Village Gamer

Subtle Technologies and Ryerson University co-host the 15th annual Subtle Technologies Festival, which began yesterday and runs until May 27th as international artists, innovators and scientists gather to explore ideas, experiments and cross-discipline collaborations from the worlds of art, technology & science.

• In his May 25 presentation YouTube: From Stick Figures to String Theory, Minutephysics creator Henry Reich explains how his fun summer project that explores “Cool physics and other sweet science – all in a minute!” became a top 500 YouTube channel with 300,000 subscribers and 20+ million views.

• French visual artist, Marguerite Humeau, went on an obsessional quest to resuscitate the sound of extinct animals by reconstructing their vocal tracts. Humeau’s May 26 presentation, Proposal for Resuscitating Prehistoric Lives investigates the fictional potential of scientific experiments and the role of science in the creation of contemporary myths.

• At The Physarum Experiments workshop on May 27, artist and Slime Mould Collective founder, Heather Barnett shares the secrets of Physarum polycephalum also known as slime mould – a tiny yellow microorganism that displays primitive intelligence, problem solving skills and memory, and is used as a model organism in many areas of research including city planning, adaptation and robotics. Participants in the workshop will receive their own pet slime moulds to experiment with at home.

Festival highlights include:

• Film: BioArt – Art from the Laboratory followed by a discussion with film-maker Robert Styblo, local bioartists and scientists working in biology
• Dance Performance: EXPERIMENTS: Where Logic and Emotion Collide with LINK Dance Foundation
• Bullet and Biohack: Repurposing dead organs with Andrew Pelling
• Primate Cinema: Apes as family with Rachel Mayeri
• Networking event: Speed Networking

The 2012 Subtle Technologies Festival’s presentations, workshops, performances and screenings feature a new theme each day: Friday May 25 focuses on art, technology & science ideas; Saturday May 26 focuses on Biology and Art; and Sunday May 27 focuses on The Immortal Body—events inspired by the story of Henrietta Lacks, cell technologies, medical research and the body. Please visit the Subtle Technologies Festival website for a detailed schedule, registration information, and profiles for our presenters, curators and performers.

Festival Locations:

• Winchester Street Theatre, 80 Winchester Street, Toronto
• Ryerson, LIB 72, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto
• Red Head Gallery, 401 Richmond Street West, Toronto
• Hotel Ocho, 195 Spadina Avenue, Toronto

Tickets are still available for purchase online.

General:

• 3-day pass $120
• Day pass $40
• Half-day pass $20
• The Physarum Experiments workshop $20
• EXPERIMENTS dance performances $25
• Cc: me exhibition is free admission

Students & unwaged:

• 3-day pass $50
• Day pass $20
• Half-day pass $10
• The Physarum Experiments workshop $15
• EXPERIMENTS dance performances $15
• Cc: me exhibition is free admission