[spectre] News from Renewable Network: The Long Bean / Windowfarms Riga

[Rasa Smite]

Hello on Spectre list,

Here is some info about recent activities of 
Renewable Network -- the Network for Art and 
Renewable Energy Technologies was founded in 2009 
in a result of event series, that took place in 
Riga and Latvia, as well as in other Baltic and 
Nordic countries, focusing  on the issues of 
sustainability -- exploring artistic strategies, 
alternative approach and ecological use of 
renewable energy and information technologies. 
Network is now opening up, and those who are 
interested in "art and renewable energy 
technologies", are very welcome to join the 
network and to subscribe to the Renewable 
mailinglist (initiated and hosted by RIXC, 
administrated by members of the network):
db.x-i.net/mailman/listinfo/renewable

As for more recent activities of this network, 
this summer various events took place in 
different locations, that was related to specific 
"energy" topic -- FOOD AS ENERGY:

* The Herbologies/Foraging Networks programme -- 
that took place in Helsinki, Kurzeme region of 
Latvia, and ISEA2010, exploring the cultural 
traditions and knowledge of herbs, edible and 
medicinal plants, within the contemporary context 
of online networks, open information-sharing and 
biological technologies. Project was initiated by 
Andrew Gryf Paterson (SCO/FI), Ulla Taipale / 
Capsula (FI/ES) and Signe Pucena / SERDE (LV).
pixelache.ac/helsinki/herbologies-foraging-networks
herbologies-foraging.net/

* The Wedding Between Art and Agriculture -- an 
event celebrating five years, since the 
experimental platform Kultivator has initiated, 
attended to- and executed projects that examines 
the context and cross-fertilization between 
agriculture and art. It took place in 
July,Dyestad, Öland, Sweden.
kultivator.org

* Super Meal -- an art project by Erik Sjodin 
that revolves around growing, cooking and eating 
the super-waterplant Azolla -- one of the world 
fastest growing plants. The project explores the 
idea of Azolla as a future fast food.
www.eriksjodin.net/

* WindowFarms Finland -- that introduced 
"windowfarms" concept into the Finnish context. 
They are vertical, hydroponic, modular, 
"low-energy high-yield" window gardens built 
using low-impact or recycled local materials. 
Mikko Laajola, Andrew Gryf Paterson and Niko 
Punin produced and developed a grand 81 bottle 
installation in Kiasma takaikkuna for 5 weeks, 
preluding and part of Pixelache Helsinki Festival 
2010.
our.windowfarms.org/instructions/

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and TONIGHT:
is the opening of an other "food as energy" 
project - Windowfarms Riga project, entitled "The 
Long Bean" - see below more info. (the exhibtion 
will be open till September 11, 2010)

best / Rasa

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THE LONG BEAN (WINDOWFARMS RIGA)
www.garapupa.info
(sorry, currently most info is in Latvian, but 
pictures are nice - RIXC Media Space now looks 
like botanical garden! :)

THE LONG BEAN (WINDOWFARMS RIGA) is a social art 
campaign with the aim of creating an impressive 
city environment installation consisting of 
potted plants and vegetables that people grow on 
their windowsills, balconies or backyards. City 
inhabitants of Riga participated in the creating 
of this installation and it will be on display 
during White Night 2010 contemporary culture 
forum on September 4, 2010.

Anyone was invited to participate in THE LONG 
BEAN (WINDOWFARMS RIGA) project. The only 
conditions were: the plant should be grown in a 
pot and be a vegetable or a seasoning plant. 
Everyone was welcome to bring these potted plants 
to the Artists' Union House at 11. Novembra 
krastmala 35 on September 3 and 4 from 12:00 till 
18:00.

In the six-metre-high windows of RIXC Media 
space, the pots now are arranged on a scaffold, 
thus creating a spectacular wall of greenery in 
the very middle of the city, which will also be 
lit up in the hours of darkness. Each pot with a 
home-grown plant provided by the cityfolk will 
become an important element in this common piece 
of art - the more pots, the larger the 
installation!

During the night from September 4 to 5, in the 
framework of Survival Kit 2 festival and White 
Night forum, THE LONG BEAN (WINDOWFARMS RIGA) 
installation windows will be made accessible both 
from the outside and the inside, with additional 
events on the inside:

* Windowfarms Finland activists and designers 
Niko Punin and Mikko Laajola (FI) are invited to 
meet with Windowfarms Riga team and to present 
publicly their Windowfarms Finland project that 
took place in Kiasma, Helsinki at the beginning 
of this year and in particular to talk and 
introduce the technology of it - hydroponic 
gardening systems and the lighting used in Kiasma.

* Windowfarms Riga installation will be also 
complemented by video interviews with 
contributors of the project, filmed throughout 
the summer.

* Furthermore, in cooperation with Survival Kit 2 
festival, a cook of Mexican origin Javier Garcia 
will offer an original campaign - performance for 
Riga White Night - "White Night for a rainy 
day!". His intention is to create 
compositions/pictures out of groceries with the 
help of a team of assistants and a vacuum 
packaging device and package them into ecological 
and artistically designed "survival kits". The 
result will be on display at the venue of the 
performance during White Night. At the end of the 
event visitors can take the lovely survival kits 
home or eat them on the spot.

* * *

The installation will be exhibited in RIXC Media 
Space, 11. Novembra krastmala 35 (entrance from 
Minsterejas street), Riga, September 4, 2010, 
from 20:00 till 2:00

The project takes place in the framework of White 
Night forum (September 4-5, 2010) and Survival 
Kit 2 festival (September 4-11, 2010). White 
Night forum this year will feature more than 25 
art, music, theater, survival, performance events 
in Riga, while Survival Kit 2 festival, organised 
by the Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art for a 
second year, will exhibit more than 70 artists 
that reflect and produce different survival 
strategies in the contemporary world.
www.baltanakts.lv/2010/en/
lcca.lv/projects/survival2eng/

More information about the LONG BEAN (WINDOWFARMS 
RIGA) project in progress: www.garapupa.info

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The project LONG BEAN (WINDOWFARMS RIGA) is 
collaboration between RIXC (the Centre for New 
Media Culture) and NTI (the New Theatre Institute 
of Latvia)
Idea by RIXC, concept developed by NTI, PR by NTI.
Producers: Raitis Smits/RIXC, Laura Stasane/NTI, Daina Silina/RIXC
Video: Martins Ratniks/RIXC, Raitis Smits
Installation / architecture: Raitis Smits, Rudolf Bekic
Contributors of 'content': artists, cultural activists and inhabitants of Riga.

Partners: University of Latvia Botanical Garden, 
Imagine 2020 - Arts and Climate Change, Art and 
Renewable Energy Network project  "Art as 
Research: Energy", supported by Nordic Culture 
Point.
Financial support: Riga City Council, Nordic Culture Point.

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rixc.lv