Schmiede // the playground of ideas
Crowdfunding successfully finished
Raised
Schmiede is Austria’s biggest producer festival. Since 2003 we annually provide a collaborative platform between art and new media. A real space with real people, a creative playground and stage as well as a community. Schmiede is based on the principles NETWORK - CREATE - PRESENT, hence cooperation and diversity are highly valued. Schmiede’s focus is to create a frame for creative teamwork to happen and ensure networking amongst the participants (Smiths). pictures: www.bit.ly/whatisschmiede
Funding period
8/14/12 -
10/15/12
Minimum amount (Start level): €
5,000 €
City
Salzburg
Category
Music
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What is this project all about?
Schmiede is the playground of ideas, a work oriented space of diversity and cooperation for producers. In an old Saline, on an island in the alps, we come together once a year. Here we network and together develop ideas into prototypes and present.
Schmiede participants, Smiths, are a loose Community which has been gathering annually since 2003. For ten days our ideas are first, not budget, audience or PR but the pure idea and the ability to share the same with others has great weight in Schmiede’s attention economy. Fascinating and involving others is crucial, as is motivation, passion, dialogue and action. The SchmiedeProcess is self determined production in a team environment and lives from the diversity of disciplines and participants.
In contrast to other festivals, Schmiede is producer oriented. The audience is welcome as an important element in the producer’s development, equal, threshold and reflector, not king.
The SmithNetwork virtually stays in contact throughout the year, where they are updated, can share and prepare.
The work aspect of Schmiede is framed by the open and free SchmiedeProgram, which acts as an impuls giver and podium for presentations. (ex: www.bit.ly/schmiede11)
Smith productions can be presented to a larger audience during the SchmiedeWorkshow.
Application is open to everyone. The Application phase is open from February till June.
www.schmiede.ca
What is the project goal and who is the project for?
GOALS:
· To create a space, where for at least ten days, not money and feasibility, but motivation, desire, experiment and the joy of doing are the dominant decision factors.
· Advancement of interdisciplinary dialogue. Cooperation and collaboration not competition is our concern.
· Advance our ability to work in a team and to grow trust.
· Knowledge transfer.
TARGET GROUPS:
Producers with the focus digital media.
Most Smiths work in the following areas: media, visual and fine arts, internet development, design, music, programming, robotics, blogging, fashion, film, performance, photography, communication, interaction design, etc...
Main Smith Cities: Vienna, Berlin, Salzburg, Munich, Barcelona.
Composition: 40% Smiths x 60% New, 40% female x 60% male.
Smith Age: 18 - 45. Average: 20-28.
The annual 150-200 Smiths plus guests, are originating from over 20 nations.
Since 2009 we received over 700 different applications from over 30 nations.
Why would you support this project?
Creativity needs continuity to be more than a flash in the pan. Creatives search and need new and real as well as virtual spaces with flexible structures to enable innovation, productivity and networking. Schmiede has been searching and building alternative structures for talented lateral thinkers for ten years. With this extra budget you will give us the chance to strengthen our team’s working conditions as well as improve some of the many details.
SUPPORT SCHMIEDE...
- because you believe that artists and creatives need free spaces in order to develop. Your donation will enable us to further provide and improve this space.
- because you want to help us create an autonomous platform that can continue to make its decisions free of governmental or corporate involvement.
- to empower our ability to reach more people with the SchmiedeProcess.
- to support our romantic ethos of providing a festival with open and free events which are more about exchange and feedback than presentation and consumption.
- because you are a Smith who believes, that the participation fee (50€) shall not be increased, because this would make it harder, especially for Smiths from far, to participate.
- because you just need to know what is in the SchmiedeNostalgiaBox
How will we use the money if the project is successfully funded?
We will improve and strengthen our existing structures, team as well as technical, to allow Schmiede to grow at her own speed. The logistics of a festival like Schmiede needs a small stable team to ensure the professional preparations and Smith services. It is important for us to overcome our strong dependency of honorary helpers and see the same as an important development. The development of our technical infrastructure will be felt by the Smiths.
Who are the people behind the project?
In 2003 Schmiede Hallein (Austrian non profit for the advancement of digital culture (Number: 887186914)) was funded by Paul Estrela, Philipp and Rüdiger Wassibauer. Currently Schmiede is predominantly funded by the government of Austria (Kulturland Salzburg, BMUKK and the City of Hallein) and is supported by honorary work, equipment sponsoring and cost participations.
The beginning was a large audio/visual idea, project Cube. We were not able to finance it due to a lack of trust in our abilities to manage such a large and complex project. We didn’t really have any possibility to build a prototype. In this process we realized that there were nearly no open spaces for experiments outside of university. A space, a neutral platform, where one could meet with a large number of people and do, as well as focus on, whatever seemed interesting and important in order to create a prototype together. We came to the conclusion that we needed to bundle our competences and involve more activists in order to advance without money. Schmiede was our answer. At the end of Schmiede03 we built and presented a functioning prototype of project Cube. A 360° projection accessible by foot, built on standard PCs infrastructure.
Today the people behind Schmiede are, next to a small team, the SmithNetwork. Schmiede follows a grass root approach, all Smiths are equal. The crucial factor is each one’s desire to participate, engage and do. People who do shall decide, if you wanna to participate: let us know.
Now is the time to take the next steps and therefore we want to invite you to come alonge.
Denis (co-founder of Startnext)
