Final Report Summary - HULDA (Hulda, the European Arts and Sciences Sailing Festival) The Hulda European Arts and Sciences Sailing Festival was inspired by the cultural heritage of the Turkish-Swedish artist Ilhan Koman. The overall objective of the Hulda Festival was to contribute to drawing the interest of the general public, particularly of young generations, to sciences, for building bridges between science, art and daily life. The project activities were designed with the aim of drawing attention to the long, rich history of collaboration and mutual enrichment between arts and sciences, which appear to perish under the influence of the specialisation tendency encouraged by the advancing industrialisation. The activities also aimed to demonstrate how some aspects of contemporary global issues can be understood through scientific knowledge. To this end, several linked activities were implemented to achieve the Hulda Festival's overall objective. The venue and the core axis of the project, a centenarian ship M/S Hulda that has been the home and workshop of Ilhan Koman was renovated into a travelling exhibition venue for the purposes of the project. The ship herself-a 105-year old 'one-of-her-kind' vessel-aroused the interest of masses on her journey from Stockholm to Istanbul. The project activities implemented around M/S Hulda, are: - An exhibition presenting 20 of Ilhan Koman's works from his late period; - workshops targeting pupils (and in several cases adults) variably from 6 to 18 years of age, to address scientific issues through aesthetic and ludic associations; - a student competition, Artscist, inviting students (18+) to develop their 'scientific artworks' with the aim of creating alternative perspectives to awaken public interest in science. While the duration of the exhibition and workshops in each of the nine cities was ten days, respectively, additional activities were implemented in Istanbul, the final destination of the project. Next to the mainstream activities of the project, Istanbul activities included: - a symposium discussing the results of the project held with the participation of all project partners, the Artscist competition winners and jury; - the Artscist competition exhibition presenting the ten works selected by the jury; - an exhibition presenting the Hulda Festival journey from Stockholm until Istanbul in photography and video; - an exhibition of Ilhan Koman's earlier works at the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University where he studied and taught. The Hulda Festival was implemented in ten cities. Stockholm: Komans Skeppsmakeri (nautical issues) and Komans Konstförening (local organiser) collaborated with Moderna Museet. Amsterdam: Platform de Levante (local organiser) collaborated with Nemo Science Centre. Antwerp: Technopolis® (local organiser). Bordeaux: Cap Sciences (local organiser). Lisbon: Pavilhão do Conhecimento-Ciência Viva (local organiser). Barcelona: Museu Marítim de Barcelona (local organiser). Naples: Città de la Scienza (local organiser) collaborated with Le Nuvole. Malta: Malta Council for Science and Technology (local organiser). Activities supported by Malta Council for Culture & the Arts and promoted under the Malta Arts Festival 2010. Thessaloniki: ArtBOX.gr (local organiser) collaborated with Macedonian Contemporary Art Museum. Istanbul: Ilhan Koman Foundation (coordinator), Bogazici University and the Turkish Science Centres Foundation. The Hulda Festival reached 6,920 individuals through the workshops delivered under 27 different topics and about 40,000 individuals through exhibitions, including the winter break when M/S Hulda was opened to public visit in Barcelona as part of Museu Marítim de Barcelona's exhibition. The number of publications that our project team could trace about the Hulda Festival in the media is 1226. With a conservative estimation, we can say that our project has indirectly reached ten million individuals. The project was inspired by the cultural heritage of the Turkish-Swedish artist Ilhan Koman (1921-1986). Designed by the Ilhan Koman Foundation for Arts and Cultures and implemented in ten regions with the partnerships of leading science, art and culture centres, the project aims to enhance the interest of the general public, particularly of young generations to sciences and to contribute to building bridges between science, art and daily life. While disappearing slowly today with the intense specialisation introduced and promoted by advanced industrialisation, arts and sciences have had a long, rich history of collaboration and mutual enrichment. The connection between art and science that was much more evident in the era of Leonardo da Vinci or even Maurits Cornelis Escher is once again being revived with endeavours such as the Hulda Festival promoting the notion that creativity and exploration is as essential to the work of a scientist as it is to an artist. The Hulda Festival was designed and implemented with the aim of contributing to raising the awareness among the general public towards the effective interaction between science and art. The nature of the project and its innovative venue M/S Hulda allowed to reach wide masses not only through press releases and printed material, possibly becoming the most mediatised FP7 project, but word-of-mouth including blogs and social networking websites where visitors of M/S Hulda shared their experience and thoughts-an important sign of the penetration capability of the Hulda Festival. The venue of the festival, M/S Hulda, attracted the attention of thousands of individuals who either read about the festival in the press or heard about it by word-of-mouth. Besides the children participating in the workshops, many citizens and tourists attracted by the appearance of the boat approached the project team to obtain information, visited the exhibition and inquired about the scientific aspect of the artworks as well as the history of M/S Hulda. The boat and the tent next to her at the port presented an inviting and intriguing venue for by-passers, often individuals who don't regularly opt to visit museums or scientific institutions. The comments written by the visitors in the diary excellently represents the excitement Hulda Festival evokes among the general public. The Overall Objectives of the project was a) "to create alternative perspectives to awaken interest in science" and b) "to set up a pan-European network of 'Arts & Sciences' stakeholders." To achieve these main objectives, the project team specified and achieved several specific objectives, some of which are highlighted below. - To use an intriguing venue to attract the interest of the general public: Ilhan Koman's centenarian sailing ship M/S Hulda was renovated and used as an itinerant venue to attract the interest and raise the curiosity of the general public, of some further partners and of the media. - To attract the support and partnerships of major institutions: Hulda Festival was implemented as part of four important international events, Season of Turkey in France (2009), the Malta Arts Festival (2010), Escale à Sète (2010), and Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture. In addition to the major contribution of the 7th Framework Programme, the Hulda Festival benefited from the contributions of the Consulate General of Sweden in Istanbul, the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Chrest Foundation, and in-kind sponsorships of Terminal Design, TNT, CSD and Martinsons, as well as the partnerships, support and contributions of many local institutions. In Stockholm: Moderna Museet (implementation partner), Turkish Embassy; in Amsterdam: Nemo Science Centre (implementation partner), City of Amsterdam, Port of Amsterdam; in Antwerp: City of Antwerp, Port of Antwerp, Turkish Embassy; in Bordeaux Municipality of Bordeaux, Port of Bordeaux Turkish local NGO's and press; in Lisbon, City of Lisbon, Port of Lisbon, Marina do Parque das Nações, Château Lapeyronie Winery and Vini Portugal (cocktail drinks sponsors), Turkish Airlines, Turkish Embassy; in Barcelona, Municipality of Barcelona, Port of Barcelona, Turkish Consulate General, Turkish Embassy in Madrid; in Naples, Commune di Napoli, Port of Napoli, Parthenope University, Molo Beverello (marina sponsor), Turkish Embassy in Rome and the Turkish Culture and Tourism Office; in Malta, Malta Council for Culture & the Arts (promoted Hulda Festival under the Malta Arts Festival 2010 programme), City of Birgu, Turkish Embassy (cocktail sponsor); Transport Malta, Cottonera Waterfront PLC (provided workshops venue at Caraffa Vaults), Grand Harbour Marina, Marsovin and Safari (cocktail drinks sponsors); in Thessaloniki, Macedonia Museum of Contemporary Art (implementation partner), Interuniversity Postgraduate Programme of Museology (Aristotle University - University of Western Macedonia), Folklife and Ethnological Museum of Macedonia-Thrace, Thessaloniki Port Authority, Turkish Consulate General, Kitchen Bar (cocktail sponsor), SKAÏ TV (Media sponsor); in Istanbul, the Metropolitan Municipality and Beyoglu Municipality, Undersecretariat for Maritime Affairs, Istanbul Regional Coast Guard, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Plato School of Higher Education, The Marmara Hotels and Esma Sultan Yalisi (opening cocktail), Vinkara Wines (cocktail drinks sponsors), Dedeman Hotels. M/S Hulda was invited to and participated in Escale à Sète (28-31 May 2010, France), the first of an international festival promoting nautical heritage. - To network with pan-European organisers of science events (established 'Science Weeks' and Festivals), with major science centres and with art institutions in order to a) "benefit from experience and recognition of these local co-organisers that will permit each venue to be adapted to the local population's needs, expectations and habits and so to reach the largest public in the most efficient way (including the public interested in sciences, arts and naval issues but also the spontaneous by-passers frequenting popular quays);" b) "multiply and intensify outputs and impacts of the project for all co-organisers and their usual activities;" c) "enable and encourage civil society organisations from a candidate country (Turkey) to participate in European Union networks of organisers of science and art events and activities": A pan-European network of stakeholders has been successfully established. While good relations were established among the beneficiaries, each beneficiary has further built and benefited from relations with educational and grass-roots institutions to reach the correct target groups. The project benefited from the support of local authorities and many private and public organisations. The kick-off meeting and Symposium, on the other hand, proved to be platforms where the project partners found the opportunity to build or enhance their relations. - To create a poetic symbolic link, but also a physical collaborative link between varied organisers of science and art events of different scales in all visited cities: Activities of all partners were presented in detail on the project website, panel presentations were limited to the totem (for practical reasons, particularly wind!), and on the brochures (at least for the local partner of the venue). All brochures show the logo of all local partners and the address of their websites. Logos of all partners are also present on the totem, posters. Names of all partners are stated in all press kits. In interviews we often refer to all of the partners of the project. Press relations were conducted by the Coordinator and local beneficiaries in cooperation. Some of the local beneficiaries advertised about their related activities on M/S Hulda and often brought their banners and flags that were hung on the ship or set up around the tent. One of the first activities of the Hulda Festival was the Kick-off Meeting held in Istanbul on 11-14 September 2008. All beneficiaries (excluding Malta Council for Science and Technology and Turkish Science Centres Foundation who were unable to attend, and Cap Sciences (Bordeaux) who joined the project team at a later date, and including FTI-Technopolis® who had just joined the project), as well as the current PO and LO of FP7, attended this meeting. This meeting gave the beneficiaries of the project the opportunity to get to know each other, and discuss and brainstorm about the implementation as a team before activities were launched. Content of the discussions have proved very fruitful. The final meeting of the Hulda Festival, the Symposium held on 22nd September 2010 in Tophane-i Âmire Cultural Centre of the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University brought together the representatives of the project partners, the winners and jury of the Artscist competition and several invitees. This congregation allowed participants to jointly evaluate the results and prospects of the project, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the implementation. The symposium was found to be a productive platform that contributed to strengthening the network and sharing experience with respect to practices. The context of the Hulda Festival consisted of several activities implemented to address its objectives. - Exhibition presenting twenty of Ilhan Koman's works from his late period: Twenty works by Ilhan Koman were shown in the exhibition. A member and one of the two pioneers in Turkey of the 'Groupe Espace'-the innovative approach pioneering the presence of art in the public arena-Koman has designed most of his work in large scale. His twenty selected works were reproduced in smaller scale to allow visitors to hold and personally experience the scientific phenomena addressed in the artworks. The works shown in the exhibition and the scientific phenomena they demonstrate are: -The Mediterranean (optical illusions) -Endless Column (force vectors); -Hyperform (topology); -'Untitled' from the Flexible Polyhedrons series (mechanical volumes, architectural components); -'Untitled' from the Infinity Minus One Series (tension, vectors) -To Infinity... (crystallography, inert tension, vectors); -'Untitled' from 3-D Moebius series (topology, crystallography) -Rolling Lady (developable form, vertex angle deflections, topology, wave-path) -Walking Dervish (tension, mechanics) -Pi+Pi+Pi+Pi+Pi+ (nine works in series) (developable form, vertex angle deflections, topology) -Wind Rotor (mechanical volumes, architectural components, alternate energy). This exhibition was visited by ca. 24,000 individuals during 147 days. M/S Hulda was opened to visits during her winter break in Barcelona from the end of November 2009 until beginning of February 2010. Special posters explaining about this European project were printed and posted on the vessel to inform visitors about the upcoming event. In this period, about 16,000 individuals are estimated to have visited M/S Hulda and learned about the Hulda Festival. The artworks aroused the interest of the general public. Visitors inquired about the properties of the works and many wrote in the guest books of the Hulda Festival that they have found the innovative idea of integrating science and art very intriguing. An important aspect worth mentioning is that it was not a rare case that school teachers who happened to be attracted to M/S Hulda in their leisure time returned to visit the exhibition with their classes and participated in the workshops. - Workshops targeting pupils and addressing scientific issues. Workshops, which addressed scientific issues through aesthetic and ludic associations, were designed in compliance with local curricula and implemented by the project's local partner in each city. The workshop content has also appealed and contributed to school teachers. Stockholm: Komans Konstförening collaborated with Moderna Museet and implemented the workshops in the museum's premises. The workshop "Floating Sculptures" was delivered to 138 young pupils aged 5 to 11. While preparing their 'floating' sculptures, pupils learned about Archimedes' principle and equilibrium. The workshop also hosted five autistic pupils. Amsterdam: Platform de Levante collaborated with Nemo Science Centre and implemented two workshops in the museum's premises. These workshops informed 198 pupils aged 11 to 15 about the longstanding relationship between art and science through the approaches of artists such as Da Vinci, Escher and Koman ("My Sculpture in Amsterdam") and the mathematics-based techniques used in mosaics and sculpture ("Maths in mosaics"). Antwerp: Technopolis® organised the workshop "Wind tubes," in which 273 pupils aged 10 to 15 were provided several sorts of hobby material to build their flying objects and tested these in wind tubes. Bordeaux: Cap Sciences organised "Art and Chemistry" workshops addressing 122 children aged 8 to 14. These workshops had two goals achieved through the realisation of a collective sculpture: a scientific goal with an experimental approach based on chemistry; and an artistic goal to build the link with the on-board exhibition of Ilhan Koman and the general framework of the Hulda Festival. Lisbon: Pavilhão do Conhecimento-Ciência Viva designed the workshops under the general concept of "Matemática Viva!" The workshops named "3D perception," "Leonardo's window," "Pavements and friezes," "Staircase," "Paintings coloured like marble," and "Koman's wave" addressed 174 children aged 4 to 14 together with 28 educators, and 54 adults. Special visits were organised for groups of visually impaired and mentally disabled individuals. Barcelona: Museu Marítim de Barcelona's workshop "Creating the Nautical Charts of the Middle-Ages" was implemented on the museum's ship Santa Eulàlia (1918). 690 students aged 10 to 11 learned to better understand course lining and compass cards, as well as to decipher geographic and ethnographic representations that were used by the cartographers of the Middle Ages. Naples: Città de la Scienza designed two workshops, "A sea of paper" where pupils aged 8 to 10 learned about marine life, the environment and pollution, and were asked to conceptualise and create marine animals using paper and other recycled material; and "Mysterious sea bed" where pupils aged 10 to 12 learned about marine biodiversity with respect to different depths and were asked to create artworks that represent the marine ecosystem, using waste material such as plastic, paper, cardboard, cloth. 726 pupils participated in the workshops. Malta: Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST) organised workshops named "Vibration Energies" which used the scientific concept of Pointillism; "Negative and Positive Space in Marine Structures" where pupils learned about the concepts of perception; "Metamorphosis - The Changing Shape of a Plastic Bottle" which focused on the environment, plastic as a material and recycling; "Materials do talk" which explored live/dead loads and the properties of different types of paper materials in terms of their strength when loading them with various degrees of weight. 224 pupils and 58 adults participated in the workshops. Thessaloniki: ArtBOX.gr designed the workshop "Metal World" which addressed pupils aged 10 to 12. While 50 pupils and 6 adults attended the sessions, the workshop was repeated twice at the Macedonian Contemporary Art Museum after M/S Hulda left Thessaloniki and addressed 60 students. ArtBOX.gr also designed and implemented one special workshop addressing young artists promoting the close relation between art and science, focusing on the contemporary relationship between art and technology. 30 young artists participated in this workshop. Istanbul: The workshops in Istanbul were implemented by the K12 Education Department of the Bogaziçi University, and the Turkish Science Centres Foundation, with logistic support from the Beyoglu Municipality. The workshops "DNA Modelling," "Chemistry in a Bag," "Floating Sculptures," "Life in Seas," and "Energy" were designed with content adapted for ages 8 to 13 and 14 to 14, and delivered to about 4,600 students. A special workshop session was delivered by one of the winners of the Artscist competition, and implemented with a local institution that works with disadvantaged children in the neighbourhood. Further, another special workshop, "Koman's Slices" was delivered by a Turkish artist and addressed children over 7. The students who attended the workshops also visit the exhibition on-board M/S Hulda as part of the workshop schedule. Some schools that were not able to participate in the workshops organised special trips to visit M/S Hulda and the exhibition. 27 different topics were introduced to total 6,600 students and 320 adults. All of the workshops implemented received very positive comments from the students, teachers and guardians who expressed their appreciation of an innovative approach in teaching. In Stockholm, Moderna Museet decided to include a scientific approach in their programme, in Thessaloniki, two further workshop sessions were held at the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art after the Hulda Festival, and in Istanbul, the Beyoglu Municipality is currently cooperating with Koman Foundation and has taken over the responsibility of implementing the workshops throughout the 2011 academic year. These workshops are held at the Municipality's cultural centre in Cihangir and are delivered by the trainers of the Hulda Festival. Workshops are also planned to be repeated in 2012 with Dutch partners commemorating 400 years of collaboration between Turkey and the Netherlands. - Artscist student competition The Artscist student competition was launched in the ten regions where the Hulda Festival is implemented, and higher education students over 18 years of age were invited to participate in the competition with their projects that address scientific phenomenon with a simple and creative approach. Submitted works were evaluated by an international jury of eight professionals, each expert in their respective fields, and ten projects were selected for exhibition, based on criteria such as originality, quality of and potential for popularisation. The ten selected projects were exhibited in Istanbul together with some works of the jury members. Students and jury attended the symposium and exhibition opening, next to other events. The exhibition was viewed by 350 visitors in 15 days. The exhibition is being repeated in January 2011 at the Istanbul Technical University upon demand. Inquiries are being received to organise the contest on a yearly basis. - Symposium The symposium held on 22nd September 2010 in Tophane-i Âmire Cultural Centre of the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University brought together the representatives of the project partners, the winners and jury of the Artscist competition and several invitees. This congregation allowed participants to jointly evaluate the results and prospects of the project, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the implementation. The symposium was found to be a productive platform that contributed to strengthening the network and sharing experience with respect to practices. - Hulda Festival journey exhibition The exhibition showing 60 photographs and 4 videos narrating the Hulda Festival activities and the adventurous journey from Stockholm until Istanbul was opened in Plato Art Space, the gallery of a higher education institution focusing on design. About 900 individuals as well as the 600 students of the school visited this exhibition. - Ilhan Koman exhibition An exhibition showing selected works of Ilhan Koman was organised at the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University on the occasion of Hulda Festival's arrival in Istanbul, as it is the custom of the university to launch the academic year with the exhibition of one of its graduates. The exhibition was pre-opened with the press conference held on 21st September and opened to visits with the commencement of the academic year on 27th September. Target Groups, Publicity and Dissemination The main target group of the Hulda Festival was the public at large, the workshops mostly addressed pupils up to age 18; and the competition Artscist addressed higher education students over 18. The Hulda Festival directly reached 6,920 individuals through the workshop activities and about 40,000 individuals through exhibitions. The Hulda Festival also attracted high interest from the press. The number of publications that our project team could trace about the Hulda Festival in the ten cities total to 1226. Based on a rough calculation of the circulation figures of the press channels, with a conservative estimation, we can say that our project has indirectly reached a total of ten million individuals. The supports of the local institutions in every city, and the four important international events (Season of Turkey in France, the Malta Arts Festival, Escale à Sète, and Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture) have largely contributed to the visibility of the project. The Hulda Festival has not only marked the beginning of a new era in the life of the historical vessel, but also in the activities of mainly the Coordinator institution, the Ilhan Koman Foundation. The Foundation aims to maintain M/S Hulda as an itinerant unit of a larger complex and continue its mission of disseminating scientific and artistic notions. The project partners have already started discussing about the future. The good networking relations gave rise to new ideas for collaboration. The Coordinator of the project is investigating new funds to sustain the Hulda Festival and reach further target groups, particularly including smaller ports and villages around the Mediterranean, many on the past route expressing their interest for the Festival and dismay at not having been able to profit from the first one. Project Results: The Hulda Festival (SCA) is a project implemented in the "Science in Society" area with an objective to disseminate the notion of science and scientific approach. The activities implemented in this context are: 1. Hulda Festival exhibitions in the 9 EU ports (Workpackage 10) 2. Hulda Festival workshops in the 9 EU ports (Workpackage 11) 3. Student Competition "Artscist" (Workpackage 6) 4. Arts & Sciences conference in Istanbul (Workpackage 12) 5. Final exhibition in Istanbul (Workpackage 13) Hulda Festival exhibitions in the 9 EU ports (Workpackage 10) In the ten cities of the Hulda Festival, an exhibition showing twenty of Ilhan Koman's works that address scientific phenomena were shown on-board M/S Hulda. A member and one of the two pioneers in Turkey of the Groupe Espace, which represents a milestone in the history of art with a mission of combining art with architecture to bring art into the social arena, Ilhan Koman designed most of his work in large scale, targeting public spaces. His later work further focused on scientific phenomena, namely issues related to mathematics and physics. Koman's twenty works selected from his later period were reproduced in smaller scale to allow visitors to hold and personally experience the scientific phenomena addressed in the artwork. The works shown in the exhibition and the scientific phenomena they demonstrate are: Mediterranean. Istanbul, 1978-1980. Iron. Made of about 120 metal strips, which, when put all together, reproduce the shape of a female body, in personification of the Mediterranean Sea. This sculpture is based on an optical illusion that gives the spectator the impression that the shape of the Mediterranean changes like waves while one moves around the sculpture. This singular feeling in front of the Mediterranean led Ilhan Koman to regard her as one of the first sculptures playing on the principle of holography. Scientific phenomenon: optical illusions Infinity Minus One Series The "Infinity Minus One" series are sets of artwork derivatives that use the element shown left as a base for iterative shapes. By taking a single paper sheet, cutting it as shown above, we obtain a kind of garland de-multiplying the length of the original rectangle and permitting to create amazing shapes. To Infinity... - 1. Stockholm, 1986. Aluminum. This artwork exists in titanium in a monumental scale on the campus of santralistanbul, one of the pioneering cultural centres of Turkey. It is a derivation of the "Infinity Minus One" principle explained above, on which Koman produced a series. Its basic shape follows that of an "S" on the floor. All together, it only comprises a total of 36 different sheets of metal, cut in the "kite tail" way (it could theoretically be made from a single sheet if the material would allow). Scientific phenomena: crystallography, inert tension, vectors Untitled from the Infinity Minus One series. Stockholm, 1975-1980. Wood. This relative of the "Infinity Minus One" series is made out of a single block of wood. The block is cut with opposing parallel slits similar to the structure previously described but in two separate planes. Then the sticks are fanned out horizontally and vertically, and kept apart with small wooden plates. The shape of this artwork looks inversed if you look at it from one angle and then from another angle of 90 degrees: the fan is on top and if you turn the piece 90 degrees you see the fan at the bottom. Scientific phenomena: tension, vectors Dervish. Stockholm, 1970. Wood. (Two copies of different scales) This work plays with the tension of wood. When gently pushed, this work starts walking by itself. It uses a similar principle to the previous "Infinity Minus One" artworks. One Dervish is one single piece of wood that is cut within itself and the legs stretched apart up to the point the structure can allow thanks to wooden sticks added as wedges at mid-height. This artwork is one that attracted highest attention with its playful movement on the gently rocking Hulda boat. Scientific phenomena: tension, mechanics Endless Column. Stockholm, 1975. Wooden bows, chain, string. This artwork plays on the principle of bows applying tension on a chain. Without any hard parts touching each other, the piece stands upright by itself as each bow stretches taught the part of chain it spans. It can be done with a single thread and bended pieces of hard material. Scientific phenomenon: force vectors Pi + Pi + Pi + Pi + Pi + . Stockholm, 1980-1983. Plastic. (nine works in series) The Pi series works on the "piece of pie" principle. By taking a flat circle , cutting it along its radius and adding an extra "piece of pie" cut from another circle of the same size, the flat circle starts becoming 3 dimensional and continues folding as more pieces are added until you add so many pieces of pie that the circle becomes a sphere. These sculptures are "developable surfaces." This technique of curving a flat sheet of material without stretching it is nowadays used by the most innovative architects in the world such as Gehry Associates (cf. Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, 1997). Scientific phenomena: developable form, vertex angle deflections, topology Untitled. 3-D Moebius derivative. Stockholm, 1980-1986. Cardboard on electrified base. The Moebius Band is a 2-dimensional endless surface, and these are Koman's derivates extending into three dimensions which can endlessly turn around themselves without stopping. They are simply made of folded paper sheets and can recall a Japanese origami game. The 3-D Moebius Bands are formed by braiding as many strips of paper as the number of edges on the basic polygon element. Scientific phenomena: topology, crystallography Hyperform. Stockholm, 1978. Stainless steel. The Hyperform is created from a rectangle formed by four equal squares, twisting the corners of the 2 short ends' extremities towards the centre of the band and then twirling back to join the short ends of the rectangle with each other, so it finally looks like 2 magician's hats joined together. This Hyperform is considered as "simple," however Koman also created "complicated" hyperforms using rectangles that consist of more than four equal squares. Koman has registered the Hyperform shape in 1971 at the Swedish Patent Office. Scientific phenomenon: topology Untitled. Flexible polyhedron tower (folded). Stockholm, 1970-1975. Aluminum, wire, string. Electrified base. Koman has patented his discovery of flexible polyhedron shapes (he is the owner of several scientific patents of this kind registered at the Swedish Patent Office). These polyhedra get flatter and flatter if they are gently crushed or emptied from content, and could be large towers or platforms that can be flattened to reduce their size for transportation. Koman made these studies also thinking of the space industry, where in space ships the inside "space" (amount of available space within the ship) is a major issue. Making a fuel tank of these structures would permit to gain room as it empties, for example. Koman discovered these forms while challenging classical architectural dogma based on the accepted concept that polyhedral structures are always rigid and registered the Two Flexible Polyhedrons in 1977 at the Swedish Patent Office. Scientific phenomena: mechanical volumes, architectural components Rolling Lady. Stockholm, 1983. Metal foil. Made of 4 conic pieces of material fitted into each other, the Rolling Lady's most impressive property is that although she has such a curvy shape, she rolls in a straight line when gently pushed, as the sum of the distance from the midline is always constant for the two edge points touching the floor at the same moment. These contact points draw two parallel oscillating wave lines if one traces their path on the floor. This work was presented in a box placed on stands like a 'seesaw' to enable visitors to play with the work observe its motion. Scientific phenomena: developable form, vertex angle deflections, topology, wave-path. Untitled. Eolsrotor pentamer. Stockholm, 1973. Metal. Based on the flexible polyhedron principle, Koman also created this artwork thinking of its potential use in engineering and alternate energy production, particularly of concern in Sweden in the 1970's. These wind-turbines are turning with the wind of course, but they also adapt their openings like accordions depending on the strength of the wind. They are higher, with more open wing surface to catch the breeze when it is weak, but they get flatter when the wind is strong, thus adjusting their speed to be most efficient. Many people find modern wind-turbines ugly, but few think the same about old windmills. This artwork is a reflection about putting more emphasis on the aesthetics of such constructions, while keeping them as powerful as possible. Koman has registered the Wind-Rotors at the Swedish Patent Office. Scientific phenomena: mechanical volumes, architectural components, alternate energy. Since the artworks were identical copies of the originals, visitors were free to play with them, in some cases disassemble the artwork to explore the structure. For some artworks, the project team prepared paper models (Hyperform, Pi series, Polyhedron) to demonstrate how the work was created. Videos of the works were prepared to demonstrate their principles and published on the website. These videos can be found on the project website and are submitted in Deliverable 8.1. The exhibition was visited by - 644 individuals in Stockholm; - 672 in Amsterdam; - 1430 in Antwerp; - 1400 in Bordeaux; - 2697 in Lisbon; - 6936 in Barcelona; - 315 in Naples; - 1909 in Malta; - 2772 in Thessaloniki; and - 4495 individuals in Istanbul. The number of visitors in the 158 days of the activities total to 23,270. However, this number reflects the minimum number which the project team members could count manually. In addition to the scheduled exhibition dates, M/S Hulda was opened to visits (with special posters explaining about the project) during the winter break in Barcelona. In the last three days of May 2010, the Hulda Festival was invited and participated in Escale à Sète, the first of an annual festival south of France, dedicated to historical ships. Here, the project team set up part of the exhibition and displayed some of the works on the deck. Escale à Sète is reported to have attracted about 60,000 visitors, and M/S Hulda was one of the major venues of the opening event and introduced in the French press as such. Together with the visitors during the winter break in Barcelona and the visitors in Sète, the number of visitors is estimated to be around 40,000. The students and their teachers participating in the workshops also visited the exhibition. In numerous cases, schools that could not participate in the workshops organised visits to the exhibition. The Ilhan Koman exhibition organised on-board M/S Hulda returned positive and encouraging feedback. The comments that visitors wrote in the guestbook mostly defined the exhibition with the words "fantastic" and "impressing." While some expressed that they found the coalescence of art and science to be a unique approach, some promised that they would try to build their own scientific artworks at home. Many comments expressed that they found it an innovative idea to use a unique ship as an activity venue. In many conversations with the visitors, they explained that they were intrigued and attracted by the ancient looks of the ship, hence came on-board and were surprised by the exhibition. The exhibition also hosted special groups of visually impaired and mentally disabled individuals (Stockholm, Lisbon, Barcelona, Istanbul). The nature and content of the artworks played significant role in attracting these groups because institutions working with publics with disabilities (especially cognitive disabilities) are usually reluctant to send their groups to scientific activities, assuming they would not be able to understand the scientific concepts. In this prospect, bridging science with art was found to be a good way to convince these institutions to send their groups to such an event, because art is regarded more accessible for these publics than science! In overall, we can confidently say that M/S Hulda and the Hulda Festival have fulfilled their promises. However, the number of visitors have varied largely in certain cities. The weather conditions in the period of the activities in Stockholm and Amsterdam have had critical impact on the number of visitors attracted. As snow and cold weather was still prevalent at the end of March in Stockholm, and Amsterdam was receiving heavy rain during the period, the number of visitors remained lower than expected. The location of the ship is another important factor in attracting visitors. While the communication activities disseminated the information about the festival, by-passers who were attracted to the boat constituted an important part of the total number of visitors. Barcelona being the city where the location of M/S Hulda has played an outstanding role in attracting visitors, the central location of the ship in Antwerp, Bordeaux, Lisbon, Malta and Thessaloniki also contributed to the number of visitors. Naples was somewhat an unfortunate case: While the approaching elections and the active campaigns in the city were the centre of attention of the citizens, the coastal conditions of the city had significant impact on the event. Upon arrival on April 29th, the crew found out that it would be unsafe to berth the ship in the planned location with the heavy sea traffic of large ferries posing threat to the security of M/S Hulda and particularly for the visitors' access on-board. This is to say that, the waves coming from the ferries traffic in the only public area along the city's coastal line was found to be risky in terms of visits. Thus, the captain refused to moor the boat in the proposed location. The project team (P1 and P15), with the help of the coastal authorities, contacted a private marina (Molo Luise) who accepted to sponsor the event by providing free-of-charge berthing for a limited period. The fact that Molo Luise is a secured area with controlled entrance played a role in the number of visitors. Citta de la Scienza (P15) placed an "Infopoint" at the entrance of the marina and guides promoted the event to the public and booked groups. Yet, despite the fact that Hulda was safely moored in a secure marina, the storm in the last weekend of the planned activities forced the exhibition and the workshops to be terminated two days earlier than planned (15th of May, noontime). In Malta, the Hulda Festival activities were implemented in cooperation with the Malta Arts Festival organised by the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts. This increased the visibility of the events given that the schools were out in the period and most of the citizens had moved to their summer places. The exhibition attracted many visitors in Thessaloniki even though it was still summer holidays. Istanbul, on the other hand, is a very large city that spreads over a vast area, as well as along a long coastal line. The sea conditions do not allow boats to moor on the Bosphorus. Therefore, the project team, guided by the coastal authorities and the Municipal administration, chose to moor the ship on the Golden Horn where sea conditions were more suitable. Special permission was granted to M/S Hulda (Swedish flag) to enter the Golden Horn with the help of the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency since ships with foreign flags are not permitted on the Golden Horn. Final exhibition in Istanbul (Workpackage 13) In Istanbul, two other exhibitions were organised as part of the final phase of the project. - Hulda Festival journey exhibition The exhibition showing 60 photographs and 4 videos narrating the Hulda Festival activities and the adventurous journey from Stockholm to Istanbul was opened in Plato Art Space, the gallery of a higher education institution focusing on design. The exhibition was open from September 22 to October 30, 2010. About 900 individuals as well as all the students of the school visited this exhibition. (Details of this exhibition are given in deliverables 8.2 and 8.3). - Ilhan Koman exhibition An exhibition showing the selected works of Ilhan Koman was organised at the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University on the occasion of Hulda Festival's arrival in Istanbul, as it is the custom of the university to launch the academic year with the exhibition of one of its graduates. The exhibition, which was designed to complement the exhibition on-board Hulda, was pre-opened with the press conference held on 21 September and opened to visits with the commencement of the academic year on 27 September. (Details of this exhibition are given in deliverable 13.1). Hulda Festival workshops in the 9 EU ports (Workpackage 11) The workshops implemented by the project's local partner in each city were designed in compliance with the local curricula. The workshops implemented in ten cities are: In the first half of the project (2009 - as described in the first report): Stockholm (27 March - 5 April 2009) Organising beneficiary: Komans Konstförening (P6) Venue: Moderna Museet, Skeppsholmen Target: Children aged between 5 and 11 Number of participants: 138 children (including 4 autistic children) supervised by 18 adults. "Floating Sculptures" The workshop started with a tour around the museum to familiarise the children with the concept of art and creativity. The collection displayed and explained to the children also included an artwork by Ilhan Koman. After the tour children were invited to the workshop room where they were asked to create a floating sculpture by using a wooden hull, and safe daily and organic material such as textile, paint, hemp, stickers, metallic rods (and to write their names and addresses on their objects). Children were encouraged to be creative while finding the equilibrium between the weight of their object and the volume of displaced water according to Archimedes's principles. The young participants were invited to test their floating sculpture in the aquarium. After the workshop activity, children were invited for a guided visit on-board of Hulda, where the project team explained about the scientific principles of Ilhan Koman's artworks. Here, the young participants also found the opportunity to talk to the project team, the captain and the crew where they asked questions about the boat. On the last Sunday of the Hulda Festival, volunteering children were invited to come back to Moderna Museet with their families, and release their artworks in the water, with the hope it would float until Istanbul (hence they wrote their names and addresses on the bottom of the hull). The sculptures of the children that had not been able to do so were handed to the Hulda crew, with the recommendation to release sculptures at symbolic places along the way until Istanbul. Amsterdam (12 -17 May 2009) Organising beneficiary: De Levante (P8) Venue: NEMO Science Centre Target: Children aged between 11 and 15 Number of participants: 198 children The workshops in Amsterdam were implemented under two headings: "My Sculpture in Amsterdam" The workshop was held on 12 -15 May and moderated by Etty Elbaz-Griffioen, an artist who is experienced in designing and implementing workshops for children and adults. The duration of the session was 1 hour 45 minutes and consisted of two parts: - A Powerpoint presentation including many pictures illustrating how artists such as Ilhan Koman and M.C. Escher have combined art and science in a unique way, and how this fundamental approach can be linked to the work of Leonardo da Vinci whose scientific inventions and the principles underlying his work prepared the grounds for prospective terms like 'fractal'. Nature's own fractal examples, such as plants and animals were also discussed and elaborated under this topic. - A creative session during which children were provided a geometric form made of coloured cardboard and asked to measure, mark and cut in different proportions. These geometric shapes were used as a basis for first creating their model of sculpture by combining it with other materials, colours, ideas of their choice. At the end of this work the young participants were asked to mount their sculpture on a surface that they were asked to build using photos of Amsterdam as backdrop. "Maths in Mosaics" This workshop was held on 16 and 17 May, during NEMO's Science Week-end and moderated by Aldine van der Ham-Aaten, a mathematician who focuses her work on mathematics education and history of mathematics. Although mathematical principles were used in the workshop, the level of the instructions made the content suitable for every level of secondary education, elaborating on the fact that mathematics can lead to something as tangible as a mosaic, and be a pleasant and amusing experience: mathematics and art may seem far apart, but they complement each other just as well. The workshop found its inspiration in the fabulous mosaics that can be found in the eastern world. In this interactive workshop participants were introduced to the wonderful world of patterns and taught mathematical methods which they used to create their own mosaic. Even though the workshop was originally set up for university students, the set-up was altered to accommodate a younger target group, with little foreknowledge. Before the Hulda Festival the workshop was tested on a representative target audience. The workshop participants worked in small groups on small assignments step-by-step acquainting them with a methodology to create a mosaic with the help of mathematical patterns. This methodology, combined with the creativity of the groups, made it possible to create the most beautiful mosaics. Antwerp (29-30 May, 2-3-5 June 2009) Organising beneficiary: Technopolis® (P25) Venue: Hulda Festival tent next to the ship at Pontoon Steenplein Target: Children aged between 10 and 15 Number of participants: 300 children "Wind Tubes" In this workshop prepared and moderated by the staff of Technopolis® (P25), young participants were provided different types of hobby material (paper, feathers, ribbons, wooden sticks, plastic ropes, clothe pins etc.) and asked to build objects that would glide in the wind tubes. The children tested these objects they created in the wind tubes under the supervision of the edu-tainers and discussed the aspects that helped the objects to successfully glide in the tubes. Bordeaux (21 - 24 July 2009) Organising beneficiary: Cap Sciences (P26) Venue: Hulda Festival tent next to the ship at Pontoon Yves Parlier, right river bank Target: Children aged between 8 and 14 Number of participants: 122 children "Art and Chemistry" In the scope of this workshop conceptualised by Cap Sciences (P26), children realised a simple yet impressive chemical experience in order to obtain coloured polyurethane foam. After preparing their polyurethane foam every child poured this material on a pedestal and observed how the material changed to solid in a minute. This experiment gave the young participants the opportunity to execute their share of the work in a timely manner and work collaboratively on a single project. This workshop had two goals: one scientific with an experimental approach based on chemistry, and the second artistic making the link with the on-board exhibition of Ilhan Koman and the general framework of the Hulda Festival. Children were enabled to understand and test a chemical reaction leading to the forming of a polymer. Due to its composition, this polymer was to get solid very quickly after being produced. Thanks to this property, children attending the workshops were able to produce their shared artwork by pouring this multi-coloured compound on a miniature cow model. Children were very interested in the experimental, almost magical dimension of the compound (transformation of a liquid into a solid) and the realisation of a 'collective artwork' highly motivated them. Lisbon (4 - 13 September 2009) Organising beneficiary: Pavilhão do Conhecimento-Ciência Viva (P22) Venue: Hulda Festival tent next to the ship at Marina do Parque das Nações, Passeio do Neptuno, Parque das Nações Target: All age groups / Attended: children aged between 4 and 14 Number of participants: 174 children Setting out from the relation of Koman's work to mathematics, the Educational Department of Pavilhão do Conhecimento-Ciência Viva (P22) based the design of the workshops on the principles of mathematics: "3-D perception": making 3-D glasses - Is it easy to make a 3-D drawing: in this activity the participants could understand why we need blue and red filters to be able to see 3-D. "Leonardo.s window": A mathematical session about perspective where participants could reproduce objects using three different methods. Participants were invited to find perspective on famous paintings. "Pavements and friezes": Pavements and friezes are very familiar to Portuguese people. They are everywhere, the tiles at home, and on the sidewalk, tissues and carpets ... they are innumerable. Using different pieces, children and adults were invited to make pavements and friezes inspired by pictures of Portuguese sidewalk and tiles. "Staircase": Construction of a fractal using sheets of paper. In this activity, participants had the opportunity to enjoy some pictures of fractals and built a fractal model using only one sheet of paper and scissors; fractal geometry is an object that can be divided into parts and each and every one of them is always similar to the original object. In fact, we can find some examples of natural fractals that are true works of art. "Paintings coloured like marble": Using water and plastic paint, participants made beautiful paintings and learned about insoluble materials. "Koman's wave": The educational department thought it would be very interesting to create a collective art work related with the themes (mathematics and art) on which all children could participate and build. The Koman's Wave is an object-related with topology. Topology is the branch of mathematics that studies shapes, and the results obtained when these are folded, bent or deformed. In geometry, objects are only permitted to rigid movements, such as rotation and reflection, in which the distance between points never changes. However, topologies are elastic operations, as if the shapes and areas were made of rubber that could be twisted, pushed or bent. Stretching elastic, giving it a node or folding a sheet to make a small paper boat, all are topological operations. With this activity, participants enhance their imagination using rubber bands. They had to stretch their creativity to participate in the "Koman's Wave." In the second half of the project (2010): Barcelona (18-29 March 2010) Organising beneficiary: Museu Marítim de Barcelona (P10) Venue: Schooner Santa Eulàlia next to which Hulda was moored Target: Children aged 6 to 13 Number of participants: 592 school children and 60 teachers from primary and secondary education. Additionally, 227 children from 5 schools visited the exhibition on Hulda without participating in the workshop. "Creating the Nautical Charts of the Middle-Ages" In the scope of the workshop children were invited to discover some examples of portolans owned by the Maritim Museum of Barcelona (P10). Portolans are early modern European navigation charts, dating from the thirteenth century or later, in manuscript, usually with rhumb lines, shorelines and place names. The portolan combined the exact notations of the text of the periplus or pilot book with the decorative illustrations of the conceptual T and O map, but a portolan chart did offer a realistic depiction of the shore and was meant for practical use by a mariner of the period. The activity was structured in two parts of 30 minutes each: - In the hold of the schooner Santa Eulàlia: an explanation on portolans and an exercise based on the Catalan Atlas of Cresques and a series of cards with highlighted drawings and legend details of this ancient map. Children had to identify it and discuss what type of information the illustration gave -geographical, ethnological, mythological, religious, political, etc-and whether the illustration was real or fictitious. - On board the schooner Santa Eulàlia: the activity centred on the comparison of nautical principles taking as model a medieval portolan and a nautical chart of today. The navigation elements analysed were coordinates, magnetic compass, seabed, etc. Back in school, children were asked to create their own portolan based on nautical principles and illustrate it with today's imagery. A map of Europe and Northern Africa was distributed, created on the basis of a medieval map. The chart included the cities of the Hulda project and by following a series of instructions, children marked the coordinates and drew how they imagined these cities. Naples (7-16 May 2010) Organising beneficiary: Citta de la Scienza (P15) Venue: Hulda Festival tent next to the ship at Molo Luise Target: children aged 8 to 10 (A Sea of Paper), and 10 to 12 (Mysterious Sea Bed) Number of participants: 611 children and 115 accompanying adults The workshops in Naples were implemented under two headings: "A Sea of Paper" This workshop started with a brief introduction highlighting the most interesting aspects of marine life. This short introduction was followed by a creative process that resulted in the conception and production of sea turtles, dolphins, octopus, whales and starfish out of paper and other recycled material. Children got to better understand these beautiful-and monstrous-animals by discovering their habits and behaviour. The workshop culminated in a debate about the impact of climate changes on the animals in the Mediterranean. "Mysterious Sea Bed" This workshop, started with a simple introduction presenting marine biodiversity with regards to depth (bathymetric variation of physical and chemical conditions), and the young participants were asked to create an artwork that represented the ecosystem of our sea, using waste material such as plastic, paper, cardboard, cloth, in order to make them aware of how waste material can be recycled in a creative way. The workshop ended with a discussion where children found the opportunity to confront, share and elaborate on their opinions about this experience. Some visually impaired children visited the boat and attended the workshop with the support of trained operators. Birgu - Malta (3-13 July 2010) Organising beneficiary: Malta Council of Science and Technology (P16) Venue: Caraffa Vaults next to Hulda at Grand Harbour Marina Target: All workshops targeted children aged 7 to 13 Number of participants: 224 children and 58 accompanying adults The activities in Malta were implemented with the partnership of the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts (MCCA), the organizing body of the Malta Arts Festival. MCST (P16) used an approach which is unique in the project, nevertheless compliant with the institution's practices and recruited three local experts for the purpose of conducting the workshops by issuing an advert in a top-rated local newspaper and publishing online on their website. The experts were chosen according to receiving their expression of interest (showing above all the ability to produce innovative content for children related to art and science). Three experts from very different fields were selected to facilitate workshops: Dr Isabelle Gatt: Lecturer in the Creative and Expressive Arts Education & Graham Woodall: Artist/ Educator; Joseph Barbara - Renowned Artist & Sculpture; Lino Bianco: Lecturer Department of Architecture & Urban Design (Faculty for the Built Environment). The workshops in Malta were implemented under four headings: "Vibration Energies" This workshop used the scientific concept of pointillism (vibration energies, electromagnetic spectrum, how our eyes perceive colour and their effect on the brain and emotions). The participants were asked to create their own mosaics with the colours and theme provided. All works were used for a final collective mosaic which was displayed in the workshop room. "Negative and Positive Space in Marine Structures" This workshop started with an introduction on the concept of positive and negative space and students were asked to choose a part of a marine structure to create the positive and negative space using the materials provided. All works were used for a final collective mosaic which was displayed in the workshop room. "Metamorphosis - The Changing Shape of a Plastic Bottle" This workshop focused on the environment, plastic as a material, and recycling. Students were each provided with an empty plastic water bottle and asked to change/modify its shape with the help of a pair of scissors. The works were modelled on the work of the workshop instructor, Mr Barbara who has excelled in similar work, i.e. sculpture work derived from recycled materials. "Materials do talk" This workshop explored the live/dead loads and the properties of different types of paper materials in terms of their strength when loading them with various degrees of weight. The practical content was supported by slide show presentations. Thessaloniki (27 August - 5 September 2010) Organising beneficiary: ArtBox.gr (P23) Venue: Hulda Festival tent next to the ship at Pier 1 Target: Children aged 10 to 12 and young artists Number of participants: 110 children + 6 adults to "Metal World" and 30 participants to Young Artists workshop = Total 146 individuals The activities in Thessaloniki were implemented with the partnership the Macedonian Museum for Contemporary Art; the Secretariat of Youth, a governmental organization working with Greek and foreign youngsters; the museology program of Aristotle University in partnership with the Educational Department of the Macedonian Museum for Contemporary Art. The workshops in Thessaloniki were implemented under two headings: "Metal World" Targeting children aged 10-12, this workshop used the artworks by established Greek artists from the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art's collection and focused on the relationship among art, science and technology, manipulating metal and other materials to create artworks that actively interact with the public or with the natural environment. This workshop was repeated twice at the premises of the Macedonian Museum for Contemporary Art after the Hulda Festival activities ended on September 5th. Workshops for young artists This workshop targeted young artists and art enthusiasts and focused on the relationship between science and art in contemporary art practices. More precisely, two local artists who use science-mainly technology and/or new media-in their work were invited to present their work and explain the way in which art and technology correlate in their work, how art and science feed upon one another in the creation process. This workshop was held once on September 2, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. Parallel Events: - 27 August - 5 September 2010 / Daily screenings (21:00-23:00): Video works by young Greek artists were projected on a daily basis on and around Hulda: Lena Athanasopoulou, Lia Psoma, Marios Spyroglou, Danae Stratou. - 27 August - 5 September 2010: Presentation of one work by cartoonist Tasos Marangos on M/S Hulda: A special illustration created by the artist for M/S Hulda in Thessaloniki. - 2 September 2010 (6:00 p.m.) / Special screening: Outdoor projection (on the wall facing M/S Hulda of the video "12 by Night" by Haris Pallas. The young artist's work-in-progress was shown for the 1st time at this special preview screening. Further information can be found within the attached project report. Related documents Final Report - HULDA (The European arts and sciences sailing festival)
