[artinfo] Call for Participation: Ideal Spaces Symposium

[Martin Reiche]

Ideal Spaces Symposium: "Managed Spaces"

24-26 September 2015
Rittnerthof
Karlsruhe, Germany

What does it mean to 'manage' space and time, as 
opposed to living in space and time? As a 
precondition for the 'human condition' of today, 
we need to reassert the following assumptions: 
that space and time are only managed - like 
everything else since the market has conquered 
every niche of human existence - and no longer 
lived. To live in space and time is also an 
unavoidable premise that begs the question if we 
are human at all. Or more precisely: what is this 
'human condition' up to now?

Irrespective if we are consciously aware of it, 
we have all been living in managed spaces that 
encompass 'natural' refuges and new spaces of 
sociality provided for by diverse spatialities. 
Our aim is to establish a dialogue on the 
relations between management and space, their 
mental backgrounds in terms of the history of 
ideas and outcomes in terms of spatial practice. 
This could manifest in ways related to urban 
environments, city planning, conceptualizations 
of public space and the emergent phenomena 
encompassing hybrids of 'old' physical spaces 
with 'new' social ones. New formulation of the 
'human condition' such as man-machine interfaces, 
world perception and mythologies need to be 
reconsidered, especially through the 
proliferation of global online platforms such as 
social media that influence the concepts of 
hybrid cities, smart city applications and 
gamification of historical contents within the 
cityscape.

What is lacking so far is a synopsis of these 
different topics, now dispersed among different 
fields of research, and disciplines; and in-depth 
investigation into their mental background in 
terms of a history of ideas and practical 
outcomes. This symposium serves as a cooperation 
of ideas and practice in which we visualize such 
ideal spaces through various "artifacts" related 
to management and space. These artifacts in all 
its potential manifestations will showcase an 
evolution of various formats comprising of 
functionality, origins and characteristics in 
order to deepen our understanding of what the new 
human condition might entail. With this, we hope 
to create a symposium that would be interactive, 
integrate experiential insights with technologies 
and incorporate trans-medial and storytelling 
platforms, so that a collaborative authoring 
process will emerge.


*Personal Statement*

Please submit a personal statement of not more 
than 300 words, or in other formats such as 
images, film music, to:
info at idealspaces.org
The intent of this submission is to deviate from 
the traditional abstract, ie. the purpose is not 
to prove your eligibility, but to facilitate your 
involvement within the focus of the symposium. 
Hence, please feel free to be as creative as you 
deem fit.


*Ideal Spaces Working Group*

Ulrich Gehmann: Editor-in-Chief of New Frontiers 
in Spatial Concepts 
(<http://ejournal.uvka.de/spatialconcepts/>http://ejournal.uvka.de/spatialconcepts/) 
KIT; head of working group Formatting of Social 
Spaces, KIT (University of Karlsruhe, Dep. of 
History), Karlsruhe/Germany

Matthias Wölfel: Professor in Interactive Media, 
Furtwangen University, Furtwangen/Germany

Desmond Wee: Professor of Tourism Sciences and 
Spatial Theories, Karlshochschule International 
University, Karlsruhe/Germany

Michael Johansson, Associate Professor for Design 
and Computer Science, Kristianstad University, 
Kristianstad/Sweden

Martin Reiche, Media Artist and Independent Researcher, Berlin/Germany

Marco Zampella: Lecturer of Multimedia, 3D, and 
film, University of Applied Sciences Karlsruhe 
(HfG), Karlsruhe/Germany

Katerina Diamantaki: Researcher of Communication 
& Media, Open University of Cyprus, Larnaka/Cyprus