The STRP Festival is one of the largest art & technology festivals in Europe, presenting a four-day multidisciplinary programme with more than 120 artworks, performances, and artists. The composition of the programme is based on the principle that STRP should be a low-threshold festival, geared to a large audience. The programme
centres on robotics, music, visuals, and interactive art, and comprises an exhibition, a visuals programme, a music programme, and a programme containing performances, workshops, and lectures.
Leading American media artist Ken Rinaldo, will premiere Our Daily Dread: the mechanization of our food production, which is expressed through an installation of robot arms cow’s ears, video images, and abattoir sounds. The Interactive Balloon Ballet by Christopher Bauder (GER) is an enormous work consists of a grid of balloons that, illuminated from the inside, float through space like atoms.
Robert Henke, better known as Monolake, composed the sound environment for this work. During a special performance, the balloons drift around in a graceful choreography. Italian Sonia Cillari presents an interactive theatrical work at the STRP festival. In her interactive performance ‘If you are close to me’, a dancer is standing on a floor full of sensors. By approaching her, the visitor influences an electromagnetic field around her that reveals itself in fabulous visuals and audio compositions. Cillari was awarded an Honourable Mention for this work during the prestigious Ars Electronica Festival in 2007. Also Otolab (IT) will performe a live audiovisual performance: Circo ipnotico
Another prize-winning work is Camera Lucida by Evelina Domnitch and Dimitri Gelfand (RUS/USA). In their ‘sonochemical observatory’, they lend sound an amazing visual dimension.
The visuals programme comprises video art/video clips, live cinema, animation, and documentaries. The live cinema performances are a once in a lifetime experience in which image and sound are in perfect harmony with one another, almost creating a new dimension. Feed by the Austrian Kurt Hentschläger, is a mind-blowing experience in which all senses seem to crash. Starting at a calm pace, the performance soon enough literally builds up steam, immersing the audience in a dark space full of smoke, stroboscopes, projections of androgynous creatures and ear-deafening sound. Feed was developed for ‘Theatre Biennial Venice 2005’.
During the Animation Festival on Sunday, George Pal (1908), who used to live in Eindhoven, and the animation software Blender take centre stage. Pal developed the stop motion animation technique that earned him worldwide acclaim as the founding father of contemporary animation. Pal was awarded two Oscars and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Blender is free open source software for 3D animation, creating animation films that quality-wise equals those of the large Hollywood studios. Elephants Dream, a film entirely made with Blender, premiered in 2006; it was worldwide the first animation film ever made with open source software, and in HD quality to boot.
The STRP Festival opens on 22 November with a concert by one of the world’s most celebrated electronic bands: The Chemical Brothers. The music programmes of Friday and Saturday start at 20.00 and continue until six o’clock in the morning.
The extensive music programme presents alongside big names also superb high-tech experiments in the field of electronic music. The performance by 5MM (DJ Akufen and VJ Coutu-Dumont), is a true audiovisual gem of deep soundscapes and alienating projections. A world apart from the French Aufgang, which consists of two grand pianos and electronics: Jeff Mills meets Keith Jarrett!
The full programme and all information can be found on www.strp.nl
