Free Art & Technology (aka F.A.T.) Lab is now celebrating over five years of “thug life, pop culture, and R&D” in the Netherlands’ MU Eindhoven, with an opening exhibition and book launch, November 15.
With a range of lectures and workshops running at the site from November 13 to 16, the exhibition will bring together 25 collaborators across art, hacking, engineering, music and graffiti-writing, as well as a showcase of F.A.T.’s significant works from 2007 till now, plus new projects to be launched on the night.
Our favorite New York DIY art technology collective are throwing a big party tomorrow. Tomorrow… and the day after that too, and many more days until April 20th, that’s way too many parties right?
The thing is that influential NY “Lab” Free Art & Technology (F.A.T.) are celebrating their fifth anniversary starting tomorrow with a “night of thug life, pop culture, and R&D” at the always tireless centre Eybeam (who at the same time are celebrating their 15th anniversary with a series of expos).
Curated by Lindsay Howard “GOLD” is presented as an exhibition & a gathering of all those international crazy collaborators (artists, hackers, engineers, musicians, graffiti writers…). An expo which will feature significant works from 2007 to the present, including new projects to be launched on opening night.
The influential group—who’ve collectively and independently received prestigious honors such as the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award, Transmediale Award or Prix Ars Electronica will be onsite daily during the week of April 1, participating in panels, hackathons, collaborative pieces and a long list of events they’ve prepared for us (full schedule on their page).
Eyebeam F.A.T. announcement gif
One great thing for those not being able to attend is that Eyebeam & F.A.T. will be streaming “Public Access”, an audio-visual program produced by F.A.T. Fellows Jamie Wilkinson and Bennett Williamson conceived as a show and which will include interviews with the artists and guest collaborators, YouTube show & tell, visual effects, jam sessions…….. and which will be able to be livestreamed @ www.gold.fffff.at/live.html. Enjoy!
The whole point about Lego, Duplo, Blocksm is not to build amazing Star Wars spaceships or any other super-complicated spaceships, megabuildings or structures…. but to create your own universe and personal paraphernalia where to place your toys and play with.
But when you’re a kid and have to play with 3000 pieces from 4 different systems, say Lego, Tente, Meccano… or else, you never get to build your wild dream… because you simply can’t mix all those pieces!
Thank god the people at FAT (Free Art and Technology Lab… sort of another Media Lab but for Pop culture) just unveiled earlier this week the “Free Universal Construction Kit”, a set of nearly 80 adapters for you to mix & mash 10 of the most popular construction games out there: Lego, Duplo, Fischertechnik, Gears! Gears! Gears!, K’Nex, Krinkles (Bristle Blocks), Lincoln Logs, Tinkertoys, Zome, and Zoob
Yes, you kids will go as crazy as those in the clip, for sure. “Hybrid constructive play” is what the kit promises, enabling some weird creations and previously impossible designs.
The Kit in use, connecting four different systems together
As a lab which mixes open source & pop culture the Universal Construction Kit was conceived precisely to eliminate that proprietary barrier all the aforementioned construction toys have… maybe the manufacturers of those toy companies won’t be as happy as of this week; more info and downloadable models on their page. Have fun!
