SHARESPACE at the Ars Electronica Festival 2024

The Ars Electronica Festival serves as the backdrop for the real-world art scenario of the SHARESPACE project. This last year, multiple artist have been working hard to create multi-user, hybrid, interactive art performances that leverage embodied interaction between people and different types of Virtual Humans. These works will be presented in the Deep Space 8K during the festival happening from the 4th to the 8th of September 2024. Find more information on the festival here: https://ars.electronica.art/festival/en/

In total two artworks have been created by the researchers and developers at the Ars Electronica Futurelab, and one is developed by a selected artist team through the Open Call for Artists 2023. All artists involved in the project will engage in an artistic panel discussion to discuss their concepts, processes, and what SHARESPACE concepts inspired them for their conceptualization. Furthermore, SHARESPACE partner DeMontfort University will be present at the festival to present their policy plan ‘Ethics By Design: A Roadmap to Good Enough Ethics’ in a keynote lecture.

Festival Program

Artistic Exploration in Shared Hybrid Spaces Panel Discussion: Thu 05.08, 11:30-12:30, Lecture Stage @ POST CITY
Good Enough Ethics keynote lecture: Sat 07.09, 10:30-11:15, Lecture Stage @ POST CITY.

Rendering of Converge, Credit: Patrick Berger

Converge is an interactive take on SHARESPACE principles, built in 3D for Deep Space 8k. It uses tracking for up to ten on-site participants and a motion capture suit for one off-site participant. All must collaborate to progress, communicating with the remote participant only via movement & body language. They must solve scenarios, guided only by subtle visual cues. The minimalistic style highlights movements and interactions, ending with participants herding crowds of AI characters.

Converge performance times in Deep Space 8K:
Fri 06.09, 19:00-20:00

*falcon heavy, Credit: Johannes Pöll

*falcon heavy is a shared multi-user experience for Deep Space 8K. A spatial dialog between live participants and an ever-shifting entity within a ritualistic virtual arena. This prototypical interactive real-time artwork sits between the cornerstones of chaos and order. Being in sync shifts audio-visual noise into recognizable patterns and structures. Synchronous signals can be found in a spatial collaborative effort as 4-5 people participate.

*falcon heavy performance times in Deep Space 8K:
Fri 06.09, 19:00-20:00

State of Play: شهر بازی Teaser. Credit: Tara Habibzadeh, Harriet Davey, Mati Bratkowski

State of Play: شهر بازی is the selected project of the Open Call for Artists 2023

When you enter the space make sure that you find a good spot to sit or stand. You will experience art and nothing else. State of Play: شهر بازی is a deconstructed interpretation of seven labors of Rostam, the lonely warrior of Shahnameh (book of kings), the long epic poem written between 977-1010 CE by the Persian poet Abul-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi. State of Play: شهر بازی deconstructs the conventions of the game industry, boss fights, Persian mythology and poetry, and new media. In this participative performance, the audience is provided with a set of storylines that lead to an interactive journey. During which, the audience has ultimate control over the story’s further development through their interactions and narrative choices. A commentary game master will help the audience to interact with the piece and make decisions.

State of Play: شهر بازی performances in Deep Space 8K:
Thu 05.09, 18:30-19:30
Sat 07.09, 10:30-11:30