dom | Ludic Rooms

Artist Opportunities – BEACON

dom — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 17:53:39 +0000

This March, Ludic Rooms will be inviting people to Coventry Canal Basin for one special night of light, projection and performance. We will be sharing new Ludic Rooms work as well as some past pieces generated across our 15 years of leading arts and technology projects in the city. For the first time we’ll be performing a work-in-progress of our new collaboration with Highly Sprung Performance Company and Mercia Canoe Club “Paddling Light: The Diviners”, we’ll also be hosting an Open Projections event in Coventry Canal Warehouse, and our lovely friends at The Tin will be opening the Coal Vaults for drinks and general good vibes.

The Paddling Light project aims to blur the lines between creators and audiences. Over the last few months we’ve worked with artists, performers, technologists, and canoeists across creative labs and workshops and we’d like even more creative people to get involved.

We have paid opportunities for up to twelve artists to join the fun and share their work as part of the BEACON event. We’re looking for moving image work for Open Projections and we have some micro-commissions to run alongside Paddling Light.

We have space for 10 contributors to submit existing work for projection onto and into the bays, architecture and features of Coventry Canal Warehouse. We’ll pay a token screener fee of £50 to all artists selected.

We’d like to recruit two artists (from any discipline) to join us for parts of the final rehearsal period for “Paddling Light: The Diviners” as a lightning residency. We’d like these artists to experiment and play, rapidly producing something rough and ready to share as part of the Beacon event on March 27th. Maybe you’re an illustrator that would like to live sketch the event, maybe you’re a photographer who enjoys light painting, maybe you’re a data artist that would like to produce something sensor based, maybe you’re a musician or sound artist that would like to play with our hydrophones. We’re really open to anything, surprise us. Selected artists will receive a fee of £250.

All the details on how to submit your work or proposal for either opportunity can be found in the artist pack here.

Please get in touch if you have any questions or fancy a chat us@ludicrooms.com

“BEACON” Projection and Performance – Weds 27th March

dom — Mon, 19 Feb 2024 16:41:00 +0000

PROJECTION & PERFORMANCE

Wednesday March 27th 2024. 7pm – 10pm

Coventry Canal Basin

OPEN PROJECTIONS

Coventry Canal Warehouse is the second largest Grade II listed building in the city. Built in three stages between the 1790s and the 1910s it is comprised of studio spaces across 5 floors and several multi-storey bays overhanging the water.

The building was sensitively restored in the 1980s by the Coventry Canal Basin Trust, who are still custodians of this important local heritage asset. The building is home to dozens of artists, designers and community groups, including Ludic Rooms and Mercia Canoe Club.

For BEACON, we will be filling the Bay spaces with projection and light, sharing moving image work from LR’s back catalogue as well as a curated selection of work from other local artists, animators, illustrators and filmmakers that explore our collective relationship with the water.

PADDLING LIGHT: THE DIVINERS

In 2019, as part of Coventry’s period as European City of Sport, LR worked with Mercia Canoe Club to experiment with how creative technology might transform the public’s experiences of the canal at night. We called these experiments “Paddling Light”.

For the last few months, with support from Arts Council England and the Canal & River Trust, we have been working with MCC and our incredible friends at Highly Sprung Performance Company to develop a new night time show to be performed from canoes and kayaks using some of our learning from 2019.

Following reports of a strange energy emitting from the canal, a group of misfits arrive to discover the truth. In search for answers, The Diviners delve deep into the darkest depths of possible histories and folklore. Uncovering what lurks beneath the curious happenings.

For BEACON, we will be sharing an early version of this exciting new outdoor arts performance for the very first time. Expect an interactive adventure of mysterious storytelling, physical theatre and illuminated watercraft.

Find out more about THE DIVINERS by visiting their website

The Beacon event has been funded by Arts Council England Project Grants and Canal & River Trust.

Paddling Light: The Diviners is a Ludic Rooms production in association with Highly Sprung Performance Company with generous support from Mercia Canoe Club and Coventry Canal Basin Trust.

FAQ

BEACON is the umbrella name for a collection of events taking place in and around Coventry Canal Basin on the evening of Wednesday 27th March.

You can attend for free (or make a voluntary contribution) but you need to book tickets for each element separately:

Paddling Light: The Diviners

There will be two performances of Paddling Light: The Diviners. This is the first work in progress performance of this new piece, sharing the outcomes of recent research and development and something that we hope to develop into a touring show in the future.

Highly Sprung performers and Mercia Canoe Club members will perform from canoes on the water in the middle of the canal. Audiences view from the public spaces in the Canal Basin outside the shops.

These performances take place at 7.30pm & 9.00pm. The show runs for approximately 20 minutes. This event is suitable for all ages, including children.

Open Projections

An ongoing show of artists’ films will be projected in the four bays of the Canal Warehouse on Leicester Row from 7.00-9.30pm.

A one way system will be in place and tickets are allocated with time slots so we can keep queuing to a minimum. The entrance will be at the top of Leicester Row, close to Bridge no. 1.

SmartPhones

Paddling Light: The Diviners has an additional element that can be experienced by accessing a website using a smartphone. You will be directed to the website by stewards, on your arrival. However, this is an additional feature and not essential to enjoying the show. You do not need to install anything or connect to any special network.

You will also be able to use your smartphone to see information about the artists sharing work in Open Projections.

How to get there

For Paddling Light: The Diviners and the Tin Music & Arts Coal Vaults venue – Canal Basin, St Nicholas Street CV14LY, What3Words ///towns.locked.skins

For Open Projections: Canal Warehouse, Leicester Row CV1 4LH, What3Words ///punch.wing.earth

On Foot

If travelling from the city centre, you can get to the Canal Basin either by crossing the pedestrian bridge at the top of Bishop Street (What3Words ///finely.deed.zones), or via the pedestrian crossings under the ring road from Upper Well Street (What3Words ///loving.hungry.fetch).

By Bus

Routes 20 and 148 stop on Foleshill Road, adjacent to the towpath at the Leicester Row bus stop opposite Halfords, just a short step-free walk from the Canal Basin. Both routes pick up in the City Centre from Trinity Street, and run as far away as Longford, Bedworth and Nuneaton.

By Car

We recommend that you park at Pay & Display car parks on Tower Street or Belgrade Plaza. Parking information here. There is some roadside metered parking available on St Nicholas Street, Leicester Row, Draper’s Fields and some non-metered residential streets nearby.

What about the weather?

This is an outdoor event, at night, by water, in March. There’s a good chance it’ll be cold and possibly even raining. Please make sure that you dress in warm waterproof clothing suitable for standing outside, but no large golf umbrellas please.

In the event of severe weather conditions, we may have to cancel the event – ticket holders will be notified.

Toilets

There are toilets inside the Tin Music & Arts, which will be available for the duration of the event, including an accessible toilet. The nearest Changing Places toilet is at Asda Abbey Park (https://storelocator.asda.com/west-midlands/coventry/abbey-park-north-london-road and is open until 11pm.

SEATING

We are able to provide some limited seating for people who need it. Please speak to a steward upon arrival. Otherwise Paddling Light: The Diviners is a standing show, lasting approximately 20 minutes and Open Projections is an exhibition which you can travel through at your own pace. We expect this to take a maximum of approximately 30 minutes.

REFRESHMENTS

The Tin will be open, selling hot and cold drinks until at least 10.00pm.

Goretys will be open, selling Portuguese hot and cold drinks and food until 8.00pm.

Please do feel free to bring your own food and drink – we recommend a hot drink!

Access

The Canal Warehouse is a Grade II listed building and whilst the canalside for viewing the Open Projections is mostly level, it does have some steps and narrow sections, for which we will provide temporary ramps where feasible. The widest wheelchair that the building can accommodate would be 68 cm.

Paddling Light: The Diviners is on level ground and we will do our best to keep front row space available for those using a wheelchair or seat.

During Paddling Light: The Diviners, the action is likely to take place a minimum of approximately 4 metres away from the audience and performers will not be wearing microphones.

We will have a limited number of large print scripts available for you to follow along or read beforehand if this is something that you would find useful.

Both experiences will be taking place in low light and close to the Canal waters edge. Please be careful when navigating these.

A number of ear defenders will be available to borrow.

A breakout space will be available during the course of the event for those who might need it. This will be at the Tin Music and Arts Community Space and will be signposted on the night. Please speak to a steward on arrival if you think you might like to make use of this space during the course of the evening.

Film and Photography

Please note that filming/photography will be taking place at the event for promotional and archival purposes. If you would prefer not to be photographed please let the photographer/filmmaker or another member of staff know.

LUDIC ROOMS

Ludic Rooms were founded in Coventry in 2009. We are a socially engaged arts organisation that use technology and play to help investigate, interrogate and illuminate the stories of people and places. We work in real-world settings, supported by digital media to allow artists, workshop participants and audiences a space to make a difference in the world around them.

For the last five years we’ve been focussing our time on projects that improve Coventry residents access to, and relationship with, the canal. You might have visited our night time event Random String in 2021 or one of our many summer daytime events in the Canal Basin Roam+Dwell, the Waterways Festival or Canal Basin Play Day.

We also ran Open Citizens in 2017 (with burping bins and CanCan dancing) as well as years of playful family activities at Godiva Festival in the ExperiTent.

LUDIC ROOMS

We also ran Open Citizens in 2017 (with burping bins and CanCan dancing) as well as years of playful family activities at Godiva Festival in the ExperiTent.

Paddling Light Internships – Come work with us.

dom — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 09:53:55 +0000

Would you like to get hands-on experience in staging outdoor live events?
Do you want to get into working in the arts but don’t know where to start?
Do you like to get creative with technology but don’t know how to turn that into a career?

Ludic Rooms have two paid part-time internship roles as part of their Arts Council England funded project, Paddling Light.

Paddling Light is a performance project in collaboration with Highly Sprung Performance and Mercia Canoe Club and will result in a night time performance on canoes using light and sound on Coventry Canal on 27 March. The Sharing Performance will also involve an Open Projection event involving screenings of films and other moving image works selected for sharing inside Coventry Canal Warehouse spaces.

We have two internship roles available to support the project aimed at young people (18-26) with interests in any of the following; Producing Live events, Outdoor Arts, Digital Arts and Media.

This is an exciting, but sometimes challenging role, where you will be expected to step up, make a contribution and work as part of the team.

Interns will be paid hourly at £12/hr via PAYE on a fixed-term, part-time contract. Candidates will need to demonstrate a right to work in the UK. The internship is expected to be 35 hours over the duration of the project.

For more details please download the pack here. If you have any questions, please get in touch for a chat.

We’ve tried to make the application as simple as possible. The deadline is February 5th 2024 Please complete the form here. You can also apply by sending a video or voice note, maximum of 5 minutes long, outlining your interest in the opportunity to the email below.

If you would like to talk through the internship opportunity with us, please email us@ludicrooms.com or phone 07770674552

Data Miners: Digital creative skills and new directions

dom — Wed, 29 Jul 2020 09:16:54 +0000

Are you 18 and over, unemployed (6 months+) and looking for inspiration and new directions?
Would you like to learn new creative skills using digital tools?
Are you interested in finding the stories that your digital behaviour can tell about you?

Data Miners is a free project run by local arts organisation Ludic Rooms, for unemployed people to explore ways in which they can gain more control over data and make something creative. The project is funded by the European Social Fund and the Education and Skills Funding Agency, and supported by the Local Enterprise Partnership.

Ludic Rooms is an arts and technology company and aims to give people the creative tools to explore how technology shapes their lives.

Data Miners project takes place in 18 sessions from 7 September- 9 November 2020. Due to COVID-19 it is planned as a blended course; most of it will take place online. Ludic Rooms will be providing equipment on loan to support this, where required.

The project will be a mixture of practical activities and challenges, as well as some background information exploring data and privacy. You will also have time to think about your next career steps and get help finding and applying for jobs and education and training courses.

Sound good?

To find out more contact us@ludicrooms.com or ring 07770 674 552 to arrange a chat. This can be by phone, video conferencing or in person (in an open air space). Please let us know if you have additional access needs.

Permission to Play at the Wellcome Collection

dom — Fri, 21 Feb 2020 14:38:23 +0000

Reflecting on an incredible weekend – exhausting and inspiring in equal measure – for the Permission to Play weekender at the Wellcome Collection. We built an interactive playspace from cardboard boxes, centred around a carousel of interactive activities that challenged visitors to use different technologies to challenge issues of democratising access and invitation to play. A new version of our ML card game (originally developed with Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust) responded to the potential biases present in how objects are collected, categorised and described by both museums and machines using images from the Wellcome Collection. We also hosted an acetate & whiteboard marker version of our Open Citizens playable cities workshop and invited people to capture their play protests in AR animations using the brilliant DoodleLens app. Much fun was had by all.

MI:labs returns to Warwick Arts Centre this October

dom — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 13:26:51 +0000

Interested in moving images and digital arts and looking for a place to enhance your existing skills and develop new ones? This is the opportunity for you!

The project has been developed in partnership with the Creative Learning team at WAC and we aim to take the group on a digital journey that will develop video capture, virtual reality, online apps and animation skills, amongst many others.

Established in Spring 2018, the vision for MI:labs was to try to establish a regular group in Coventry for young people interested in digital arts and media. Think of it like a youth theatre for digital media. We work in a devised way, co-creating new work each term inspired by the programme at WAC. We respond to live briefs from industry professionals and cultural organisations, so far producing work for Godiva Festival, Coventry Cathedral as well as different spaces in WAC itself. This term the group will be inspired by seeing Candoco Dance Company perform at Warwick Arts Centre before creating a response to the show in the following weeks. The term will culminate in a celebration of their work to be shown in advance of Tom Dale’s Step Sonic at Warwick Arts Centre.

We are excited to be able to offer a trial session this term – your young person can attend for the first session without paying to ensure that they enjoy it. As soon as your young person attends the second session, payment for the term will be due. To take up this offer, please contact creativelearning@warwick.ac.uk or 024 7615 1793 or to book, please contact Box Office.

Paddling Light – canoeing at night!

dom — Thu, 19 Sep 2019 18:27:38 +0000

Paddling Light is a new project LR have developed with Mercia Canoe Club that aims to get more people active on the Coventry Canal. Funded by Coventry City Council’s Sports & Culture Innovation Fund aims to celebrate our underused waterway and encourage new canoeists through an exciting and playful experience. We’re inviting members of the public to join us in exploring the Canal by canoe but with the added twist of doing it … at night.

In order to make this an even more unique experience for Coventry residents, we’ve spent the last few weeks testing and prototyping a variety of experimental floating playthings that use light, sound and other technologies to guide you along the way. This is early research and development for a larger immersive project we hope to see on Coventry Canal in the build up to 2021.

Join in!

We are now inviting local people to take part for free in the Paddling Light project at one of six evening sessions in October.

Participants do not have to have canoed before, but should be reasonably physically fit, able to swim 25m and be 18+.

The session will start at 6.00 and will involve an introductory paddle to teach the basics of canoeing in daylight. This will be followed by a break out of the water, with hot drinks and snacks and then participants will go back out for a paddle in the dark, ending at approximately 8.00pm.

Mercia Canoe Club will provide all outerwear and life jackets, please bring a change of clothes and wear warm comfortable clothing for canoeing.

The sessions will take place 10, 12, 15, 17 & 22 October 2019.

To book your place please complete the form here

Places will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis and we’ll contact you within a few days to confirm your session.

We need a freelance illustrator / animator

dom — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 17:39:56 +0000

Ludic Rooms are seeking a freelance illustrator / animator for a collaborative site-responsive project around the Coventry Canal.

We are working alongside other local arts organisations to develop an artist-led vision for the regeneration and revitalisation of the Coventry Canal. At the heart of this is CAN, a unique new space dedicated to community creativity. We’ve been working with partners like Coventry University and the Canals & River Trust to develop these ideas and we are currently entering a period of public consultation. We hope CAN will become a space dedicated to:

Animating Coventry Canal Basin
Enriching Coventry’s cultural offer
Developing skills and knowledge exchange
Providing a space for communities

We would like to collaborate with an illustrator / animator to produce assets that can be used to communicate our vision for the transformation of Coventry Canal Basin and the wider Coventry Canal area. We’re looking for someone who is comfortable sketching ideas through conversation and developing ideas alongside other people. We’re open to a range of illustrative styles and techniques, and expect the work to include both figurative and architectural elements. The resulting work aims to pre-visualise and explore the potential for the canal as a venue for new public artworks, performances, workshops, events and happenings. We’d like someone who has some skills in animation so that we can build short sequences of illustration together alongside video and photographic material.

We’d like to get started as soon as possible so ideally would like to speak to people that are local to Coventry and have some availability in August. This work will be paid daily on a freelance basis at an agreed rate.

If you’re interested in hearing some more, please reach out on social media (@ludicrooms) or send us an email at us@ludicrooms.com with a link to examples of your work.

Godiva Festival 2019 – Come play with us in the Experi-Tent!

dom — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 14:20:48 +0000

We’re delighted to announce that for the first time Ludic Rooms will be filling a whole festival tent with our special blend of creative fun, technology, making and play. We call it…

The Experi-Tent.

There’ll be tinkering opportunities for all ages; a marble run that you can help to build, knock down and re-build again; beautiful eye-popping digital images that you can peek at and play with; a VR experience shared by the Lanchester Interactive Archive; a play space that can be hacked and modified; as well as making loveliness provided by the Community Studio Van – a joint project between Coventry University and Warwick Arts Centre.

All kinds of everything for curious minds. We hope to see you there! War Memorial Park, Coventry on Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th July 2019.

Beautiful day on the Coventry canal this week with artists and academics exploring community, slowness, heritage and access. Sowing seeds

dom — Fri, 10 May 2019 10:14:21 +0000