Urban Screens - conference on video billboards

Posted Tue, Jul 19, 2005 at 11:55 PM
Modified Sat, Dec 7-, 2005 at 08: 0 PM

Personally, even *I* am shocked with how the number of billboards in Toronto have exponentially grown over the past couple of years. In the heart of downtown, almost every major corner has one.

(Come on! This is an urban game waiting to happen!! *still waiting with fingers crossed*)

Image from http://ds5.agh.edu.pl/~grzanka/krzyze/ linked from the Urban Screens blog

And now, finally, there is an entire conference (Urban Screens 2005) dedicated to discussing the non-commercial potential of video billboards, among other urban displays:

Traditionally a venue for corporate advertising, what could these "urban screens" accomplish if commercial agendas weren't at the helm?

Come September, a panel of international experts in the arts, urban studies and digital culture, will gather at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, to explore this question. The conference entitled, Urban Screens 2005: Discovering the Potential of Outdoor Screens in Urban Society, strategizes for the de-commercialization of digital displays.

As the program poses, "How can we change from consumer entertainment to participation of a wide range of users, involving [all] in the production of space?" The 2-day conference is organized into four categories: Shaping the Urban Media-Scapes, Addressing the Social Value and Civic Culture through Participation, Opening the Commercial Use of Outdoor Screens, and the Future Technology of Outdoor Screens. Combined, these topics suggest tools for urban dwellers to take responsibility for their digital landscape.

via Rhizome