Cidade Campus & Open City: What have we learned?
(28 November, 2012)

Over the course of two days the Cidade (or City) strands of Guimarães 2012 gathered together a series of keynotes and workshops to animate ideas of innovation and openness in the future development of smaller cities in particular – representatives from across Europe and beyond (Brazil, Nigeria) brought their projects, experiences and opinions to generate debate. Read more

Cidade Campus: Re-imagining the possibility of the smaller city
(30 October, 2012)

The Open City team is in production in Guimarães for the Cidade Campus on the 2nd & 3rd November. The event will be hosted by both new institutions Plataforma das Artes e da Criatividade and The Design Institute.

Over the course of two days Open City will be represented through keynote addresses by Charles Leadbeater on the Hospitable City, Dick Penny (CEO Watershed) on Open Culture, Marleen Stikker (CEO Waag Society) on Open Technology and Greg Hadfield on Open Government. Read more

A guided tour of the future of Guimarães
(10 September, 2012)

In a couple of weeks ‘Uninvited Guests’ and Duncan Speakman from Circumstance are travelling out to Portugal to run auditions for their mobile performance ‘Give me Back my Broken Night’.

Give me Back my Broken Night is a mobile performance (in Portuguese) using pervasive technology that asks audiences to collaboratively imagine the future of Guimarães. Read more

Balloon Mapping in Guimarães
(24 July, 2012)

Back in May, I (James Bridle) went to Guimarães in Northern Portugal, one of two European Cities of Culture for 2012, to run a workshop on open mapping, in association with Watershed and the Open Cities project. I was back there this week, for another workshop, this time for two days on aerial photography and balloon mapping, again hosted by the wonderful CAAA and LCD. Read more

How smart is your Guimarães?
(23 July, 2012)

Last week I traveled to Guimarães to run a design fiction workshop as part of our Open Cities programme.

The workshop was inspired by a talk by Sam Kinsley of University of West of England on Design Fiction at the Pervasive Media Studio.  ‘Design Fiction’ describes ways of using storytelling techniques, especially in the form of video, to make speculative design ideas feel real. Read more

Open branding – Guimarães 2012 vs London 2012
(20 July, 2012)

Just arrived back from Guimarães and something that the Open City team have been discussing whilst in the city resonates even more strongly now with the concept of openness.

As you move around Guimarães the European Capital of Culture logo is everywhere. The heart motif is in every window, on every poster, a constant presence. But importantly, within the boundaries of the shape it is always different – open for adaption. Read more

Your future Guimarães: is it smart?
(5 July, 2012)

Next week we will be in Guimarães hosting a free workshop about shaping the future of Guimarães which will be part of a short film. Can technology be a driver for action and interaction? We will be in the new Design Institute on Saturday 14 July from 14.00 – 18.00.

Sign up by e-mailing opencity@watershed.co.uk to book your free place. Read more

James Bridle will create aerial maps of Guimarães with balloons
(28 June, 2012)

We are really looking forward to the second workshop in July ‘Walking the Sky’, where participants are going to be walking around Guimarães sporting a bundle of massive balloons with cameras attached to it.  This will then generate the imagery for the aerial maps.

The mapping project is part of the Open City programme for Guimarães and its focus is precisely that: Altering both the map and the reality of the city through interventions, artworks and new perspectives. But how is this remapping made public, made visible, and most importantly, made “open”? Read more

James Bridle & Charles Leadbeater kick-start openness in Guimarães
(1 June, 2012)

 ’Everything propagates faster in cities: fashion, ideas, disease.’ (Charles Leadbeater)

The Open City programme launched this week with two commissions focusing on openness as it relates to governance, design, technology and culture in contemporary cities. Read more

A project exploring openness in Guimarães
(22 April, 2012)

Guimarães in Northern Portugal is joint European Capital of Culture 2012 . Throughout the year the city will host a vast artistic programme of activities including art and architecture, performance and cinema, and social and community based projects. As part of this series of events Watershed is producing one of the elements of the Cidade (City) activities – Open Cities.

Read more