Leonardo Network News

The Newsletter of the International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology and of l'Observatoire Leonardo des Arts et Technosciences

University of Plymouth to Host Leonardo Reviews

Starting 1 May 2005, Leonardo Reviews will have its own office in the United Kingdom at the University of Plymouth under the direction of Editor-in-Chief Michael Punt. This move represents an exciting step in the development and growing visibility of LR.

Although Leonardo has long addressed a steady community of artists actively engaged with the art/science/technology field, never before, it seems, has there been such a quality and quantity of writing being published in this arena. The reviews panel, whose members are situated around the globe, has expanded to meet this shift and now produces around 250 reviews annually (the equivalent of three full-length books), each of which has to be processed and published. The primary goal of the move is to raise the visibility of Leonardo Reviews as a developing section of the Leonardo network with its own publishing identity.

Leonardo is especially grateful to the University of Plymouth's Faculty of Technology and the School of Computing Communications and Electronics for their considerable financial sponsorship and support of the work involved in hosting LR for Leonardo/ISAST. LR hopes this move will stimulate further collaborations and progress in the review journal's development plan.

The new address for Leonardo Reviews is: Michael Punt, Editor-in-Chief, Leonardo Reviews, University of Plymouth, School of Computing Communications and Electronics, Portland Square, Drake Circus, Plymouth, Devon PL4 8AA, U.K. E-mail: <ldr@leonardo.org>.

Leonardo/OLATS Holds 8th Space and the Arts Workshop

In coordination with the First International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) International Conference that took place 16-19 March 2005 in Budapest, Leonardo/OLATS held its 8th Space and the Arts Workshop on 16 March 2005. The IAA conference's theme was The Impact of Space on Society, and the Leonardo/OLATS workshop focused on the cultural aspects of this impact.

The arts have been an integral part of space exploration and space activities since the beginning of the field. Over the years artists, writers and filmmakers have captured the imaginations of successive generations, gradually making the idea of space exploration an exciting and integral part of our society's shared aspirations, which in turn has helped generate public support and enthusiasm for civilian space initiatives. In the workshop, artists, writers and other cultural professionals addressed the role of the artist in the context of societal and cultural aspects of space activities from a future-oriented perspective.

More information can be found at <http://www.olats.org/sfNewWorkshop2005Budapest.html> and <http://www.impactofspace.hu>.

Leonardo Collaborates with ACM Multimedia 2005

ACM Multimedia 2005, sponsored by ACM SIGMM, SIGGRAPH and SIGCOMM, will feature an Interactive Art Program in collaboration with Leonardo. The ACM MM Interactive Art Program seeks to bring together the arts and multimedia communities to explore, discuss and push the limits for the advancement of both multimedia technology through the arts and the arts through multimedia technology.

The Interactive Art Program will consist of a conference track and an art exhibition. The multimedia art exhibition Presence/Absence will include works that use multimedia to explore issues of location, relocation and dislocation, particularly where multimedia technology overcomes or reinforces physical presence or separation. The exhibition puts an emphasis on interactive artworks that realize powerful artistic concepts using multimedia content and technologies.

The conference track will feature the presentation of papers describing interactive multimedia artworks, tools, applications and technical approaches for creative uses of multimedia content and technology. Emphasis will be on novel works that use a rich variety of media and those that are interactive, particularly works that exploit unconventional human-computer interfaces or sensors in new and emerging areas. Best Paper Awards will be given with an emphasis on novel uses of multimedia technology.

Accepted papers for the exhibition and conference track will be published in the ACM Multimedia Conference proceedings. A selection of the works accepted will be published in a special gallery section in Leonardo and on-line in the Leonardo Electronic Almanac.

The...