CUP4 Creativity – the first 6 months and beyond
The project aims to fight digital loneliness by awakening dormant creativity of citizens through advanced technologies. In its framework a Cultural IT Ecosystem will be created to provide an online interface to reach out to target groups and facilitate online and offline networking. For the latter purpose, a technology-enhanced multifunctional community building (called Art&Tech Centre (ATC) for now) will be established in the cultural quarter of Újbuda, serving as an inspirational showroom and workshop location introducing contemporary digital creations and new media projects along with their underlying technologies. Another important mission of the ATC is to integrate existing local cultural stakeholders into a decentralized network of service providers and to create workshops to better serve the needs of citizens. In order to further study and boost creativity, various so-called Creative Outposts will be installed at numerous locations, which will serve as entry points to the CUP Ecosystem.
The preparation phase of the project started last summer. Facilitated by project partner SOART, two international Demola courses have been launched in September titled “Discovering Creativity Within” and “Blending Art and Technology”. Also, a course at Corvinus University of Budapest mapped the needs of students in the area, while another course at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics gave valuable input regarding specific details on the interior design of the ATC. Cooperation with different universities will be further extended in 2021.
Several project partners have already jumped into action under the coordination of Újbuda Municipality as Main Urban Authority and urban development expert, BURST.
MEET, a service design agency and KÉK (Hungarian Contemporary Architecture Centre) have started mapping of citizens and cultural stakeholders of Újbuda respectively. POPCODE has laid down the foundations of the IT platform. Eleven Blokk Art Foundation has introduced artists and their studios/workshops to the project.
Also, a Creative Board of renowned experts and artists was brought to life in October with the purpose of feeding the creative framework of CUP, the details of which are being fine-tuned these first months of 2021.
As a joint work between the Management and the Creative Board, the functions of the Art & Tech Centre have been further elaborated, adding an important educational function to the above described concept.
From 2021, project implementation continues with the ambition of introducing the first concrete outputs by the end of this year, so citizens of Újbuda district can be brought closer to one another through the power of creativity.
Culture and cultural heritage
