tech art fest
23 Feb / 1:00pm-2:30pm / WESTGATE SHOPPING CENTRE
Build your Dreamstrument
In this workshop, Nat Whitney delves into playful and unusual ways of making music collaboratively through creative technologies and crafting.
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What wild and imaginative instrument would you dream of creating?
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What if you could build an instrument that reflects your personality?
- Ready to get hands-on and experiment with crafting? What materials do you think would make the best DIY instrument?
What it’s about
Participants are invited to imagine their dream instrument - What does it look like, sound like and how do you play it? We will start by exploring ways to capture our sonic surroundings using sampling apps, then move onto constructing a simple button from everyday materials and wiring this up to a microcontroller board to make it interactive and noisy!
After experimenting with capturing sounds and making noise, we'll move on to designing and building our own DIY instruments using a variety of craft and conductive materials. By the end of the workshop, participants will have explored some basics of physical computing and created a unique prototype for their very own instrument!
What to expect
This hands-on workshop offers a supportive space to explore the creative potential of technology in music-making. Guided by expert facilitators, participants will engage in playful experimentation with sound, design, and interactivity while working collaboratively with fellow attendees. The session combines crafting, physical computing, and imaginative thinking, empowering you to create unique musical experiences.
This event is for adults aged 18+ and is ideal for young professionals, creative tech businesses, and educators interested in innovative approaches to music and technology.
WHEN
Sunday 23rd February
1:00pm - 2:30pm
WHERE
Unit 10, Westgate Shopping Centre, Basildon SS14 1WP
BOOK YOUR PLACE
About the artist
Nat Whitney
Nat is an audio-visual participatory artist working with creative technologies to construct interactive, sensory objects and spaces that invite curiosity and play. Intrigued by social interaction and the interplay between chance and control, their practice delves into how physical computing ideas can be harnessed to facilitate accessible environments for human-tech-human co-creation.
Driven by a belief in the power of play and collaborative spaces, they aim to apply creative technologies as impactful co-facilitators in forming authentic participatory environments, deepening connection to ourselves, one another and our surroundings.
Alongside studio practice, they facilitate workshops exploring interactivity utilising playful physical computing ideas. They have worked with organisations across the East including Collusion, Anglia Ruskin University, DanceEast, Magic Acorns, Norfolk & Norwich Festival, Ipswich Museums, Young Norfolk Arts, Out There Arts, Creative Collisions & Suffolk Libraries.
About the organiser
Connor Turansky
Connor Turansky (he/him) is an Essex-based visual artist and educator working at the intersection of technology and art. With a Master’s in Photographic Arts from the University of Westminster, Connor combines photographic methodology with mixed reality, paper engineering, electronics and projection mapping to explore themes of simulation, perception, wonder and accessibility.
As a neurodivergent artist, Connor applies anti-gatekeeping pedagogy to make tech-art practices inclusive. He leads the Emerging Media Space at the University of Westminster and collaborates with organisations to create accessible workshops. His work has been exhibited across the UK, including projects featured at Peckham Digital and the V&A South Kensington.
Currently, Connor is programming Tech Art Fest 2025, building a community workshop at his studio in The Blokhouse CIC, and caring for his pet chickens.