Missed our last Mobile Tech Salon? Have no fear! We focused on how artists and activists using mobiles in their work: Urban Speaker broadcasts phone calls in public spaces over a loudspeaker; TXTual Healing and SMS Slingshot plaster text messages on walls; Pathways to Housing encourages people on the street to interact with a light projection via text; and Amphibious Architecture allows people to send text messages to and receive messages from animals in the rivers surrounding New York City. Watch the video below to get a taste of the artists' presentations:
The event was a great way to explore how mobiles can bring a new level of interactivity to art, and how art can be used to inspire activism. Presenters remarked on how the ubiquity of mobile devices make them ideal for encouraging people to interact with their surroundings. If you want to learn more about these projects, check out our posts on TXTual Healing, Amphibious Architecture and Pathways to Housing here, or watch an interview with Carlos J. Gomez de Llarena (creator of the Urban Speaker) here. Urban Collective, creators of the SMS Slingshot couldn't join us in person for the tech salon, but check out a video of their presentation here.
Thanks to Idealist.org for hosting us in their space, and thanks to the artists for showing their work!
Have you ever texted a fish? Or graffitied a wall with your mobile?
Thanks to the ever-present mobile devices and connectivity, artists and activists are experimenting with how we interact with each other, organize ourselves, and our surroundings.
We've written about interactive texts messages in activism before, and are very excited to devote our December Tech Salon to how artists and activists use mobile phones for expression.
RSVP here to join us on Thursday December 9th for "Mobiles + Art + Activism": an evening of conversation with artists, and live demos & exhibits of mobile art projects exploring public spaces, calls to action, crowd engagement and participation.
In New York City's East Village neighborhood last Friday, anyone with a mobile phone could have their words heard across Tompkins Square Park. An art exhibit called "Urban Speaker" allowed participants to call a mobile phone hooked up to an amplifier and loudspeaker, and the resulting messages were immediately broadcast.
Designed by artist Carlos J. Gomez de Llarena, Urban Speaker is a mix of technology and performance art – participants could either call the number printed on a sign, or use a QR code to get more information about the project. Anyone could call the number and had 60 seconds to speak into a voicemail service, and then the message was sent out over the loudspeaker. Watch Gomez de Llarena explain the project below:
Responding to the Human Resource Crisis: Peer Health Workers, Mobile Phones, and HIV Care in Rakai, Uganda data sheet 1370 Views
Author:
Chang, L.W. et al.
Publication Type:
Journal article
Publication Date:
Jan 2008
Abstract:
Two challenges to successful antiretroviral therapy (ART) scale-up in resource-limited settings (RLS) are human resource and healthcare infrastructure limitations.
We read with interest the modeling study by Bärnighausen et al. which describes the complexities of ensuring adequate human resources to treat HIV/AIDS (HRHA). The authors suggest that factors needed to achieve universal ART coverage include “changes in the nature or organization of care,” training health workers with skills specific to the developing world to reduce emigration, and developing systems that decrease the number of traditional HRHA required to treat a fixed number of patients.
The Rakai Health Sciences Program (RHSP) PEPFAR-funded ART program has been actively pursuing innovative HIV care strategies that directly address these important points. In 2006, we piloted a novel program utilizing peer health workers (PHW) and mobile phones to monitor patients in a rural ART program in Rakai, Uganda.
It's been a pleasure and a joy to work with all of you this year! It's been a great year in this growing field of innovators, technologists, and social change-ists, and we are happy and proud to be part of it. Thank you!
Mobile Mobile is an interactive chandelier/mobile made from old mobile phones that plays Christmas jingles. It is built by James Théophane Jnr, an interactive designer. He notes that "to add a little xmas spice to the mix, you can go online and enjoy annoying the hell out of people" waiting around in the reception room where the mobile hangs, by playing the thing live from your web browser. Happy Holidays!
