Teknopolis, BAM's Interactive Digital Arts Showcase Returns For Its Third Year

Teknopolis, BAM's interactive digital arts showcase returns for its third year, offering the latest in technology-fueled arts, Feb 23-Mar 10

This year's lineup to feature virtual reality storytelling, augmented reality, and 360° films by leading artists and technologists, including Zach Lieberman, Molmol Kuo, Gilles Jobin, Cabbibo, and Daily tous les jours

Teknopolis 2019

BAM Fisher (321 Ashland Pl)

Sat, Feb 23 & Sun, Feb 24; Thu, Feb 28-Sun, Mar 3; Thu, Mar 7-Sun, Mar 10

Teknopolis $16 for children (Ages 6-14) and $21 for adults;

Teknopolis + VR $35 for youth (Ages 9-14) and $45 for adults

Brooklyn, NY/January 11, 2019-Brooklyn Academy Of Music's (BAM) popular, interactive digital arts showcase Teknopolis returns for its third year with an ambitious new program designed to inspire creativity, connect with the future, and embolden a renewed sense of play for all ages. This year's highlights offer the latest in technology-fueled art and participatory environments, featuring work by leading artists and technologists, including Zach Lieberman, Molmol Kuo, Gilles Jobin, Cabbibo, and Daily tous les jours.

The three-week-long digital arts playground will offer two different experiences: Teknopolis and Teknopolis + VR, allowing visitors to choose according to digital features and age-appropriate elements. The Teknopolis experience allows access to an array of installations that make up the digital arts playground geared for ages 6+ on the main and lower levels of the BAM Fisher building. The selected installations allow visitors to use creative technology to explore drawing, dance, storytelling, and music-making, in timed-entry sessions.

The 90-minute experience commences in the Fishman Space with six motion-based and touch-based installations curated by Brooklyn artists Molmol Kuo and Zach Lieberman, co-founder of the creative software openFrameworks, and other collaborators. The duo's popular Más Que la Cara utilizes face tracking and animated graphics to augment the user's facial expressions, creating a living mask that reacts to head and facial movements. The balcony of the Fishman Space will feature TMEMA's Manual Input Sessions, which turns traditional hand shadow play into an audiovisual shadow concert.

New this year, the Teknopolis + VR experience allows visitors full access to the digital arts showcase throughout the entire BAM facility in two-hour timed-entry sessions. In addition to the main and lower-lobby level installations, Teknopolis + VR participants will have exclusive access to try a selection of immersive VR and 360° films in small groups-open to ages 9+-located on the upper levels of the BAM Fisher.

The Hillman Studio will house interactive VR experiences, including VR_I, the first ever immersive contemporary dance piece, choreographed by Gilles Jobin, that enables users to inhabit full-body avatars that interact and communicate physically with each other in various performance landscapes, and Cabbibo's L U N E, an experimental haiku dedicated to the exploration of VR where users can dance, play, meditate, or build a pillow fort made from stars.

The enclosed Fisher Rooftop will host a showcase area dedicated to 360° films placing users in the middle of the action. This year's 360° films include Crow: The Legend, fully immersive, award-winning animated short, by Baobab Studios and featuring Oprah Winfrey, John Legend and Constance Wu and Sonaria, presented by the Emmy Award-winning platform Google Spotlight Stories, brings visitors on a vivid journey of sound and light as the ever-changing lead creatures flow from one life-form to another. The Fisher Rooftop will also house the ARcade where you can play with augmented reality apps including FLARMINGOS, in a digital dance of ecological awareness wherein users create and populate a virtual habitat with life-size dancing flamingos.

Tickets for Teknopolis and Teknopolis + VR are on sale now.

Teknopolis tickets are $16 for children (Ages 6-14) and $21 for adults.

Teknopolis + VR tickets are $35 for youth (Ages 9-14) and $45 for adults.

Each person must have a ticket to be admitted, regardless of age. Children under age 12 must be accompanied by an adult. For more information call 718.636.4100 or visit BAM.org/kids.

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