This year’s electrolobby, curated by David Cuartielles and entitled Make It Simple, will offer a jam-packed lineup of workshops, “minishops,” talks, interactive artworks and performances-all of it spiced with indigo-colored turbans and a creative community’s openness to learning new things.

Arduino Workshop
http://www.Arduino.cc

Arduino is an open hardware and open/free software initiative whose propagators—David Cuartielles of K3 (Sweden) and Massimo Banzi & Dave Mellis of the Ivrea Interaction Design Institute (Italy)—are all actively involved in the field of physical computing.
From its very inception, Arduino’s mission has been to make available to the art & design community a tool for the development of alternative electronic interfaces. The workshop to be held at Ars Electronica will provide an introduction to electronics for design and art installations. Participants need have no background programming knowledge or prior experience in electronics; the sole prerequisite is an open-minded interest in spending an exciting week with a handful of bytes.

Arduino was awarded an Honorary Mention in the 2006 Prix Ars Electronica’s Digital Communities category. Special thanks to Arexx Engineering, Mobilkom Austria and Rotes Kreuz OÖ.


Python Workshop
http://www.mobilenin.com

Python is a multi-paradigmatic programming language that’s designed to be simple to use. It doesn’t force the programmer to adopt a particular programming style; instead, many different styles are admissible. In short, practical creative workshops, participants learn to process digital content with the help of mobile devices, to swap video streams, to create storytelling applications or to establish wireless communication with other systems.


OpenFrameWorks Workshop
http://www.openframeworks.cc

OpenFrameWorks is a new platform-transcending C++ open-source library that’s designed to make C++ programming easier and accessible by more users. The workshops are a mix of practical tips for the fields of computer graphics and animation, programming and object recognition.


Interactivos?
http://www.interactivos.org

Interactivos? was a workshop organized by David Cuartielles, Zachary Lieberman and Hans-Christoph Steiner at MedialabMadrid. The electrolobby will showcase a selection of the projects they developed at Interactivos?. The projects displayed are meant to be regarded as a prototype or as the initial stage of a long-term research process. The exhibits will include a multi-dimensional space composed of cellular automatons, and “Waves,” a kinetic and auditory sculpture.
UrbanForest, White Lies and The Rocking Chair are three interactive prototypes that explore the personal sphere by means of haptic interaction.


Minishops

Experts in a wide variety of fields will be conducting quickie open workshops in which festivalgoers can undertake a bit of horizon-expansion. The following minishops will be offered:

•     Hack the Asuro Robot (with D. Mellis): Hack this commercially-available robotics component and appropriate its intelligence (Required: your own laptop)
•     Experimental Musical Instruments (with K. Enrique Tomas): Become
a digital violin maker for a few hours, and design a small musical instrument you’ll then be able to play yourself.
•     PureData (with K. Tahiroglu): Learn the fundamentals of the most
powerful software available for the production of musical instruments (Required: your own laptop).
•     Low-Tech Sensors and Actuators (A. Somlai-Fischer): Experiment with tiny toys by linking them up with other toys or producing your own.
•     Origatronica (with B. Wahlstrom and T. Ness): Can electronics be packed in paper in a way that exhibits artistry? Bring along your designs and unfold your creative talents.
•     JunkWars (M. Banzi and D. Cuartielles): Vie for the “Creation of the
Day” prize! Participants in this workshop try to make the best out of
a heap o’ junk.