and collaboration.

Inventorium held a workshop on March 1st, where we brought together stakeholders to generate and shape ideas that could be uploaded to the GeoVation Challenge website. We wanted to engage with tourism providers, local authorities, accommodation providers, outdoor activity groups, local organisations and voluntary bodies, to encourage fruitful collaborations that might not otherwise have happened.

There were 22 participants, and ideas were submitted to the Challenge website, along with other idea submissions from around the UK. We are waiting to hear the winners of the challenge who will go forward to the GeoVation Bootcamp on June 22nd and 23rd, where the concepts will begin to take shape as potentially viable commercial prospects. The winners of the challenge will be announced in early July. The top prize money is £40,000, with two further prizes and a community prize of £1,000 and we’ll keep you posted.

The best GeoVation Challenge ideas will win big prizes, but when they’re implemented, they’ll mean everyone wins.

Following our Green Symposium last October which was held in association with the Green Innovation and Future Technologies (GIFT) Project, we would like to draw your attention the Launch of their new Green Innovation Network. The launch will take place on the 2nd May in Bangor, details are given below as well as links to a survey to help them shape future events.

Green Innovation Network/Rhwydwaith Arloesi Gwyrdd 

Green Business Breakfast Launch

Enjoy breakfast and be inspired at our first Green Business Breakfast in Bangor on Wed 2^nd May, (07:45 – 10:15).  Key speakers include Andy Middleton, founder of the ‘Do Lectures’ and carbon neutral adventure company, TYF, plus award winning construction company Wates. A FREE ‘Save Money, Reduce Waste’ workshop for businesses follows and we’re even providing lunch. Stay for all or part of the morning and contact Sue Francis at s.francis@bangor.ac.uk to find out more or book your place.

Green Innovation Network Survey

Help us shape our future events and training by completing our short (less than 10 mins, honest!) survey, for which you could win a delicious food hamper from Welsh gift company, Bodlon. Click here -  https://www.survey.bris.ac.uk/bangor/gins – before Friday 13^th April. Go on, you know you want to!

**********************************************************************************

Lansio Brecwast Busnes Gwyrdd

Mwynhewch frecwast a chael eich ysbrydoli yn y cyntaf o’n Brecwastau Busnes Gwyrdd ym Mangor ddydd Mercher 2 Mai (07:45 – 10:15).  Bydd y prif siaradwyr yn cynnwys Andy Middleton, sefydlydd y ‘Do Lectures’ a’r cwmni antur carbon niwtral, TYF, yn ogystal â’r cwmni adeiladu Wates.   I ddilyn ceir gweithdy AM DDIM i fusnesau ar ‘Arbed Arian, Lleihau Gwastraff’, ac rydym hyd yn oed yn darparu cinio.  Arhoswch am y bore i gyd, neu ran ohono, a chysylltwch â Sue Francis yn s.francis@bangor.ac.uk i gael gwybod mwy neu i archebu eich lle.

Arolwg Rhwydwaith Arloesi Gwyrdd

Helpwch ni i gynllunio at ddigwyddiadau a hyfforddiant yn y dyfodol drwy lenwi ein holiadur byr (fel gymer lai na 10 munud, wir yr!), ac fe allech ennill basged fwyd hyfryd gan y cwmni Cymreig, Bodlon.   Cliciwch yma – https://www.survey.bris.ac.uk/bangor/arag – cyn dydd Gwener 13 Ebrill. Bwriwch iddi, rydych yn gwybod eich bod eisiau gwneud hynny!

There are at least three ways to interpret this tile – each has interesting implications.

The first is using digital technology to promote cultural activity in Wales.  This is the basis on which our workshop on March 27th is initially conceived. Can we do things with digital technology that will develop resilient arts and culture for makers, performers, promoters and audiences? What can be done to make a living for those employed in arts and culture? How can we build a satisfied audience group? And so on.  The answer my come from digital interactions with taxi and bus services as much as anything that appears on the wall or on the stage.

Read More …

 There is a dilemma. Many chose to settle in rural Wales and rural Ireland to escape the rat race. We know that for many that means getting on trains to travel to clients in London. The family can fully enjoy Wales and the breadwinner has the pleasure at weekends. However there is a need to make a living. How does that square with innovative nation?  Inventorium has a challenge to help develop businesses in Wales and rural Ireland. Read More …

What happens to your eureka moments? Do you write them across your hand? Do you scribble them on the back of an envelope? There’s an app for that and now there’s a forum, too. Inventorium’s Open Mic Idea Jam series was part of Innovation Dublin 2011, and offered an audience and a microphone to anyone with an idea and three minutes to spare. Below is a review of the events and details of the Open Mic Idea Jams planned in Wales and Ireland in 2012. 

The Idea Jam was intended as a place to share ideas at all points of development, network with like-minded and compatibly different people, and contribute to a climate of idea-sharing, mutual encouragement, and constructive critique. There were potential investors and mentors present, too, but for most it seemed a chance to open up new conversations about ideas. Eighteen people spoke at the first event in the Stag’s Head, beginning with Conor Lynch of Connector.ie, and his idea for a website for skill sharing. The pitches ran the gamut from an idea for an eco-friendly and cost effective way to dry clothes without a tumble drier, to a travel website targeting walkers in Wicklow aged 50+, to a cloud hosting service called Astroboa, described as “like a WordPress service for data”.

There was a similar mix of digital, service and physical product pitches at the second Open Mic event at Odessa, including a novel idea for car sharing that sounded like a cross between Airbnb.com and Gocar.ie. Along with this were some very early-stage, more amorphous ideas like Lisa Feay’s idea for a jazz radio station, and some other arts focused concepts, like Castle Variations, an annual week-long musical mashup in a castle.

The Idea Jams bring together a wide range of people and ideas that wouldn’t otherwise end up in the same room on purpose. They’re as useful for the audience as they are for the people pitching, a few of whom seem to have gone home with business cards for potential collaborators, partners, investors or customers. However, what was striking but perhaps not surprising was the fairly low representation of women, not just pitching, but actually attending the event. Is it because there are fewer female entrepreneurs? Or is a woman less likely to air publicly an idea that isn’t quite ready yet?

The most striking thing was this: digital companies, organisations, would-be entrepreneurs and innovators can learn some important lessons from people who make physical products, or sell services. We know already that starting something successful, whether it’s for profit, for fun, or for the greater good, means understanding who your customer is, what that customer needs, and being really clear what problem you’re solving. Your sweat equity, your money, and your passion is tied up in this great new idea. It’s easy to think that you’ve thought all of the important things through everything else can be clarified later.

For a video of previous Open Mic nights click here.

More Open Mic Idea Jams are planned for 2012:

Wales: 17th April, Fat Cat, Bangor

For more details and to register visit the events section of our website.

We are having a Festival of Ideas. We are exploring different ways innovation might look in a small nation – especially the more peripheral bits of it.  We want to get a feel from those who are already practicing innovators, we want to investigate and explore how innovators are managing to do it – what drives them and how they are supported. At the end of the festival we want to ask ourselves hard questions about how we can be better at innovating.

The Festival is an event as part of the Ireland Wales Interreg project Inventorium. It is being supported by Pontio – whose physical manifestation – an arts and innovation centre being built in the centre of Bangor. Both Inventorium and Pontio are premised on the idea that innovation is not a solitary activity – it requires conversation and multiple perspectives. We bring people together who might not normally meet. Innovation, at its very least requires one conversation between someone with an idea or invention and someone who needs to use the invention. In most circumstances there needs to be some third person who has the wherewithal to drive it from and idea and deliver it to the customer. We might call them an entrepreneur – but that is something we can learn.

Inventorium also encourages Open Innovation based on the idea that innovation does not necessarily come from in-house and equally innovation may be better exploited in environments other than the place it started. The Public Sector needs to learn this.

So we are having a Festival that brings people together to be  innovative about innovation.  It is a participatory day with invited contributors and anyone else who wants to think hard and differently for a day.

We have invited some key contributors. We have people with international reputations in design thinking and enabling people to think differently. We have invited local pioneers who have made international impact through their actions. We have invited the small business  people who are not settling for the ordinary.

We will start the day with inspiration. We will hear short messages from those who are innovating in the arts, science, commerce, and technology and how Wales works for them.

We then get to the practical business of conversation for innovation. We will work on problems set by real business – and that will mean leaving the venue to visit people in their place of business. We will reflect on the process and imagine what we/they might do next.

Finally we get into a non adversarial debate. We will hear different perspectives on innovation in a small nation – what can be done, what needs to be done and what we can do.

This event is not for the faint hearted. It is for those who want to innovate or innovate more, and want the mutual support and atmosphere of being in a culture of innovation. There is more about the free to attend event on http://www.inventorium.org/events/innovation-in-a-small-nation/