Start ‘em early with electricity! InterAccess partners up with the Harbourfront centre to offer these free and youth oriented workshops. In this workshop, colour a turkey or cornucopia design, then take it to the “lighting station” to learn how to light it up with LED lights! For more information, please go to: http://harbourfrontcentre.com/harbourkids/

Learn about the history and importance of electronic and new media art with InterAccess’s Director/Curator, and her favourite Art Study-Buddy (and former-roommate!) In this seminar-based course, participants will learn about the origins and early practices of electronic art, and contemporary counterparts. Starting from a grounding in early 20th century avant-garde, and moving through minimalism and fluxus movements, various origins and inspirations will be examined and discussed alongside the development of post-WWII computer science. Conceptualism, “systems” art and post-modernism provide a grounding for both “relational aesthetics” and “postproduction” in the 80s ad 90s, alongside post-cold war internet expansions. Trivia, audio-visual examples and short, fun exercises provide the setting for discussions on why electronic art and new media matter within the vast canon of art history. This is considered part 1 of a 2-part course.

Don’t just think about it, do it, do it, do it! Learn technical approaches to making your ideas come to life, and get helpful feedback on your ideas within a studio setting. In this studio-based course, participants bring their ideas for projects, inspired by the discussion of the previous week. Technical considerations are addressed alongside a setting of critical feedback and assistance for honing concepts and ideas. Learn what specific technologies, practices, workshops and tools you need to realize your ideas, and get a sense of whether you can produce the work yourself, or what benefits collaborations or production assistance from a technical specialist can bring to the table. Most importantly, the “why” of making electronic art is addressed alongside the “how” and “how much.” This is considered part 2 of a 2-part course.

Visual Computing/Programming (VP) is a programming language where users manipulate graphical elements rather than writing lines of code. This course is designed as an introduction to Visual Programming focusing on the fundamental concepts required before using Max/MSP and Pure Data. We will create simple Max and Pure Data programs and also examine pre-programmed audio and video programs. This is an introductory course serving as a foundation for future Max and Pure Data courses offered at InterAccess.

No more loops in galleries! Come to this workshop to find out why. We will explore randomness, algorithms and data generation methods to take the loop out of our time-based electronic art. Together we will make a collective never-the-same-always-different-no-looping piece of art! Will we make a sedentary ocean wave crashing meditation or a head-bending electronic weird out? The workshop will have a sound art slant, but the ideas can be applied to video, electronics or any time-based electronic art that you can imagine.

Want to make software for your art that behaves the way you want it to? Are you frustrated by the limitations of existing software and keen to create tools to suit your own artistic purposes? Then Pure Data is for you. Pure Data (Pd) is a graphical-based media programming language, similar in use to the well-known program Max/MSP, but free and open source. Pure Data allows artists to interact with the real world through live camera feeds, audio, video, motion sensors and other sources, or create synthesizers and video mixers. Graphical programming is most commonly used in immersive and interactive installations as well as live video mixing/VJ events. Participants learn the basics of audio programming, including sample recording, playback, manipulation and synthesis, and video programming using the "GEM video environment," including video mixing, manipulation and simple 3D rendering. Instructors tailor workshop content to suit the needs of participants as much as possible.

What is Sound Art anyway? Wind chimes to 1's and 0's. A journey through the major practices and trends in Sound Art. Acoustic ecology to noise artists, Murray Schafer to Yasunao Tone. We will venture into the world of sound with a specific focus on distinguishing sound art as independent of music. What makes a sound artist tick? Learn about how sound artists have shaped sound as an artistic medium. We've come a long way from banging rocks together! Lots of audio-visual examples including spatial and physical sound. There will be a focus on new media and contemporary practices. This is considered part 1 of a 2-part course.

What's an XLR cable? What's a frequency response curve? $10 000 for a microphone! WTF!!! Together we'll try and make sense of a pile of speakers, amps, mics, cables, circuits, boxes with holes, and other gadgetry we can use to play with sound. The physical stuff of sound production will be the focus of this workshop. Do I need/want to purchase/rent a fancy speaker or can I get away with a cheap disassembled computer speaker? Why use a dynamic mic as opposed to a condenser mic? These questions and more will be discussed and applied. Learn how to make good decisions about hardware for Sound Art. How do we get the most out of what we've got? This is considered part 2 of a 2-part course.

The CNC machine is here! Wanna use it? You gotta learn how first, so take this workshop and get oriented in the art of CNC. The abbreviation CNC stands for computer numerical control, and refers specifically to a computer "controller" that reads G-code instructions and drives a machine tool, a powered mechanical device typically used to fabricate components by the selective removal of material. CNC does numerically directed interpolation of a cutting tool in the work envelope of a machine. The operating parameters of the CNC can be altered via a software load program.