The EaPConnect project team had a very exciting experience presenting project results in two international conferences in the USA: the Network Performing Arts Production Workshop 2018 and NowNet Arts 2018.
The project team shared their experience with international collaborations and the success of the Music Without Borders concert organised for European ministers and ambassadors – real-time music performance between two geographically distant locations – Estonia & Belarus, an extensive international & multidisciplinary collaboration of five European countries (Armenia, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia and Italy): musicians, technicians and ICT organizations to showcase the power of research & educational networks and the LoLa (LowLatency) audio-video streaming technology. Performance and presentation received a lot of positive feedback which encouraged us for launching different events for future using LoLa technology in collaboration with new European and international partners. During the panel discussion chaired by the Project Manager Maria Minaricova, the musicians as well as NREN representatives shared their feelings and experience with such large cross-border collaboration.
By participating at the NowNet and NPAPWS in the frames of EaPConnect Project, the representatives from the Eastern Partnership (EaP) region got opportunity to expand their knowledge about technologies utilising advanced networks to enable arts instruction art performance, experience master classes and live performances leveraging these technologies. The attendees were representing the National Research and Education Networks together with their users – Music and Art Institutions from their countries. All participants enjoyed this exceptional chance to meet the colleagues and representatives from institutions and their peers from all over the world advancing this realm of work.
At the end of workshop all the participants enjoyed a short sample of jazz improvisation by the musicians from Georgia and Belarus organized on the spot as a surprise.
NPAPWS is an annual gathering of artists, students, academic administrators and technologists exploring the use of interactive media in arts education and performance, prominent use cases, experience live performances leveraging advanced networks, and meet the principal institutions and individuals pushing these technologies forward.
Both the NowNet Arts and NPAPWS workshop programmes were focused on the emerging trends and technologies in distance learning and remote collaborative performance, leading edge networked performing arts solutions implementation, including the LoLa remote simultaneous performance platform, the Ultragrid high resolution video codec, ConferenceXP, H.323 Music Mode, and more.
One of the most important outcomes of these events for the EaPConnect team were the newly established contacts for potential collaborations with research and education networks and cultural institutions from the USA which will allow EaP countries to broaden collaboration all over the world.
