The Power Of Digital: IK Prize Shortlist Announced At Tate

IK Prize Shortlist

The four shortlisted entries for the annual IK Prize 2015 has been announced by Tate. This is the second year of the prize which is supported by the Porter Foundation. The Prize is presented by Tate to a team, company or individual for an original idea that uses the power of digital to enhance the way people experience art.

The shortlisted proposals are: Artzoom for Digital Re-Sculpt, which uses 3-D printing technology to enable replicas of famous sculptures to be exhibited in the street

Wieden + Kennedy for Tate Here, a series of immersive audio experiences installed around the country at locations that themselves inspired well known artworks

Flying Object for Tate Sensorium,an installation of sensory stimulators which will allow users to smell, taste, touch and hear works of art.

Five10 Twelve for My Tate Mate, a mobile app that uses complex algorithms to match snapshots with artworks.

The shortlist was chosen by a panel of high-profile individuals and industry experts: Mat Collishaw, artist; Justin Cooke, Founder & CEO of Tunepics; Chris Milk, American music video director and artist; Kerstin Mogull, Managing Director of Tate; and John Porter, The Porter Foundation.

Four short films in which the finalists explain their ideas will be on display at Tate Britain and online at www.tate.org.uk/ikprize

The winner will be announced on 17 February 2015. Chris Milk, IK Prize 2015 judge, said: “Digital technology as a tool is so expansive, so full of possibilities, I find it exciting that museums like Tate are seeking to inspire the public in interesting yet unconventional ways”. Nicholas Serota, Director of Tate, said: “The wealth of creativity shown by people working in the dynamic and fast-changing digital space is an inspiration. It is right that we celebrate in this way the new ways of thinking about how to illuminate the collection for our audiences”.

The IK Prize is named in memory of the philanthropist Irene Kreitman. The four entries shortlisted will be showcased at Tate Britain with the winner receiving a prize of £10,000 and a £60,000 production budget to turn their idea into a reality. The winning project will be shown at Tate Britain later in the summer.  

The shortlisted entries for 2014’s inaugural IK Prize were Evan Boehm with Nexus Productions for Through the Eyes of an Eight-Year-Old; Adam Clarke, thecommonpeople.tv forTateCraft; Storythings (Matt Locke and Kim Plowright) for #TateText; and THE WORKERS (Tommaso Lanza, Ross Cairns and David Di Duca) for After Dark. The winning project,After Dark, was realised at Tate Britain last summer when people all over the world were invited to partake in an online experience which allowed them to view Tate Britain’s galleries at night through four camera-equipped robots.

Irene Kreitman was a generous philanthropist and longstanding supporter of Tate. She served as a volunteer for more than 25 years and was always interested in helping people to engage with and be inspired by art. She and her husband, Hyman Kreitman, funded a number of acquisitions, especially in the field of modern British art, as well as the creation of the Hyman Kreitman Research Centre at Tate Britain.

Irene Kreitman’s sister, Dame Shirley Porter, and her nephew and niece, John Porter and Linda Streit, continue this tradition of philanthropy and have chosen to extend this legacy of support with a major benefaction to the renovation of the galleries at Tate Britain, as well as the creation of the IK Prize.

The call for the IK Prize 2015 submissions opened on Friday 3 October and closed at midnight on Friday 7 November 2014. To enter, candidates must have realised a successful digital project, whether in the arts, education or commercial sector and submit information about this achievement along with their proposal for how they would use digital technology to connect the world to art from Tate Britain’s collection.

Last years winner was After Dark which had been created by design studio The Workers (Tommaso Lanza, Ross Cairns and David Di Duca) who were inspired to re-create the experience of being alone in the gallery after dark using digital technology. This online experience invites people all over the world to view TateBritain’s galleries online at night through four camera-equipped robots roaming the gallery spaces, connecting audiences with art in the BP Walk Through British Art. Live online for five consecutive nights from 13 August, the project will allow the public to view the robots on their journey through the artworks and a number of visitors will be able to remotely control their movements. A first-person, real-time video feed and live commentary will be streamed to all visitors on the After Darkwebsite. This is the first project of its kind in a museum or gallery setting.

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