Baltan Laboratories launches its new publication A Blueprint for a Lab of the Future on Wednesday, 7 September 2011 from 5-7 PM in the NatLab at Strijp-S in Eindhoven. This extensive publication presents the results of and reflections on Baltan’s two-year pilot phase undertaken from 2008 to 2010.

A Blueprint for a Lab of the Future is Baltan’s second publication, following The Future of the Lab, which was launched at ISEA2010 RUHR (International Symposium on Electronic Art) in Dortmund, Germany last year. This new publication is designed by Eric de Haas and Martijn Maas, and features:

• conversations, recommendations, challenges, and statements that illustrate the process of building the lab;
• extensive documentation of and reflection on the projects supported and initiated by Baltan from 2008 to 2010;
• new essays and interviews with artists and collaborators featuring their perspectives on the lab.

The launch event at the NatLab starts off with an afternoon expert meeting for professionals, led by guest speakers Attila Nemes from Kitchen Budapest in Hungary, Atau Tanaka from Culture Lab in England, and Rasa Smite from RIXC in Latvia.

At 17:00 we open up to the public with a lecture by Atau Tanaka, Director of Culture Lab, Newcastle University (UK):

Situating within Society: Blueprints and Strategies for Media Labs
The concept of the media lab is now 25 years old, and is based on interdisciplinary research, a vision of a digital society, and models of technology innovation. Since then, media labs have sprung up internationally – in industry, in the cultural sector, in universities, and are embedded in local communities. While ‘media lab’ is one term, there is no single definition. With the democratisation of digital technology, the social relevance of the media lab has shifted. This talk will map out the diversity of media labs, and the challenges facing the field.

Atau Tanaka’s lecture will be followed by music and drinks. We will also welcome Floor van Spaendonck, director of Virtueel Platform, who will say a few words on this occasion. Admission to the public event is free.

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