Aalto University Laptop Orchestra aims to bring together all kinds of interests for sharing experimental/electronic music experience in live performances. AULO is an open group for experimenting collaborative laptop music both in academic and free context.

Clip Kino' events are self-organised screening events of short video clips & documentaries found online. It aims to drag aspects of normalised 'private' activity - of viewing downloaded content on one's own computer - into public space for screening, appreciation and debate. 'Media-environmental awareness' applies to include the social ecology of one's interests, desires, and attentions in one's peer-group and community.

We are founding the first open Hackerspace (*) in the capital region of Finland. (* or "Makerspace", "FabLab", or whatever you want to call it!)

We are now recruiting more members who are willing to pay 15-25€/month, or whatever it takes to rent a reasonable work space in Helsinki. The more members we get, the cheaper it will be for each!

We are, among other DIY-projects, interested about applying electronics to various ideas, not just traditional hardware hacker stuff, but also in artistic and other sectors, like 3D-printing and so on. But of course it depends on our coming members, which kind of direction Helsinki Hacklab will eventually take.

Labyrinths and Rings is an ongoing series at Ptarmigan that features artists, musicians, filmmakers, cultural producers, or any other creative practitioner presenting their work to our audience. The guests will make short presentations of their work and practice, which is followed by a moderated question and answer session/discussion.

All L&R events will feature either a DJ or live background music, and food will be served according to a different theme for each night.

If you are passing through Helsinki and would be interested in presenting your work at a Labyrinths and Rings, please contact us and propose your ideas.

Nomadic academy of experimental arts has started its existence. The academy is looking for eager people to establish journeys and areas for the academy. One of the tasks is to form "a plateau" for the part-time -teachers of experimental arts on where to give information about their areas, teaching and events.

Nomadic academy is looking for people to map areas. During the first journey 2009-2010 we will form a plateau to give information about the events and teaching done by part-time -teachers of experimental arts. We will receive guest lecturers, ideas for events, images, essays and other material that is sharing our ethos.

PikseliÄHKY // PixelACHE is a festival of electronic art and subcultures, organised in Helsinki since year 2002.

Through a series of performances, exhibitions and club events, Pixelache presents playful projects both experimenting with and taking a critical approach to media and technology. In addition, the festival features practical workshops as well as seminars addressing current issues in the development of digital media.

Amongst the festival’s fields of interest are: experimental interaction and electronics; VJ culture and audiovisual performances; grassroot organising and networks; politics and economics of media/technology; media literacy and engaging environmental issues.

The name of the festival was found in an article that was trying to predict emerging new expressions. The word ‘pixelache’ (similar to ‘headache’) was supposed to describe the feeling that results from an overdose of digital media content. This overdose can happen easily if the content is too monotonic – which is the case if standards, formats, tools and design principles converge to a narrow set of options. Pixelache presents projects that try to break out of the box and expand the spectrum of how media and technology is used. Instead of showcasing existing projects, Pixelache focuses on presenting new work as well as early prototypes of experimental projects that challenge the dominant design.

Pixelversity

Since year 2006, Pixelache has also been organising educational events around the year in Helsinki. These events offer a meeting point for the local Pixelache scene outside the festival period; they consist of artist presentations, workshops, seminars and other events.

Pixelache network

From a local event in Helsinki, Pixelache has developed into an important hub within an international network of electronic arts festivals. Members of the Pixelache Network are Mal au Pixel (Paris), Pixelvärk (Stockholm), Piksel (Bergen), Pikslaverk (Reykjavik), Pixelazo (Colombia), Afropixel (Dakar) and PixelIST (Istanbul).

More information: network.pixelache.ac

Svamp is a regularly-scheduled workshop for music improvisation. It does not involve money, careers or obligations -- only interpersonal and sound relationships. Svamp sessions may range from collective improvisation to directed exercises or game-playing. You do NOT have to be a professional or trained musician -- just something with an interest in sound, an open mind, and the ability to listen. If you would like to join Svamp, please contact Ptarmigan via email with a brief description of your musical background/interests.

THE PUBLIC SCHOOL is a school with no curriculum. At the moment, it operates as follows: first, classes are proposed by the public (I want to learn this or I want to teach this); then, people have the opportunity to sign up for the classes (I also want to learn that); finally, when enough people have expressed interest, the school finds a teacher and offers the class to those who signed up.

THE PUBLIC SCHOOL is not accredited, it does not give out degrees, and it has no affiliation with the public school system. It is a framework that supports autodidactic activities, operating under the assumption that everything is in everything.