Preston Guild Scrolls go global

Preston Guild is unique in the UK. It is celebrated only once every 20 years and has a history stretching back over eight hundred years to 1179 when Henry II granted a charter which empowered Preston to hold a Guild Merchant. Originally it was held to keep the Guild Roll - a list of people allowed to trade in the town, known as burgesses - up-to-date, but by the 18th century it had become a huge celebration of civic pride - which it still is today!

Preston Guild has contributed enormously to the dynamic city that Preston is today and every 20 years, we still celebrate and invite descendents of previous Guild burgesses to re-register on the now symbolic but very prestigious register.
Find out more about our once-in-a-generation festival at www.prestonguild2012.com.
In 1952 - with the arrival of air travel - Preston Guild went global.  Many ex Prestonians had emigrated to far flung places including America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
But even though they lived thousands of miles away they wanted to take part in Preston Guild, so the Guild Scrolls were born.
In every Preston Guild since - 1972 and 1992 - we have sent scrolls of friendship around the world to New York, Toronto, Johannesburg, Sydney, Auckland and many more places for ex Prestonians to sign.
Once back in the UK members of Preston Harriers Athletics club ran the scrolls of friendship back in a relay from Manchester airport, through the streets of Preston during the Guild celebrations, when many thousands of people lined the streets, cheering the scrolls arrival from overseas.
In 2012, the scrolls will once again be sent around the world but with the advent of the internet and new technology, now anyone anywhere can take part and sign their own scroll of friendship for Preston Guild.
It doesn’t matter if you live near or far, you can post your very own scroll to share with friends, family and followers of Preston Guild.
Share a simple message, photo, or video clip - it’s that easy to make history and take part. Don’t miss out as you’ll have to wait 20 years for the next one!

Hear Manchester - tour of the Rochdale Canal

The Rochdale Canal cuts a swathe through the heart of Manchester but, unloved and largely ignored, rarely featured on any tourist map – until Marketing Manchester and Manchester City Council decided to raise its profile among residents and visitors alike. The canal, and the Petersfield area around it, is steeped in history, from the creation of the world’s first programmable computer to the rise and fall of Factory Records. Hearmanchester.com lets the history, personality and attitude of this part of the city speak for itself – and in so doing, bring the Rochdale Canal to life.

Fronted by punk singer and music pundit, John Robb, Hearmanchester.com is an ambitious multi-format project that centres on a series of ten audio portraits. These guides, linked to landmark signage by the side of the canal itself, can be accessed online via a PC or MP3 player or listened to on site via an iPhone or 3G mobile. Accompanied by downloadable transcripts and maps, Hearmanchester.com tells the story of Manchester’s past, anchoring vanished histories to today’s physical landmarks. Designed to fit the devices already in users’ pockets, it is an audio trail for people who wouldn’t be seen dead using an audio trail – but who don’t mind discovering the past on the mobile device in their hand, the laptop in their hotel room or the iPod in their car.
Produced in record time, Hearmanchester.com met with industry approval: the product was nominated for two BIMA awards in 2008, and won two Special Commendations that the 2009 Big Chip Awards.

Take a stroll along the Rochdale Canal, type Hearmanchester.com into the browser on your phone, and listen to a programme about the city you thought you knew.
http://stardotstar.com/projects/hearmanchester

Museum of London App

Streetmuseum gives you a unique perspective of old and new London whether you're discovering the capital for the first time or revisiting favourite haunts. Hundreds of images from the Museum of London's extensive collections showcase both everyday and momentous occasions in London's history, from the Great Fire of 1666 to the swinging sixties.

Once you've got the hang of it, use Streetmuseum to create your own trails around London. At home, on the way to work or enjoying a trip to the capital – whatever you're doing, Streetmuseum offers you a different outlook on London.

Of course with thousands of years of turbulent history, London has changed many times so some streets or buildings may not exist today. Where precise locations aren't available, relish the challenge of identifying recognisable landmarks which may offer you clues as to the current day site. A street name in the background or a church spire in the distance may be all you need to find the view. Our descriptions can also help you locate the right spot.
Want to continue your journey? Visit the Museum of London's spectacular new Galleries of Modern London and discover the story of the world's greatest city and its people.
www.museumoflondon.org.uk

iPhone QR code wins an award

A painting that doubles as an iPhone QR code has been announced as the winning entry in the Bold Horizon National Contemporary Art Award 2011. The announcement was made at an awards ceremony at Waikato Museum on Friday, 5 August.

The entry titled Blue Poles is by New Zealand artist Andre Hemer, who currently resides in Sydney. As the winner, Mr Hemer receives $15,000 in prize money.
Award judge John Hurrell, who selected Mr Hemer’s entry from amongst 42 finalists’, praised the high standard of entries received. “This year there was an especially high standard of application and so, because of space limitations, some shaping was necessary to fit the available space,” he said.
“The winning work by Andre Hemer is a painting that doubles as an iPhone QR code, linking to a Google map showing where Jackson Pollock's famous Blue Poles (1952) is located in the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra. This American painting was purchased by the Whitlam Government in 1973 for $2 million. Possibly the most important twentieth century artwork in the Southern Hemisphere, Pollock's work is referenced by Hemer to speak of cultural capital and national status globally, and the aspirations of a New Zealand artist looking at it from afar.”

Augmented reality Christmas cards

Augmented reality Christmas Cards from augmented reality developer, artist, Randy Miller. www.millersconcepts.com

Arnaud Lapierre’s installation

Arnaud Lapierre’s Ring Installation deconstructs Place Vendôme in Paris

By: Lidija Grozdanic | November - 18 - 2011
By playing with reflections and their impact on the experience of a space, Arnaud Lapierre’s installation changes the rhythm and urban flow of Place Vendôme in Paris. Created for the FIAC 2011 Conference, sponsored by Audi, a reflective cylinder composed of mirrored blocks stacked in a variegated fashion is placed on a public surface, surrounded by classical buildings.

Through the implementation of an optical effect: the repetition of cubic mirrors, the conventional perception of the space is “shattered”. By segmenting the appearance of the square, a new reading of space is introduced. The structure establishes a different kind of interaction between individuals, built space and movement. The facets of each cube reflect the place and reconstruct a paradigm that breaks the reading of the course. The Ring works at this stage as a visual intrusion, an acceleration that changes the perception of the visited place. On the other hand, the circular layout of the structure invites the visitor to step inside, exposing him to collided images of details, intimacy and outside spatiality. The Ring visually deconstructs space, but does not reconfigure it physically; it leaves the elements in the state of decomposed images, pieces of a puzzle hovering and waiting to be reassembled.

Leonardo Museum of Art

Dynamic Performance of Nature / EB Office

By: Lidija Grozdanic | November - 22 - 2011

The intelligent dynamic wall is an installation designed by E/B Office for Leonardo Museum of Art, Science and Technology in Salt Lake City, Utah. It aims to communicate the global environmental information through an interactive interface embedded in the material of the wall. It tries to convey the idea of applying green techniques to built space as a live, conscious system, fully integrated with the environment.
Environmental sensors capture data from sources throughout the planet and feed the data to solar-powered LED’s embedded in the sine-wave form made of recycled plastic. As the sensors register changes in temperature, wind, seismicity, and other factors, the LEDs reflect these fluctuations with continuous spectral waves that represent minute shifts in the data feed from moment to moment.  At 92 feet long and over 14 feet high, the structure covers 1300 sqft of vertical exhibition space traversing the museum’s ground floor lobby and acting as a programmatic threshold between exhibit spaces. It’s composed of 176 unique recycled HDPE fins embedded with 1,888 full-color RGB LED’s and held together by approximately 8000 individual set screws.  The estimated amount of plastic this project diverted from a landfill is around three tons. Read the rest of this entry »