Interactivos?

At Media Lab Prado Madrid, June 2010
Interactivos? is a research and production platform for the creative and educational uses of technology. Its main goal is to expand on the use of electronic and software tools for artists, designers and educators, thus contributing to the development of local communities of cultural producers in this field.

Interactivos? events are held annually around the world and are a hybrid between a production workshop, a seminar and a showcase. A space for reflection, research, and collaborative work is created, in which proposals selected by an international open call are developed, completed and displayed. The process is open to the public from beginning to end.

For the 2010 Interactivos? in Madrid I joined the Society Of Urban Naturalists {S.U.N.}, a temporary, international collective of urban researchers dedicated to discovering the hidden relationships between nature, city and humanity. S.U.N. approached science and related questions through storytelling employing diverse methods and device inventions to either engage and/or observe the human within its natural and urban habitat. For this investigation cycle the society chose “El Parque Retiro” as the common playground and point of departure. The park as a hybrid in its own right joins the three key aspects of investigation. Besides rather classic scientific investigation methods we also developed a board game using simple forms found on-site and a set of rules to engage with the public in a reflection on Nature-Urban-Human interconnections. We also found and collected Nature-Urban-Human hybrids making new associations, cataloging and categorizing the findings for a folksonomy of a new nature.