DC Network Meet up : The use of AI in the creative sectors

DC Network Meet up #4 : The use of AI in the creative sectors – Dec 5, 2023

Posted by elketimmermanon November 16, 2023November 29, 2023

” Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Arthur C. Clarke

For the past few years, we’ve been hearing a lot about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how it’s making big paces with new and exciting applications. But for most, AI still feels like a fuzzy idea that’s hard to wrap our heads around. It’s almost like a magical thing rather than just a new tool born from technology.

This has made AI one of those buzzwords that gets thrown around a lot, and frequently employed in a manner that is indiscriminate, erroneous, or lacking in completeness. The real deal is that AI is growing like crazy. But a lot of times regular folks—like everyday people, customers, and even workers—don’t even realize it’s there, quietly doing its thing.

This upcoming Meetup will showcase some of the practical applications of AI within the DC Network regions. We’ll talk about how entrepreneurs and companies are ingeniously incorporating AI across creative sectors.

The DC Network Meetups are about bringing together professionals from the different DC Network-regions to discuss specific topics related to cross-disciplinary creativity, innovation & entrepreneurship. The idea is to share good practices/inspiring examples/projects and stimulate knowledge exchange.

Who’s this for?

Designers, Creative entrepreneurs, representatives of creative clusters, network and business support organisations, policy makers and anyone with an interest in the subject.

Date

December 5, 2023 from 2:00pm – 3:30 pm (CET) –

Registration is required – pls fill out the form here.

Webinar link : zoom link

Program

2:00 pm	Welcome by Carles Gomara (Districts of Creativity Network)
2:10 pm	Four inspiring creative initiatives and business models on AI (15 min. each) – Nico Roig – CG Artist Metropolitana – Stephanie Preuss – Director Content Innovation Springer Nature – Jussi Lahtinen – Urban AI artist – Antonia Folguera – Curator Sónar +D
3:00 pm	Q&A & Networking
3:30 pm	End of Meetup

About the cases

Nico Roig, CG artist – Metropolitana / https://www.metropolitana.net

New challenges in deep fake commercials in the era of AI. As deepfake production techniques fastly evolve through the implementation of AI tools, production houses become more ambitious and ready to take up the challenges thrown by creatives, commonly aware of production/budget limits. Our expertise in traditional post production techniques (such as 3D, compositing, color grading) has turned into a privileged partner to the generative imaging power of AI, and has allowed us to reach farther limits. We will show some of our productions, great examples of this synergy.

Stephanie Preuss , Director Content Innovation – Springer Nature / https://www.springernature.com

As one of the largest scientific publishers, Springer Nature has been advancing discovery by providing the best possible service to the entire research community for over 180 years. We assist researchers in uncovering new ideas and ensuring that all the research we publish is significant, robust, and withstands objective scrutiny. Our aim is to reach all relevant audiences in the best possible format and ensure that it can be easily discovered, accessed, utilized, reused, and shared. Following a whirlwind of excitement in the field of generative artificial intelligence (AI), it is almost unquestionable that large language models (LLMs) have the potential to transform the way we conduct and communicate science. However, the risks and limitations of relying on these technologies are also becoming apparent.

Exploring technological innovation, including the use of AI, has always been at the core of our work at Springer Nature. We anticipate that in the very near future, humans will utilize LLMs as tools to draft various content types, such as news articles, social media content, or even more traditional formats like Research Highlights. We are actively exploring the opportunities these tools may offer but not at the expense of trust and rigor.The case presented is an example of how Springer Nature is embarking on the journey towards the responsible use of LLMs in scientific publishing by developing tools that enable Springer Nature’s internal editors and authors to harness generative AI for accelerating content creation, such as plain language summaries of research articles or social media posts, in a responsible manner.

Jussi Lahtinen – Urban AI Artist / Urban AI – https://projects.tuni.fi/urbanai/

Urban AI Art is part of the Urban AI project that combines art and science. The main location of the project is the University of Tampere and it is financed by the machine foundation. Visual artist Jussi Lahtinen is responsible for the Urban AI Art artwork and for the technical implementation programmer Henri Sarasvirta, from Moido Games. The Urban AI Art work of art enables development into an art project that is international and communal, as it enables the collaboration of, for example, 100 works of art and artists. It renews the traditional concept of art, how the artworks are displayed. In the past, art has been in galleries and museums, Urban AI Art enables the artwork to be presented on all digital screens globally and to be viewed on a mobile phone.

Antònia Folguera – Curator Sónar +D – https://sonar.es/en

The latest advances in AI have basically entered our eyes, LLMs have revolutionized text and image, and audio and music seem to be trailing behind.

The truth is that music has been related to AI since the beginning. In this session we will retrace the path that AI and music have taken from 1957 until now and we will see some experiments that we have developed at the Sónar festival.

This online DC Network Meetup will be hosted by DC Network-region Catalonia and is organised by FlandersDC

More info//
Carles Gomara
Host DC Network Meetup#4
cgomara@gencat.cat
http://www.accio.gencat.cat

Elke Timmerman
Coordinator Districts of Creativity Network
info@districtsofcreativity.org
http://www.districtsofcreativity.org

Reverse Mission 2023 : TAMPERE

Posted by elketimmermanon July 3, 2023November 16, 2023

From June 13 till 15, 2023 the city of Tampere hosted the annual gathering of the DC Network during the 2023 Reverse Mission, bringing together cities and regions from Shanghai to Catalonia. The network had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with Tampere’s creative industries and its economic impact on the region. During the three-day visit, network members were given an exclusive glimpse into Tampere’s event industry and audiovisual sector.

This remarkable city by the lake, where nature is the so-called oxygen of its inhabitants, grew out to the second largest city of Finland, counting 200 lakes and ponds 3800 hectares of forest in the Tampere area. Thanks to its competitive development plan, Tampere is with its 250.000 citizens spearheading as the most recommended student city and the most attractive residential destination.

With a long history as a culture, event and film city, Tampere is also home to many creative people and is internationally known as the centre of large-scale (sports) events and culture.

The first day of the Reverse Mission focused on the audiovisual assets of Tampere, starting with a tour at Mediapolis, located in the Tohloppi district to familiarize with the range of educational programs available, and the offerings of Yle, the Finnish Broadcasting Company. A visit to the Pikku Kakkonen aka Tiny 2 studios, for more than 40 years known as the magazine show for the little ones.

Fanny Heinonen, the Business Advisor of Film Tampere, introduced the network to Tampere’s internationally significant audiovisual cash rebate, which attracts film productions from distant locations as well. The regional cash rebate in the Tampere region is 10-15 percent, compared to Finland’s 25 percent of production costs, this makes Tampere an internationally attractive production destination. In addition to the cash rebate, the area offers both urban and lake scenery, countryside settings, studios, as well as the infrastructure and expertise required for executing productions at an international level. Beside, Ilkka Rahkonen, CEO of Ilkka’s Creative Studios (ICS)shared some interesting insights into business models for intellectual property rights.

The visit to Tampere film studios was followed by a discovery tour at the extraordinary Hiedanrante site, the future hub of Western Tampere, and Lielahti Manor. The historical factory community in Tampere’s Hiedanranta is transforming into a modern and sustainable city district, home to 25.000 future residents with an ambitious focus on culture, events and innovation. The visit to the historical manor and the mill, surrounded by the park and a lake are nowadays the center point of multiple cultural events and venues and the colourful mills (graffiti) will be dedicated to creative spaces in the future.

Day 2 started with a deep-dive into the congress and large-scale event capacities of Tampere. One of the advantages of the city is the short distances between residential and venues spaces, which raises the attractiveness of the city in the organization and mobilization of citizens in the major international sports events Tampere is hosting every year. Perttu Pesä, the Event Director of the City of Tampere, engaged in discussions with the network about the significance of major events for the regional economy and the social and branding impacts on the city, giving some interesting insights in the financial model of cooperation of the Tampere Region For instance, the Ice Hockey World Championships brought over 60 million euros to the Tampere area, which accounts for eight percent of the annual turnover generated by events.

According to Kati Kuusisto, current CEO of Kuusisto & Sahlstedt Oy and former Advocacy Director of the Finnish event industry association, a shared vision is essential for the event industry. “The societal impact of the event industry is significant, but if each event sector conveys its message individually, the societal effect remains fragmented and limited”, Kuusisto states.

The visit to the 15.000 multifunctional Nokia Arena at the heart of Tampere, opened in December 2021, and the impressive Tampere Hall showed us the potential of the city, with a glimpse at the Tampere Vocal Music Festival.

Tampere also has a young artistic underground scene with multiple artists squatting in the Demolition Art House Pinni47, a five-story building where visual art, graffiti and video art have taken over the walls, stairs and spaces before the demolition of the building will start.

As the world capital of sauna, we closed day 2 with a must-experience in a Finnish smoke sauna where temperature usually goes over 100°C . Nice to know: Finland is counting 5.5 million inhabitants and has 2.5 million sauna’s.

On Day 3 we discovered the industrial history of Tampere, starting with a visit to the old Finlayson factory, better known as the old cotton factory turned into a hub for creatives. The Factory hosts the Himmelblau studio and gallery, the leading professional printmaking studio and gallery of Finland, as well as the Finlayson Art Area, a temporary art event showcasing a versatile selection of 14 Finnish artists (June – August 2023).

The industrial area offers more creativity, in the name of the Vapriikki Museum Centre, home to five different museums including The Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame and The Finnish Museum of Games.

Creativity strengthens by collaboration and proud; this leading example on how decision-makers, entrepreneurs, and citizens come together to build a city supporting events gave us much inspiration to strengthen DC Network local cities and regions.

Are you interested in joining the next Reverse Mission 2024 to one of our member regions? Contact us for more info!

credits : Luca Randecker

A look back at the Creativity World Forum 2022

Posted by districtsofcreativityon August 30, 2022February 15, 2023

What a relief! After two years of COVID, the Creativity World Forum – our flagship event for creativity, innovation & entrepreneurship – had another great edition in 2022. This edition of the event was hosted by the German region of Baden-Württemberg, and took place online from 18 – 20 July 2022 and as a hybrid event in Stuttgart (Germany) on 21 July 2022.

During these 4 days, we saw a series of inspiring talks, surprising tech/startup demonstrations and promising pitches. Those who made it to Stuttgart discovered a lovely venue with great hospitality. And perhaps the most important: we had lots of opportunities for formal and informal knowledge exchange between people and regions from all over the world.

In this video, you can relive all the plenary talks on stage in Stuttgart on the 21st of July:

The Creativity World Forum is the annual gathering of the international Districts of Creativity Network. The aim of this network is to stimulate creativity in society through intercultural exchange and thereby promote innovation and prosperity. Creativity makes people, companies and regions unique.

More info on this edition of the Creativity World Forum can be found on cwf2022.de.

The Creativity World Forum 2022 is coming to Baden-Württemberg!

Posted by districtsofcreativityon March 24, 2022March 24, 2022

After a two-year break due to corona, the flagship event for creativity, innovation & entrepreneurship is finally back! As a proud member of DC Network the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism Baden-Württemberg is very excited to host the CREATIVITY WORLD FORUM 2022. The conference will take place live at Hospitalhof, Stuttgart/Germany on 21 July 2022 and online from 18 – 21 July 2022.

The motto of this year’s Creative World Forum is “sustainable digital innovation”. Creative industries are known as a driver for sustainable digital innovation. This approach improves awareness for creative solutions as a creator of economic value. The combination of sustainability and digital tools helps to develop better ways of living together (‘smart city‘ as a global social model), working together (real experiences in virtual spaces) and creating together in our „new“ hybrid world (post-COVID-19).

The Creativity World Forum is also the annual gathering of the international Districts of Creativity Network. Further information on the event and the full program can be found at www.cwf2022.de. Take the opportunity and register today!

DC Network Meetup: Technology enhancing sustainability in fashion

Posted by districtsofcreativityon July 19, 2021July 18, 2022

Wearable technology, high tech fabrics, AR, VR, data analytics, blockchain, nanotechnology, internet of things, robotics, 3D rendering,… can all have an impact and added value on how we create, produce, experience and consume fashion today and tomorrow. Concrete examples such as smart textiles for second life purposes, RFID tags for traceability or AR/VR sizing for better fit in e-commerce showcase the potential of technology to create change and improve sustainability in fashion. In this Meetup we shared some of the most innovative approaches in the DC Network regions of how fashion designers and creative entrepreneurs use technology in fashion to enhance sustainability.

This online DC Network Meetup was hosted by DC Network-region Flanders (Belgium) and was organised by Flanders DC, the main supporting organisation for creative industries. Flanders DC has developed other projects on sustainability in fashion such as Close The Loop and on fashion tech such as Fashiontech works.

Who’s this for?

Designers, Creative entrepreneurs, representatives of creative clusters, network and business support organisations, policy makers and anyone with an interest in the subject.

Date

The Meetup was held online (via Livestorm) on September 9, 2021 from 3 – 4:30 pm (CET).

Program

3:00 pm – Welcome by the Districts of Creativity Network and Flanders DC

3:10 pm – 6 Inspiring cases of technology enhancing sustainability in fashion (10 min. each)

Constructing connectivity (Jessica Smarsch)
Brazil Immersive Fashion Week & ION-project (Olivia Merquior)
Advanced clothing solutions (Anthony Burns)
X-Ray fashion (Maria Herholdt Engermann)
Redcycle (Edu Uribesalgo)
IT Fashion (Flora Miranda)

4:20 pm – Q&A & Networking

4:30 pm – End of Meetup

About the cases & speakers

Constructing connectivity (Jessica Smarsch)

Constructing Connectivity is a person-centered stroke rehabilitation method that addresses the need to quicken and improve recovery, motivate the patient, and provide connection to support systems. It blends creativity with goal setting and helps to create more synaptic connections in the brain by combining exercises with sensory feedback. The Connextyle Techstyle sensor shirt captures body movement. The accompanying app inspires creativity, interprets data into visual patterns and written reports, quantifies and tracks progress, and connects the patient to the community. The system incorporates sustainability: it recycles and reuses the technological components of the garment and provides a stylish accompanying shirt that can be worn long past rehabilitation. The patient’s experience is the most important part of Constructing Connectivity and this is reflected in the design sensitivity of all its components, aiming to improve the rehabilitation experience.

Jessica Smarsch is an internationally recognized designer who collaborates cross-sector to bring beauty, creativity and enhanced user experience to technological, scientific and industrial innovations. She is passionate about systemic and disruptive innovation design that enhances well-being, quality of life, user experience, community connection, and circularity. She is motivated by the unique outcomes that unexpected collaborations produce.

Brazil Immersive Fashion Week & ION-project (Olivia Merquior)

Created by a group of women during the pandemic, BRIFW’s first edition happened in November 2020. Unlike other digital experiences in fashion weeks, BRIFW proposed using expanded realities such as CGI, filters, metaverses, and holograms from the start. The goal is to explore the difference between digital and immersive technologies and all the new possibilities those technologies bring to the fashion industry. BRIFW core values are education, sustainability, and equal opportunities in the technological environment. In June 2021, BRIFW developed the first Latin American fashion exhibition in the metaverse. Beyond a gallery, we built an environment in an open atmosphere that users can navigate from all over the world. The purpose of this space is to present new ways to interact and unveil the creative process behind the collections of young Latin American designers and the various impacts of technology on their creative workflow. All exhibitions were designed based on co-creation among a network of different artists from BRIFW’s immersive community. The exhibition aimed to educate the public about interacting with the metaverse and how the digital can bring new creative opportunities for Latin America.

Olivia Merquior is the founder of Brazil Immersive Fashion Week, the first immersive fashion week in Latin America. She is also a partner of BR Immersive, a company that offers experiences in expanded realities for the fashion, design, art and culture markets.

X-Ray Fashion (Maria Herholdt Engermann)

X-Ray Fashion is an award-winning VR documentary that tells the dark story of garment production in the fast-fashion industry. As an audience in X-Ray Fashion, you are invited on this eye-opening journey to see and feel different stages of the garment production that you usually never have access to: The glamorous catwalk shows in New York, the inside of a sweatshop in India and water supply polluted by fabric dye from the factories. In this presentation, hear Maria tell about the project and how it came to life.

With a bachelor degree in VIA Film & Transmedia, Aarhus, Denmark, Maria Herholdt Engermann has a deep craving hunger for new media storytelling – especially within transmedia and virtual reality (VR). For the last five years she has been specializing in how to create XR experiences that can attract international attention such as X-Ray Fashion and Separate Silences proven by having these exhbited all over the world at various A-ranked film festivals such as Cannes- and Venice film festival. Today she’s the founder of the XR company MANND that creates VR and AR solutions for both business and art, and together with co-founder Signe Ungermand where they are always seeking new and creative projects pushing the boundaries of VR and AR.

Redcycle (Edu Uribesalgo)

Launched in 2015 in collaboration with the Basque Government, the fishermen’s association of Gipuzkoa and the Italian company Aquafil, Redcycle is a pioneering process through which the discarded nets from the associations (in Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia) of Bermeo, Getaria and Hondarribia are collected. The nets are then sent to Slovenia, where Aquafil prepares, shreds and cleans them and sends them, in turn, to the ECONYL® regeneration plant. There, the waste is converted into ECONYL® thread, a result of mixing the recycled fishing nets with other recycled materials such as carpets. This thread is used to make the fabrics that are transformed into recycled, recyclable and environmentally friendly garments. Ternua has received 2 international awards in the most prestigious outdoor fairs in Germany. Today they have over 20 products made using discarded fishing nets in our Ternua collection

Edu Uribesalgo is the Ternua Group innovation and sustainability director.

Advanced clothing solutions (Anthony Burns)

The fashion industry is one of the most resource-intensive industries in the world. At ACS, our goal is to improve the sustainability of the fashion industry by delivering ecological, robust, low-cost, dependable, profitable services to our customers. In 2018, we realised that – in order to accomplish our goal – we had to become ‘Sustainability Champions’ in everything we do. We constantly endeavour to recycle, reuse, and reduce our waste and minimise our energy and water consumption right across the business. We are huge believers in the fact that all positive environmental changes we make contribute to us delivering ‘Fashion Without The Footprint’.

Anthony Burns is the COO of ACS, an internationally recognised business, which empowers fashion retailers and brands to strategically embed, and easily embrace, circular business models. In his role, he sets the strategic priorities of the business and leads the company in growing all areas, including marketing, technology, product and analytics. Anthony Burns’ mission is to improve the sustainability of the fashion industry, and be more socially accountable, while increasing ACS’s turnover exponentially within 5-years.

IT Fashion (Flora Miranda)

Flora Miranda is a future-forward couturier based in Antwerp, emphasising the importance of digital identities, intangible and yet seemingly predominant in our daily lives. Whether introduced as a method like 3D-scanning, 3D-printing, laser-cutting, machine learning or generative design, technology is an essential medium in the designer’s work. Coming from a family of artists and musicians, Flora’s mission is to bring art to fashion. Seeing computer programming as a creative tool, her vision is to transform into a creative software company. She sets the first step into this direction with “IT Pieces”: Garments that are generated based on personal data, as a proposition to a 100% automated pipeline from design to production. In the webinar, Flora will introduce the vision behind “IT Pieces” to use technology for a sustainable approach to fashion.

Flora Miranda is an Austrian fashion designer and visual artist, based in Vienna/Austria and Antwerp/Belgium. Throughout her work the main focus is on the human being, one’s body, senses and perception. Gradually the designer is taking away restrictions and practical considerations in fashion towards the real expression of the self.