Context/ Background In the last two decades, education and research have been inextricably linked to state-of-the-art technologies (e.g. platforms for distant education and open courses, virtual universities). The area which has not been thoroughly investigated yet is of «real-time education» which involves real-time experimentation and collaboration between different Institutions towards joint projects, in conjunction with the organization and archiving of common experience (experimental and theoretical) towards the production of new courses and knowledge in general. The scientific coordinator of this proposal, Professor Manthos Santorineos (Matthaios Santorinaios) and his research group, have been working towards this direction in the last decade. Different experimentations have been developed both in physical and virtual space, towards the definition of a collaborative virtual space for artistic education and experimentation, in the scope of Erasmus Intensive Programs (Delphi, Greece, 2004, 2007, 2009), Summer Universities (Paris, 2008) and international seminars (London, 2009). These activities were organized by ASFA, University Paris 8 and other institutions. This collaboration has led the establishment of the Greek-French Master “Art, virtual reality and multiuser systems of artistic expression“, between ASFA & Paris-8 (www.eumaster.asfa.gr). Throughout this period of experimentations, even though several individual interesting outcomes emerged, it was not feasible to produce an integrated platform fully supporting the idea of a virtual artistic laboratory, as envisaged by «@postasis» proposal. Today, this idea is very mature, there is a considerable experience by the proposers and the Erasmus+ Program is sensitive towards this direction. Objectives The main objective of @postasis is the use of the existing educational and research experience, together with state-of-the-art creative technologies, towards the definition of a “virtual educational real-time space” capable of supporting a) collaborative distant artistic education through live experiments, b) the archiving of produced educational material (e.g. theoretical texts, manuals, reports, live data). Apart from (and in parallel with) the educational process, the @postasis space supports (and unifies), under a common infrastructure: a) the production of joint artistic projects b) large-scale events (e.g. transnational participatory actions, workshops/seminars) and c) conducted research (e.g. experimental measurements and scientific reasoning). Participants The participating interdisciplinary partners, 5 from 4 EU countries (Gr, Fr, Nl, It) – Universities, an IT company, and a Creative Lab, have come together to develop “@postasis”, an innovative online virtual artistic laboratory space targeting students from higher education involved with artistic creation and transdisciplinary experimentation with state-of-the-art technologies. The @postasis real-time platform and the tools which will be developed for information archiving also target all the Academic community – students educators, and other involved stakeholders (e.g. industrial partners, creative centers), who wish to exchange experiences and create collaborative structures. Description of activities During the 28 months of the project’s implementation, the partners carried out 5 Intellectual Outputs together with the management and implementation phases. During these IOs, different activities were implemented, such as the development of @postasis platform supporting real-time courses, collaborative artistic projects creation, production of educational material (e.g. ebooks), physically distributed artistic projects and actions (e.g. seminars, workshops), multilingual translations (En/Gr/En, En/Fr/En, En/It/En, En/Da/En), various activities regarding dissemination & use of @postasis and pilots in 4 EU countries. Methodology The methodology is based on research, development, testing and validation of the whole system. The long-term benefits are to: • To upgrade educational activities already included in the Curriculum of the Greek-French Master mentioned above, and in joint PhD programs • To support the development of joint artistic activities in the virtual and physical space with the participation of different stakeholders at a larger scale. • To enhance interdisciplinary and transnational research (platform - technological, artistic, educational) through the infrastructure of the @postasis. • To develop open courses and seminars to the public. • To maximize the collaboration and exchange of good practices, through this common infrastructure, at an international level. • To connect education and research with other stakeholders (e.g. industry, museums, centers). Thus, our project supports innovation and creativity, through partnerships and inter- disciplinary approaches strengthening the role of higher education at European level.
Background In the last 2 decades, education and research have been inextricably linked to advanced technologies. The area which has not been thoroughly investigated yet is that of “real-time education” with experimentation and collaboration between different Institutions. This constitutes a hybrid space located between the virtual and real space. The scientific coordinator of this proposal, Professor M. Santorineos and his research group, have been working towards this direction for more than 10 years. Different experimentations have been developed in physical and virtual space, towards the definition of a collaborative virtual space for artistic education and experimentation, under Erasmus Intensive Programs (Delphi, Greece 2004, 07, 09 and in Paris, 2008). Those activities were organized by Athens School of Fine Arts (ASFA), University Paris 8 and other institutions. Throughout those periods of experimentations, it was not feasible to produce an integrated platform fully supporting the idea of a virtual artistic laboratory. Eventually, with the support of Erasmus+ this idea has become a reality. Objectives The main objective of @postasis is the use of the existing educational and research experience, together with advanced creative technologies, towards the conception of a platform capable of supporting and unifying under a common infrastructure, collaborative education with real-time experimentations, and the production of joint artistic projects and large-scale events. A particular characteristic that makes @postasis platform important and interesting is that it combines – on equal terms – advanced technology with an educational methodology. Each professor / teacher / instructor takes an empty ‘intelligent’ space with lots of technical facilities and creates his/her own environment and course. Participants Athens School of Fine Arts (www.asfa.gr) and Paris-8 University (www.univ-paris8.fr) the initiators of this idea, have contributed the main educational requirements and methodologies. Omega Technology (www.omegatech.gr) a software company specialized in digital culture implemented the backend infrastructure, MAD Emergent Art Center (https://madlab.nl/), a non-profit organization targeting self-education concepts provided the platform's interaction with a wider audience and its technological connection to the physical space through Internet-of-Things (IoT) technology, and ARGENIA (argenia.it), an association for Generative Art has covered related theoretical and educational aspects. Activities During the 28 months of the project’s implementation, the partners have developed an interesting technological infrastructure, the platform @postasis, which offers a creative environment towards innovative Intellectual Outputs: Apart from the backend infrastructure of @postasis supporting real-time virtual multiuser spaces and the interconnections between them, a set of front-end tools were also created (Behavior Interactive Interface, IoT connectivity especially for @postasis). All these gave the οpportunity for different methodologies of use, innovative educational scenarios to Fine Arts Schools, Universities, and secondary schools. In addition, interactive projects were created, as well as real-time theatrical performances in collaboration with Festivals, and art exhibitions in the linked physical and virtual spaces in collaboration with the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Athens. Those actions adressed different stakeholders, students, artists, indie developers, curators, professors and school teachers. The above results have been presented to the 5 Multiplier Events realized by the consortium highlighting different aspects of @postasis Intellectual Outputs. A great part has been recorded to printed or audiovisual material and is accessible through the website of the project. Results and impact More than 8 innovative educational proposals (workshops, seminars, courses) have been produced, illustrating different uses of @postasis platform, and addressing different levels of knowledge, and types of education (e.g. academic, self-education, STEAM, deeper learning). A rich set of materials have been produced, e.g. texts, interactive 3D content, multiuser project templates, DIY manuals, etc. Most of the educational proposals are documented, also, theoretically. A lot of people and Institutions are interested to use the platform and its results. Longer-term benefits @postasis platform provides a space which is powerful, creative and highly aware of the needs of contemporary artistic education, as to real-time experimentation. It is a structure that enables the production of artworks and educational materials in different levels, and it has a special library with all the experience archived. The composite structure of the platform and its capabilities anticipate the development of an international network of people working in the field of education and the creation of new ideas.