The first “Connected” project was initiated by Cym and Eva Ursprung in 2003. Graz was Cultural Capital of Europe that year and there were a lot of art projects and cultural events taking place in Graz that year. Borders between the former “East” and “West” were opening and on both sides there was a lot of interest for collaborations. In the project “Connected” we made a connection between Graz, Austria and Maribor, Slovenia, two cities which are just an hour away from each other. The new medium “Internet” created many new possibilities for collaborations.
During the following years I kept using the name “Connected”. Every two years (every odd year) I would organize a project that would fit to the name of “Connected”, always connecting places and people.
From 2003 until 2011 “Connected” would be about connecting artists and places. From 2013 on the focus of the “Connected” projects shifted to doing workshops with children. I started doing workshops in which children would learn how to program a game. In the “Connected” workshops children create a platform game (like the classic Mario game) with images from their own town/village/neighbourhood. The games from children in different locations are connected together in one game. In this way children “jump through” each other’s neighbourhoods. Instead of visiting each other in real life, they visit each other in the game that they created together.
Connecting Forum Stadtpark, Graz in Austria and Pekarna, Maribor in Slovenia via art projects and workshops in 2003.
Forum Stadtpark, Graz, Austria
Pekarna, Maribor, Slovenia
With Eva Ursprung, Cym, Bettina Fabian, Miha Ciglar, son:DA, Peter Košir and others.
Connecting Art Center, Središče in Slovenia and Forum Stadtpark, Graz in Austria via several art projects and exchanges in 2005.
Art Center, Središče, Slovenia
Forum Stadtpark, Graz, Austria
With Bettina Fabian, Miha Ciglar, IOhannes Zmölnig, Nicole Pruckermaier, Vita Žgur, Julij Borštnik and Cym.
“Walkersdorf, Center of the World” – A project as part of “Festival der Regionen” in Styria, Austria in 2007.
Wd8, Walkersdorf, Austria
With Belinda Ziegler, Cym, Eva Nina Cajnko, Franz Bauer, Luka Prinčič, Nicole Pruckermayr, Primož Oberžan.
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regionale_(Steiermark)
Pöllau bei Hartberg
Naturpark Pöllauer Tal, Austria
During styrian summer art 2009
July 10 – 19, 2009
With Jez Riley French, Natalia Borissova, Hazel Lim, Rafat Asad, Margarita Benitez, Catherine Hsin, Primož Oberžan.
Visit here the original connected website at mur.at: http://connected.mur.at/
2013 – Play Connected
Workshops with children (aged 7 to 13) in Hartberg and Pöllau in Austria and Slovenj Gradec and Maribor in Slovenia. Four locations, four workshops, 24 children, 1 game.
2014 – Art Hub Connected
Creating a game at Abu Dhabi Art Hub, with Abu Dhabi Art Hub as the playground. For this game I switched the direction of playing from right to left, inspired by the Arabic way of writing, also from right to left.
2014 – Woerden Connected
The original idea was to create a connection between Woerden in The Netherlands and Steinhagen in Germany. I suggested the project to the municipality in Woerden. I was suggested that instead of connecting children in Woerden and Steinhagen together, it would be interesting to first connect the children of the different villages and neighbourhoods of the municipality Woerden together. So I did workshops in four different areas and villages in Woerden. In 2019 this game was part of the exhibition “Speels in Woerden”.
Creating a game with children in the different areas of Woerden: Harmelen, Kamerik, Zegveld and Woerden. Connecting the different neighbourhoods together.
http://www.woerdenconnected.nl/
http://www.playconnected.org/
In March 2015 the game “Woerden Connected” is featured on the cover of the Art Education magazine “Kunstzone” in the Netherlands. This is one of my students inside the game.
Use the arrow keys to play the game.
Click space bar to change the character.
You can play the game here:
http://www.woerdenconnected.nl/play/
