Bees in a Tin is a gathering for people who make or are interested in unique interfaces for the world around them.

“...one of those unexpected treasures I could recommend to pretty much everyone I know, regardless of their usual interests.” 
Verity McIntosh, Producer, Pervasive Media Studio

“...easily one of the best events I attended in 2014. A lovely crowd of clever, curious and friendly people and a really interesting and inspiring spread of speakers and workshops.”
Henry Cooke, technologist, East London Kinetics
 
Listen to presentations, watch demos and take part in workshops with us as we spend a day in the company of people who operate across disciplines, often designing and making their own tools because they don’t already exist:

* Aste Amundsen/Apocalypse Gameshow’s responsive storylines that react to theatre audiences’ decisions
* Swoomptheeng’s wooden sculptures that control music
* George Buckenham’s blending of physical and digital game experiences (may contain traces of custard-punching)

This year’s event was brought to you in partnership with Supersonic Festival, so there were plenty of audio treats:

* Keynote from Owl Project about their use of basic materials and electronics to craft instruments and interfaces
* Robert Curgenven’s explorations of the perceptual psychology of colour and light
* Farmer Glitch’s hand-built/salvaged musical-instruments and sound-making devices

As ever, we like our interfaces to relate to the wider world, so there are also plenty of opportunities to think about things on a city scale:

* Rebecca Taylor’s mass-collaborative, co-designed community rooftop project
* Simon Park’s tour of the urban microbiology around Millennium Point
Simon Farid’s invitation for you to go undercover and impersonate a plain clothes police officer
* Bill Aitchison’s virtual tour of guided tours
* Duncan Speakman unfolding myths of interactivity

Was that everything? No it was not!
Clare Reddington, Creative Director of Watershed in Bristol, and Annette Mees, artist director of Coney, chaired the panel Q&A sessions for us.

Full information about the presenters is available here: http://manyandvaried.org.uk/projects/bees2015/about_the_speakers

Audio from presentations at Bees in a Tin 2015

Katie Day introduces Bees in a Tin 2015 and the chair for the first session, Clare Reddington.

(Audio quality gets better a minute or two in.)

Intro

The Tour of All Tours is a talk and virtual tour by artist and conceptual tour guide Bill Aitchison. For the last two and a half years he has been taking guided tours of every sort around the world and recycling them by giving his own tours of tours. These are a parasitic sort of guided tour that critically, and with a distinctive dry humour, explore the political, social and cultural subtexts of tourism.

About Bill:

Bill Aitchison is a performance artist who is based between the UK and China. He has presented his work in galleries, theatres and festivals in Europe, Asia, America and The Middle East. Bill holds a practice-based PhD from Goldsmiths College, has published critical and creative texts in several countries, made several works for radio and is associate research fellow at Birkbeck College, University of London.

tourofalltours.blogspot.com/

Bill Aitchison - The Tour of All Tours

A Folded Path is a pedestrian speaker symphony; a soundtrack for a city carried through the streets by a participating audience.

Comprising location sensitive portable loudspeakers – each playing a different element of the music – audience groups take different but sometimes overlapping routes through the city. The GPS position of the speaker causes different sections to be played and the movement of the people within the group changes the acoustic relationship of the composition: the audience become the orchestra.

About Duncan:

Duncan is a director of Circumstance, an artists collective that creates cinematic experiences in uncontrolled environments. Established in 2010 in Bristol(UK), its current directors are Tom Abba, Sarah Anderson and Duncan Speakman.

From mass participation subtlemobs and intimate in-ear stories, to books, and installations. Using both emergent and commonplace technology, we try to make films without cameras. We explore the politics of mobile technology and public space, wrapping our questions in melancholy and romance.

Duncan Speakman - The social composition of A Folded Path and the myth of interactivity

The Rooftop Project is an experimental project through which highly rewarding and transformational learning experiences are emerging. Opening with a lively presentation of the story so far, this session will then invite you to discuss ‘our’ awareness of doing projects such as these and pose questions such as – are we doing it for good or glory? And, when multiple design disciplines and curatorial practices meet how responsible are we for the process of critical reflection?

About Rebecca:

With a background in creative communications; cultural and commercial brand partnerships; event and educational programming, Rebecca is currently an ESPRC funded doctoral researcher at HighWire, Lancaster University and actively campaigns for green spaces in Manchester’s City Centre. As Partner of The Curiosity Bureau – a partnership and associates academy that promotes space to be curious – Rebecca’s doctoral research is focused on ‘The Rooftop Project’ – a space to be curious about designing with people.

thecuriositybureau.com | @cu1turesponge #RooftopProject

Rebecca Taylor – The Rooftop Project: The Story So Far…

Panel discussion and Q&A for the first session. Bill Aitchison, Duncan Speakman and Rebecca Taylor, chaired by Clare Reddington.

Morning session panel Q&A

Introductions to the workshops and other activities that took place after lunch.


Aste Amundsen/Apocalypse Gameshow/Pan Studio – Computer Aided Theatre

George Buckenham - Punch the Custard

Robert Curgenven – “A Young Lover’s Guide to Perceptual Pataphysics” or “How Bass Changed My Life”

Simon Farid – How To Impersonate a Plain Clothes Police Officer

Farmer Glitch : Farm-Yard Debris, Carboot Treasures – Petrol Can Synths…

Dr Simon Park – Exploring The Invisible

Nikki Pugh – Meet the Critters

Full information at http://manyandvaried.org.uk/projects/bees2015/about_the_speakers/


A smörgåsbord of workshops and other interesting things

A live Swoomptheeng performance showcasing their over-sized, semi-organic and brightly-coloured sculpted MIDI instruments which illustrate their influences from 80′s TV, 90′s rave and contemporary art; to folk-art, hacking and hobbyist cultures. Followed by a presentation of how the instruments work and the innovative techniques used to interface with music software such as Traktor via MIDI joysticks, Arduino and other electrical components.

About Swoomptheeng:

Swoomptheeng (simply pronounced ‘Swamp Thing’) are a brightly masked, Birmingham-based audio-visual collective who create music, video and gadgets to energise and engage audiences through the elements of “Zombie Bass, Rave Craft & Ritualised Punk Technology”. Their cheeky, energetic and chaotic performances combine modern dance music styles with, sculptural objects, retro animation, distinctive masks and… bumbags.

swoomptheeng.com | @swoomptheeng

Swoomptheeng – Raving with Ritualised Punk Technology

I’m going to talk about design principles I’ve learnt from making videogames that involve custom physical hardware. Games like : Punch The Custard, a game about punching a bowl of custard, Fabulous Beasts, a game about competing for resources where you make moves by stacking blocks in a tower and Tenya Wanya Teens, a game about being a teenage boy, pressing the wrong button and accidentally peeing in the woods.

About George:

George Buckenham is a freelance game designer, programmer and curator. He’s currently working on Fabulous Beasts, an iOS game involving stacking RFID-enabled blocks in a precarious tower. He recently made Jumpotron, an exhibit at the National Videogame Arcade and was technical lead on Mutazione, a gorgeous narrative-led game with Die Gute Fabrik. And alongside all of that, he’s one of the founders of Wild Rumpus, a touring videogame club night.

http://v21.io | @v21

George Buckenham – Making videogames with squishy bits

Owl Project will talk about how they use basic materials and electronics to craft instruments and interfaces. They will reflect on how they seek to open creative sonic possibilities through constraints, and also show examples of collaborative design and production.

Alongside making numerous stand alone instruments Owl Project have made a number of works where craft and mechanical processes dictate the outcome of the music, these have included Sound Lathe, ~Flow and Play the Jacquard Loom. They will discuss the ideas and processes behind these works and show the workings behind their new All Ears Commission – Optikit.

About Owl Project:

Owl Project is a collaborative group of artists consisting of Simon Blackmore, Antony Hall and Steve Symons. They work with wood and electronics to fuse sculpture and sound art, creating music making machines, interfaces and objects which intermix pre-steam and digital technologies. Drawing on influences such as 70’s synthesiser culture, DIY woodworking and current digital crafts, the resulting artwork is a quirky and intriguing critique of the allure and production of technology.

owlproject.com/ | @owlproject | FaceBook


KEYNOTE: Owl Project - Crafting instruments and interfaces

Panel discussion and Q&A for the afternoon session. Swoomptheeng,George Buckenham and Owl Project, chaired by Annette Mees.

Katie Day wraps up the day.