Return/Remind

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It’s been almost a week now since we returned to our homes, and I am missing Eindhoven and STRP Biennale already. Mostly I  miss it because of the people I was there with, which I can now call ‘friends’, but also because of the dutch’s  bikes and their ‘easy going’ attitude, their lovely food & drinks, their professionalism and the fact that they speak such a good english :) )

STRP Biennale was a good experience,professionally and personally. As an event manager apprentice, as a marketing & PR learner, as a european citizen, as a romanian living in UK, working in the Netherlands. It was good. Even though it was the first time SAMPAD partnered with STRP, through Leonardo Da Vinci Programme, I feel that this is the begging of a beautiful relationship.

From the things that impressed me most, I will start with the professionalism with which Sampad dealt with the placement, making sure that the 2 weeks travel is not missing anything, and we’re not forgetting anything at home;) Then,I have to mention our welcoming host Lisa, which helped us get around Eindhoven, showing us around town’s best places to eat, drink and have fun. The amazing crew from the festival, although a bit confused at the beginning with our presence, managed to integrate us in the big hard working family. To move on to more serious business, I was overwhelmed by the amazing works of art and installations I’ve seen at the festival, innovative and interactive, for both kids and grown-ups. I am proud to have helped at building The Marshmallow Laser Feast, as it was one of the most appreciated interactive installations at the festival. Also, I was more than impressed with the music night’s line-up, and gutted I couldn’t see all the acts   taking place.

Overall, I am happy to say that I’ve learnt plenty from this short trip to Eindhoven, from which, a couple of words in dutch, a bit more about audience engagement and interpretive assistance, and gained some important knowledge regarding setting up and running a digital technology  festival.

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Gonna miss you guys!

Things to do / see

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Its been some busy days at STRP Biennal, starting with Friday’s opening, Saturday’s  night party and a really busy start of the week. As Expo hosts we have to present the installations/works of art and engage the audience in discovering and interacting with them.

[Credits @ Idriss]

Tho we managed to have a bit of fun during Saturday night’s shift , by taking turns and going into the concert area, we all agreed that is was a waste of time  for all of us to work, as only one exhibition room was open. Our team leader unexpectedly decided to disappear and we were left waiting for 7.00 am to come.This wasn’t the first or  last of our disappointments, but we  managed to overcome it and enjoy the night.

With Sunday off,  we started  on Monday, with a really busy schedule, and a lot guided tours to follow.  Kids from the ages of 4 till 18, visited STRP and learnt more about digital technologies and interactive installations, while we learnt more and more about the works of art we were hosting. Each of us, had a favorite after all.

Here’s Simon and his Waterfall Swing. Idriss’s favorite too.

[Credits @ Idriss]

 Alex is a fan of the Muscle Game, tho I didn’t catch its name. [She loves working with kids, and kids love her back]

Me and my hovering chair

Days go by easily in the Light Lounge 

[Credits @ Idriss]

And when we’re tired, we go in here, and play

Marshmallow Laser Feast

Setting up / Settling in

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Breakfast, coffee, and we were gone. It was only  about half 7 but we wanted to get there in time; too bad nobody told Them we’re coming ;) Joke or not, even though our coordinator and  the producer knew we were there to help and get things done,  nobody else knew about us and our purpose there. It was  about lunch time when we started doing things around the venue, each of us “shadowing” the tech crew and the artists. Here’s what we witnessed [don' t get jealous]

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The New Machine Era –  Setting up / Testing

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‘Valerie, my crystal sister’ by Lucas  Maassen

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Marshmallow Laser Feast  -  Setting up

[more pics to follow]

It was a really busy day after all , and we did get some good things out of   it, met some really interesting people. Slowly and surely, we’re approaching D – day. They expect about 2000 people for Friday’s opening and about 7000 people for Saturday night’s show. Around 150 volunteers and expo hosts jobs  have assigned. Busy nights ahead. More stories to tell. More things to learn.

STRP Biennale [Here' we go]

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Before I start writing more about STRP Festival and the amazing things we’re about to see here, I want to introduce my 5 new colleagues and maybe soon to be friends, with whom I’m sharing my dinners, beers and issues. In no particular order,  sweet tooth Idriss, hands’on Alex, always sleepy Simon, funny- grumpy Shelly and ‘fuck’all Chris [no offence to anyone] . We all come from a somehow different art  background, but we are all looking for a new experience here at STRP.

After 1hr flight from Birmingham Int and 1.30 train journey from Amsterdam to Eindhoven,  we were greeted by Lisa and her bike, because,as we knew already, Holland is the mother of all bikes and tulips [and also Philips] and walked to the hotel [ reackon an "s" would be more suitable than the "t"]. Friendly but not as cosy as imagined, our home for the next 2 weeks. Lucky Nr 8, with a shower attached, I am the only one with a bit of privacy,  as the others have to get out of their room in order to bath.

P1140050Simon, Idriss & Chris @STRP

Lisa took us to met Willem, one of the guys in charge of the festival& volunteers and we had a quick tour around the venue, in the pre-production stage. [ we were to come back the next day at 8am]. After a lot of walking around the city and getting a bit lost [  heading to the motorway, as Alex wanted us to] we all ended up having dinner and beers and hugging our new beds at around 10 pm. Long, busy day, more to come.