Apparently the Telfair Museum’s Art and Technology Week was not enough to capture all the innovative artistry going on in Savannah.  This year the Telfair is proud to announce PULSE: Art and Technology Festival, a smorgasbord of visual and musical arts, robotics, lectures from the art world’s elite, highly specialized art fabrications and technologies, sound installations, circuitry, and multimedia mastery.

How up our alley is that??  Seriously.

The festival works to promote an edgier artistic perspective and more creative interpretation of technology.  It is free and open to the public (compliments of funding provided by the City of Savannah), family-friendly, and oriented around workshops geared toward students, artists, electricians, musicians, engineers, techies, and other nerds like us.

The festival commences on January 21and culminates on January 31 with Technology Family Day, featuring activities for children, appearances by guest artists, a concert by Minneapolis duo Beatrix JAR with live video by Allesandro Imperato.

Here’s just a taste of the action:

• January 21 - Gallery Talk on Digital Wheel Art by YoungHyun Chung
  New York-based artist YoungHyun Chung will discuss his interactive system that helps individuals with disabilities express themselves using digital projections.
• January 22 - LEMUR Lecture and Demonstration: “Art and Robotics”
  Led by Eric Singer: musician, artist, engineer, and the founder/director of LEMUR (League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots). LEMUR is a Brooklyn-based group of artists and technologists who create exotic, sculptural musical instruments which integrate robotic technology.
• January 22 - Evening Concert by Ben Neill and LEMUR
  The Telfair presents an evening performance by LEMUR and Ben Neill—a composer, performer, and inventor of the mutantrumpet, a hybrid electro-acoustic instrument. Neill’s music blends electronica, jazz, and ambient, blurring the lines between DJ culture and acoustic performance.
• January 23 - Processing Workshop for High School Students with Chito Lapena
  Artist and programmer Chito Lapena will lead a workshop on creating art projects using Processing, a visually oriented computer programming language. Registration required; call 790-8821.
• January 29 - Gallery Talk: Elizabeth King: The Sizes of Things in the Mind’s Eye
  Join us for an informative lecture and gallery tour of the exhibition Elizabeth King: The Sizes of Things in the Mind’s Eye, on view at the Telfair’s Jepson Center for the Arts from January 30-April 19, 2009.
• January 31 - Circuit-bending Workshop with Beatrix Jar (Ages 14 - adult)
  Minneapolis-based sound artists Beatrix JAR will lead a workshop illustrating how to turn old electronic toys and keyboards into circuit-bent musical instruments. Participants may bring toys or use those provided.

Obviously, we think this is fantastic. Mixing art and creative expression with technology always produces interesting things (not to mention, it’s fun.)  Kudos to the Telfair for making this a priority - its exactly the kind of program/event/festival that we as a community-vision-driven organizion want to encorage. It’s smart, creative and cool and helps cultivate the nerd in all of us. 2 thumbs up!

P.S. Reservations for workshops are required; call 790-8821.

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