So Gogbot Festival has gone. It was really an experience being there and particularly living it so closely to the organizers. First of all a word about Kees de Grooot and Viola von Halpen who did so much great work in choosing sucha an inspiring theme and realizing it so well.
What was immediately clear to me was that this people don’t have to study or keep updated about “steampunk”, they’re steampunk!
And the whole festival showed it really well. It wasn’t about the classical new media art exhibition, gogbot festival was an experience, in a steampunk vein, but first of all an experience.
Connecting to the do-it-yourself attitude of punk they selected pieces not just for their esthetical value but also for their social role: there were many interesting installation, but surrounded by the “europe trash bar”, the steampunk coffe bar, the bubble bar and radio barkas.
Gogbot was a steampunk performance in a way, beacuse it stopeed time for thrre days in the little town of Enschede and brought there under a suggestive frame like steampunk a lot of creativity that usually has no space in galleries.
The curators dealt more with the user experience rather than on reflecting about art, and the whole festival had a general steampunk aestetich, they had no fear in presenting such a complex show that was appreciated both by tech artist geek and old local mittle europenas.
And due to all of this there was a really well atmosphear between all the people involved, that were really kind with everyone.
