storyLab kiU

Not without a thrill: The storyLab kIU and its borderlines between technology and art

“Spaceship to Earth, Spaceship to Earth: Request permission to launch”. Your imagination starts to kick in when you make your way to the storyLab kiU. And it appears that, after entering the mothership, you will quickly reach the command centre: monitors, lots of technical equipment and cable harnesses dominate the 600 square metres on the first floor. The dominant black colour of the large workspace is broken by orange lines and squares – the flickering colourful worlds of the installations and the screens have something almost mystical about them. Seemingly from nowhere, the faces of people that work here on the narrative world of tomorrow appear suddenly; once you have overcome a surprised amazement, you recognise smiles welcoming you from the shadows, expressing the joy of your visit.

In fact, you are in a truly diverse place. As a location of the Fachhochschule (FH) Dortmund, it functions as a unique media laboratory that, against the background of technological change, is exhilaratingly creative in its exploration of new narrative styles and forms of presentation. Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), 360° film and video mapping are the thematic worlds that scientists, students and artists alike are dealing with. However, they do not – as is usually the case – in an isolated ivory tower, but in an open laboratory that is accessible at all times during the opening hours of the “lodging”, the Centre for Culture and Creativity called Dortmunder U. This openness is a postulate and it is intended to animate and motivate visitors, travellers and also travelling artists to bring their curiosity and their questions and ideas to the place. Ergo: You are welcome here if you want to know how art and technology go togehter.

The scenery can change at intervals: while the black remains, the creations and installations exhibited or presented at storyLab kiU change. This is due to tasks and projects to which the media laboratory is dedicated. These arise outside its own agenda, among other things from cooperation with the Dortmunder U, which as a cultural hotspot in the centre of Dortmund provides a way of rethinking art and playing with it. The Full-Dome in the foyer of the Dortmunder U is just an example: while you make yourself comfortable on cushions, you can open up new impressive short film worlds from a repertoire of 360° projections. You may have missed the 3D projection mapping during the museum night, but you can see similar installations here. You can also experience the conception and simulation in the rooms of the storyLab kiU, even on a model. And if you want to fly and travel to new digital worlds, staff will gladly hand you VR glasses.

Illusions and stories merge into a reality that is not reality. Virtual space breaks the boundaries of the impossible. The development of innovative projects places high demands on the technological infrastructure and creative spirit. To this end, the storyLab kiU is equipped with the finest hardware, and has a film studio, a sound studio and several digital workstations for the production of high-quality 2D, 3D and virtual reality applications.

The team behind the artistic director Harald Opel works with students from various BA and MA courses of study at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts, in cooperation with the Dortmunder U and industrial partners on current issues concerning the digital society. This has enabled storlyLab kiU to build up an almost unique field of competence.

Nowhere else in the Ruhr area and in the world can you be so close to the research journey into the artistic narrative worlds of tomorrow. Here you can let yourself fall into modern fairytale worlds and learn about stories that travel between bits and bytes to the galaxy of the fantastic. And while you marvel at the results of current issues at the limits of what is now technologically feasible, the designers sit a few tables away and work on a new challenge.  You could almost say: beam me up, Scotty…

Internet / Websites and social media

storylabkiu.de

dortmunder-u.de/partner/storylab-kiu

Facebook Page

Instagram Account

Youtube Channel

StoryLab kiU bespielt Schloss Drachenburg mit 3D-Mapping Video