Art And Science Will Collide In Bungarribee Park For The October School Holidays

CoLABS, an exciting new affordable outdoor event ($5 tickets) will take place at Bungarribee Park in Western Sydney Parklands -Sydney's Biggest Backyard, in the first week of the October school holidays.

Entertaining and innovative art installations, created by artists and science professionals, will delight young children, teenagers and adults alike.

Western Sydney Parklands' newly developed Bungarribee Park will be transformed into the west's biggest outdoor art gallery, powered by Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). STEM has been identified as a national priority by the federal government to build the skills and capacity for the jobs of the future.

The event will help to highlight STEM capabilities in Western Sydney such as the Sydney Science Park, the largest science city in Australia being constructed at Luddenham in Western Sydney.

CoLABS directors Grant Dowling and Pip Sprott worked together on the Outpost Project in 2011 on Cockatoo Island, at the time the southern hemisphere's largest street art festival.

"CoLABS was conceived to show how art and science can work together to engage and inspire the next generation to the possibilities and opportunities in STEM. We hope to unlock the creative capacity and imagination of western Sydney Through an event that's fun and engaging."

Western Sydney Parklands Executive Director Suellen Fitzgerald said:

"We're excited to be a Strategic Partner for CoLABS and to be supporting culture and arts in Western Sydney. We encourage everyone to explore the amazing artworks in Bungarribee Park these school holidays."

Featured artworks include:

Bear-Ometer of Positivity - Edison Chen

Control a 4 metre high inflatable bear with your smart phone Twitter account. Combines pop-art sensibility with technology and reflects the control we have on emotions through social media use. The more positive messages Bear-Ometer detects, the larger it will inflate.

Botanicus Musica - Jonathan Bolitho

Step into an interactive sound garden that comes to life by touching plants. Set in a 6 metre tall geodesic dome, Botanicus Musica combines interactive art with botany, biology, horticulture and anthropology. Advanced touch sensing technology allows you to trigger a plant to produce sounds of waves lapping at the shore, or a voice snippet regarding its cultural significance.

Rhythmotron - MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour & Development at Western Sydney University

Play an algorithmic robotic percussion ensemble via a re-purposed piano (no musical knowledge required!). Software housed inside the piano produces a variety of rhythmic sonics. Rhythmotron will also feature two live events with the new Western Sydney Youth Orchestra performing specially developed pieces in tandem.

RAPP LAB Robots, Art, People and Performance - Damith Herath, Dr. Elizabeth Jochum, Marian Abboud, Vicki Van Hout

A collaboration between the co-founder of Robological Sydney, the University of Alborg, Marian Aboud and Vicki Van Hout. Beat the robot at its game! Play noughts and crosses with an advanced life-size manufacturing robot. Ushering in the promise of the future, this mix-media installation also acknowledges the past and present through a robot that plays tic-tac-toe with humans, framed by a digital backdrop that is both immersive and challenging.

Curious Chromoscope - Didier Balez, Rachelle Balez

Journey into the hidden world of your chromosomes via a giant kaleidoscope with this interactive sculptural installation. Created by a father and daughter team, Curious Chromoscope consists of 23 steel plate chromosomes up to 2.5 meters, and a life size microscope-shaped kaleidoscope. Moving in a 360° motion, you'll explore the central role chromosomes play in our existence.

Umbilical Arrangements - Mehwish Iqbal

Western Sydney artist Mehwish Iqbal celebrates the area's cultural diversity in her large sculptural work, sponsored by WestConnex. Resembling the cellular structure found in nature, the work will be created in metal frame with brass skin.

Project Bread - Clayton Thompson

Explore an enormous pyramid constructed from 1700 bread crates. Project Bread is an 8 metre pyramid, representing the global wealth pyramid (1% of the world's population owns 50% of the wealth). The structure is essentially a series of mathematical equations.

CoLABS

Friday 29 September to Sunday 8 October 2017

10am to 6pm daily

Bungarribee Park (corner of Holbeche and Doonside Roads, Bungarribee)

Tickets: $5 (plus booking fees) for all ages

Purchase tickets: www.colabs.org.au

Free drop in science workshops and activities for kids, food trucks, coffee and drinks on site

Photo credit: Edison Chen

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