Aprojectinitiated&curatedbySusaPop,PublicArtLabco-curatedbyDonKarl,FromHeretoFamePublishingHouse

DigitalCalligraffitiisaformat,whichgivesthechancetoallsocialgroupstofreelysharetheirmessages&wishes.Usingtheartofcalligraffititocatalysethecommunicationbetweentheunitandthewhole,Digitalcalligraffitiisaimingattransformingtheurbanscreensintoacanvasofexpression.Theprojectputs in the hands of those whose chances to urban infrastructure are fade the ‘brush to writebeautifully’theirmessageandshaketothecoreourawarenessbymultiplyingtheoutreachviatheever-growingConnectingCitiesNetwork’sdigitalinfrastructure.Thisartisticformatisfocusingonfacilitatingadialoguethroughaseriesofactivitiesintroducingmanysocialgroupstocalligraffitiandnewmediaartists,people’sbridgebuildingandpromotingdiversitiesasthemediumtobringuscloser.

DIGITALCALLIGRAFFITIcommunitybuildingformigratingcultures

Digital Calligraffiti for migrating cultures is a community project that endeavours to combinetraditionalcalligraffitiwithgraffitiart.ThesymbiosisiscalledCalligraffiti,atermthatwasfirstusedin2007byNielsShoeMeulmann,afamousgraffitiartistandinitiatorofthecalligraffitiambassadorsnetwork.Wewanttoexpandtheseculturaltechniqueswithnewmediatechnologiesbyanimatingthecreationofcalligraffitiartanddisplayitonthedigitalinfrastructureofthecityecosystem.In aneffort to answerburningquestionsof today’s society theproject is turning its gazeat theBerlin’s new comers – refugees and people with migrating background – investigating thefundamentalissueof:Where/Howisthefuturethatwedreamedofyesterday?Whatculturalvaluesdopeoplewithmigrationbackgroundwanttopreservefromdecayingandintegratetothewaytheylivetoday?Whichmessagesdowewishtowritebeautifullyandpasson,andwhichaestheticformsareatourdisposalinatime,whereourlanguageismostlyexclusivedigital?Toachieve this theproject isbeingexpressedviaa seriesofactivitiesandperformances,whereyoung refugees and experts of the fields of calligraffiti, graffiti, calligraphy and new mediaparticipate.

DIGITALCALLIGRAFFITICAMP

TheDigitalCalligraffitiCampfocusesonestablishingaconversationbetweentheparticipantsandtheartists inorder tocreateanarrativeof theirdigitalcalligraffitimessages -apowerfulstorytelling–basedontheirbackground,memories,experiencesandwishesforthefuturefortheurbanscreens.Nexttothis,itinvitesstakeholdersintheculturalfieldtodiscussanddevelopatheoreticalstrategicaspectofartintheurbancontext.Thehandoftheartistbecomestheexpressiveforcewhichvisualisesthemessages.Thewordsobtaina new dynamic, not only because of their meaning but also because of the powerful calligraffititechniquewhichisabletocomposeastrongandawakeningaestheticsforthosewhoencounterit

Theco-creationprocessamongtheparticipants,artistsandmoderatorsisbuildingupabond,openingupnewavenuesofcommunicationandexchangeofskillsandtechniques.Itencouragestheaudienceinitiativeandpromotestheinterculturalandcross-disciplinarydialogue.THEINFL3CTOR–INTERACTIVELIVEPERFORMANCES&NETWORKEDSCENARIOSInfl3ctorwasbuiltinanattempttobridgethegapbetween the analogue and the digital, themessenger and the audience, the art of writingand the digital visualization. Especially designedforDigitalCalligraffitibythenewmediaartistandengineer Michael Ang in collaboration with thenew media and calligraffiti artist Hamza AbuAyyash, Infl3ctor introduces new possibilities ofcommunicationandculturalexpression.This interactive tool allows the artworks -messagestohaveauniqueoutcomeevenintheirdigital formbypreservingthehandof theartist.Thecalligraffititagsarecomposedandprojectedinrealtimeenablingadialoguebetweencitizensof the sameordistant cities throughnetworkedscenarios.DuringtheInfl3ctorperformancestheaudienceisencouraged to participate and write theirmessages. Inatimewheretheunit isswallowedbythemassandthevoicesofthesocialgroupsarenot equally heard, this installation offers theindividuals an equalmoment of expressionwithhighvisibility.

URBANMEDIAARTCAMPAIGNThisco-designprocedurecomposestheDigitalCalligraffiti–UrbanMediaArtCampaign.Undertheguidingprinciple‚UrbanScreensareourWalls’digitalenvironmentswillbeopenedupascommunityplatforms with the memorable aesthetics of Digital Calligraffiti artworks, created during theworkshopsandliveperformances,inplaceswithstrongvisibilitysuchasjunctions,subwaystationsandpublicsquares.The project is using the artistic practice of calligraffiti and its artistic effect as a way to pass onconsciousnessaroundthemigratingculturesofBerlinandtheirwishes,makingequallyaccessibletheurbaninfrastructuretoallinhabitants

DIGITALCALLIGRAFFITIPRODUCTSTheprojectpromotesthenewcomers’integrationbygivingthemthepossibilitytoexplorenewco-design technologies like 3D laser cutting andprinting to produce their own digital calligraffitiproductsandgettoknowthecreativenewmediaspacesofthecity.Byprintingthecalligraffititagsonwearableitemsthe project is aiming at transforming eachindividual into a message-bearer and each itemintoanartworkwithastory.

Contact:PUBLICARTLAB//Brunnenstr.72//13355BerlinArtisticdirector:SusaPop//susapop@publicartlab.com//+49-163-3912292Projectcoordination:ChristinaMandilari//christina@connectingcities.netwww.publicartlab.org//connectingcities.netDigitalCalligraffitiCampaign:https://vimeo.com/224036749//DigitalCalligraffitiMovie:https://vimeo.com/204027305Moreinfoabouttheproject:www.publicartlab-berlin.de/?p=3235