As my colleagues often say, “things are happening”. Right now they are happening all across Manchester, as the most innovative, thought-provoking, academic yet accessible festival is back in town. What used to be known as Futuresonic for some 15 years has returned in 2010 as the rebranded FutureEverything. I would really like to thank its infatigable organiser, Drew Hemment, for inviting me.
Unlike last year, I’m only attending the conference today, which is 13th of May. The talks I’ve been to so far were a group talk between Manchester and Sendai in Japan, and I’m going to another series of such talks later in the afternoon. The talk I have just left was an OpenEverything panel, and the next two talks that I am going to go to – before returning to Glonet – will be OpenData and the Semantic Web and The Mythology Engine.
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| A TV connecting the audiences in Manchester, UK and Sendai, Japan |
As I am typing this, I am sitting right in front of a small TV, watching people in Sendai, Japan. FutureEverything had to start with a bang, and I am glad to say that it is so far proving to be quite mind-blowing. This is my third year, and I saw a lot of innovation previously, but little did I think that this year would see global audiences merging together in a fantastic, challenging and stimulating dialogue. There is still one day to go, so I hope it runs smoothly, but my credits will definitely go to Drew and Julian Tait (the Programming Director of the festival) for doing a brilliant, if painstaking, job.
Last but not least, I am almost ecstatic as this year’s arts programme includes a visit from the Russian group AES+F. Last year their project, The Feast of Trimalchio, was presented at the Venice Biennale, and I was gutted I couldn’t go and see it. Well, as we know, if Mohammed wants to go the mountain but cannot, the mountain may eventually come to Mohammed. This is exactly what is happening, as The Feast of Trimalchio is shown between 12 and 16 of May at the Palace Hotel in Manchester. Opening time is 10am to 9pm.
