The Maker Faire, one of the most important European events in which art encounters technology, returns to Rome from 10 to 13 December in a digital version, making it accessible to an international public. The “makers” are technological craftsmen and the fair presents the most innovative and creative products from different disciplines. Themes and areas of interest range from agritech to foodtech, from digital manufacturing to robotics, from artificial intelligence to mobility, from the circular economy to health and from IoT to recycling, data science, sportech, fashion and music.
The platform is divided into several thematic channels dedicated to the Maker Faire’s main topics. A main channel will broadcast from the former Gazometro spaces to bring the public closer to the protagonists of the world of innovation, to see where they work and research. Among remote meetings, the following are worth mentioning: interviews with inventors from universities; connections with Antarctica and the Arctic thanks to the CNR and the new Institute of Polar Sciences on the theme of climate change; and the scientific research carried out in these particular environments.
For the second year, a section is specially dedicated to the encounter between art, music and technology. Maker Art, curated by Valentino Catricalà, hosts 40 artists from all over the world and a series of lectures by some of the most important international media art scholars, including Lev Manovich, Christiane Paul and Ken Goldberg.
The artists Elena Bellantoni, Antoni Abad and Rä di Martino will expand their research using augmented reality, with the collaboration of the startup AR Market. Through a dialogue between the Maker Faire platform and the Rai Cinema app, viewers can experience the following virtual reality projects in 3D / 360 and with VR devices: Alessandro Bernard, Francesco Bertelè, Jörg Courtial, Antonello Faretta, Igor Imhoff, Keisuke Itoh, Jacek Nagłowski and Patryk Jordanowicz, Chiara Passa, Michel Reilhac, Jakob Kudsk Steensen, Lino Strangis, Celine Tricart and Vanessa Vozzo; in addition, there are online performances by Apotropia, MASBEDO, Donato Piccolo, Roberto Pugliese, works designed specifically for the platform by Gaia De Megni, Claudia Hart, Steve Lambert, Miltos Manetas, Vincenzo Marsiglia in collaboration with Fondazione Luca and Katia Tomassini, Signe Pierce, Quayola, Matilde Sambo, Giulio Scalisi and Anouk Wipprecht.
A section will be dedicated to Maker Music, do-it-yourself music. How does a record producer manipulate sound? How can a singer find the exact words which millions of people can identify with? Does sustainable music exist? Can artificial intelligence write pop hits? These are the questions that talks and workshops will be focusing on. Studio sessions will illustrate the process of creation – from an idea to live performance. Protagonists of this section are as follows: Max Casacci, Samuel, Boosta, Arisa, Boss Doms, Frankie Hi NRG, Coccoluto, Piotta, Riccardo Sinigallia, Andrea De Sica, Paola Maugeri, Clementino, Samuele Bersani, ENSI, Cristina Scabbia, Noyz Narcos, Francesca Michelin, Danno (Colle del Fomento), Vasco Brondi, Mace, Stefano Fontana, Saturnino, Cosmo and many others. They will be our guides in discovering how music is made and what music can do. Among the many “goodies” in this section is the Maker Music Endless Jam, the biggest long-distance music jam ever organised. Alex Braga is an eclectic conceptual artist committed to creating a new type of organic sound which can enhance human talent with the help of a revolutionary new instrument: A-MINT (Artificial Music Intelligence), created together with Professors Francesco Riganti Fulginei and Antonino Laudani of the RomaTre University. Among the events, a series of talk dedicated to Artificial Intelligence promoted by Re:humanism.
MAKER FAIRE ROME 2020, DIGITAL EDITION, 10 – 13.12.2020
images: (cover 1) Vincenzo Marsiglia, Holo Private Immersion, 2020,still from video capture on HoLolens 2, courtesy of Fondazio (2) Celine Tricart – THE KEY (3) Claudia Hart – The strange garden (4) MASBEDO – PERFORMANCE
