• BUSINESS &
    EXHIBITION RESEARCH AND
    DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE

  • “Artecitya. Envisioning the City of Tomorrow (2014-2018)”
    by HELEXPO

    Art – Science – Technology Festival 2016
    eGaming / Amanda project / Enter the Game / ΑURA

    “Are you a Gamer; Change the World!”

    The Art – Science – Technology Festival is a new project by Helexpo, presented within the 81st Thessaloniki International Fair, in the context of the European programme “Artecitya. Envisioning the City of Tomorrow (2014-2018)”.

    Artecitya is a collaboration between 9 cultural institutions from 7 European countries (France, Germany, Slovenia, Poland, Cyprus, Czech Republic and Greece), co-funded by the Creative Europe – Culture programme of the European Union. Artecitya’s main goal is to bring together artists, architects, town planners and citizens to re-create the cities we want to live in. The priority is to stimulate a vigorously innovative approach to the concept of urban life taking into account the sociological evolution and people’s needs.

    Helexpo ventures a new approach to the Artecitya idea, focusing on the relationship between art, science and technology, particularly on the investigation of the possibilities for social change that are embedded into all three fields. The inspiration behind this approach has been the greatly successful E-Gaming Festival organised by Helexpo since 2012, largely attended by mostly young audiences.

    According to Jane McGonigal (Institute for the Future, Director of Games Research and Development) gaming can contribute to the creation of a better world, because of the special skills (superpowers as she calls them) that gamers develop: urgent optimism – belief into an immediate positive result that can be succeeded thanks to the action of the gamer; social fabric – individual players become communities that work together towards a common goal; blissful productivity – belief into hard work, endeavour and perseverance; and epic meaning – the search for an epic win. With these skills, the solution of complex, urgent problems looks feasible!

    Moreover, through applications such as e-gaming or virtual and augmented reality, our perception of space and time expands, it becomes shifting and intermittent. The city –either as community (present) or as scenography (dystopic future or medieval past)– becomes versatile and flowing depending on the Gamer’s actions and movements.

    Typical elements of game playing (e.g. point scoring, competition with others, rules of play) are often applied to other areas of activity, typically as online marketing technique, to encourage engagement with a product or service (gamification). In the same manner, the use of such elements may be used for the reinforcement of the feeling of community among people from different backgrounds, the solution of social problems and the embracing of a healthier, sustainable way of life.

    Within this context, alongside the E-Gaming Festival that now becomes part of the Art –Science – Technology Festival of Artecitya by Helexpo, the following projects are presented:

     

    E-Gaming

    The largest gaming event in the Balkans takes place again this year in Helexpo’s Pavilion 17 for the 5th year in a row. The event is a real treat for gamers of all age groups, featuring 4.000 square meters of classic and contemporary gaming, presentations and showcases, competitions and tournaments, discussion panels and happenings, as well as a rich board games section for the fans of more traditional formats. The Event’s overall focus is on Entertainment, eSports and Education. Daily showcases and gaming panels offer Gamers the opportunity to test new titles and to improve their skills in existing ones. Special sections include cosplaying workshops and competition, educational seminars on videogame development and new technologies, as well as spotlights for the beloved YouTubers involved in the field.

     

    AMANDA

    A socially aware virtual reality game against bullying, winner of the 1st Prize in Microsoft’s Imagine Cup 2016 competition – World Citizenship category.

    AMANDA was created by four students of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Vassilis Baltatzis, Margarita Bintsi, Ilias Chrysovergis and Georgios Schinas created the application under the guidance of their Professor and mentor Leontios Hadjileontiadis. AMANDA is addressed to pre-teen and teenage school kids, while it supports educators and pyschologists in their effort to deal with such incidents. (amandaproject.net)

     

    ENTER THE GAME

    In coopeartion with ass. Professor Manthos Santorinaios and the MA programme “Art, Virtual Reality and versatile artistic expression systems” run by the Athens School of Fine Arts and Université Paris 8.

    Enter the Game artistically approaches the world of gaming and uses virtual reality to allegorically address space – the space of thought, the space of the human body, the space of memories, emotions and perception. The art works, set-up as games, take place within a hybrid space, between the real and the virtual. The following project are presented:

    • “Choice in crisis”
    • “aqua polis – ancient evening sight sea ing” (work in progress)
    • “Fear of Heights” (work in progress)
    • “Body – bacteria – cycle of life” (work in progress)

     

    AURA – Advanced Urban Responsive Art

    In cooperation with Leontios Hadjileontiadis, Professor at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, AURA will be developed within the context of the Festival’s two upcoming editions (2017, 2018), through workshops with students and young professionals from the sectors of art and technology. AURA is an “invisible information network” that will form the digital aura of the city. It is distributed to the public / users as a real and digital object, transmitting data drawn from the city relevant to its everyday reality, encouraging citizen participation in public space and the city’s structures.


    ARTECITYA Thessaloniki is a project by TIF – Helexpo. 

    Production-Organisation: TIF – HELEXPO

    Artistic Director: Lydia Chatziiakovou

    Coordination: TIF – HELEXPO

    Artecitya receives financial support from the European Commission within the framework of the Creative Europe – Culture programme. ​The present communication reflects the views only of the authors. The Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.