A Multimedia Laboratory is being created at the Academy of Fine Arts (ASP) in Katowice. Its users will have at their disposal a proprietary interface with a modular system, world-class immersive sound systems and a virtual acoustics system, innovative in Europe.
The laboratory will offer unprecedented opportunities for immersive events at the intersection of visual arts and sound. It will be equipped with a pioneering system for multi-channel sound emission in the 3D domain and a system for simulating the acoustics of live rooms during concerts and recording sessions.
“The presence of the Multimedia Laboratory at the ASP will allow further research into sound. It is worth mentioning that the studio’s resources will include a wealth of musical and experimental instrumentation. This will provide an opportunity to explore completely new areas and related tools. The opportunity to work in an environment of state-of-the-art technology is also an opportunity to improve the quality of our education in a professional environment, in line with the requirements of the dynamically changing multimedia market” says Professor Grzegorz Hańderek, rector of the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice.
The academy’s staff and students will have the opportunity for creative activity at the interface of sound design and visual arts. The launch of the laboratory means that it will be possible to open a residency programme, as well as to organise lectures and audiovisual performances. The university is planning cooperation with, among others, the Hungarian Spatial Sound Institute and the Wrocław Sound Landscape Research Laboratory.
The plans include innovative projects that will revolutionise the approach to sound in the future, as well as artistic residencies under the guidance of space creators. The space will serve as a platform for the exchange of knowledge about sound and scientific approaches to it and will also be a space for sharing good practices, bringing together the creative, scientific and business communities. The facility is scheduled to open at the end of April/beginning of May.
Arkadiusz Słomczyński