(UK): January – February 2011
Whilst studying for an MA at Goldsmiths in 2010, Emilie Giles attended a Guest Lecture by Blast Theory Executive Producer Julianne Pierce. Following the talk Emilie got in touch with Blast Theory and applied for an internship in early 2011. Emilie stays in contact with the Blast Theory team and we continue to provide ongoing mentoring and career advice.
About Emilie
Emilie Giles is a maker, producer and educator, her work spanning creative technology, crafting and pervasive gaming. She is now Co-Director of Codasign, an education company which teaches people how to be creative with open source tools, and is also Associate Producer for Caper.
She has taught workshops and ran projects for Furtherfield, the V&A, Technology Will Save Us, MzTEK, Meanwhile Space, University of Westminster, The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and the Royal College of Art . She has recently been teaching at University of East London with Cliff Hammett and Gareth Foote leading a module in Multimedia Hardware.
An alumnus of MA Interactive Media: Critical Theory and Practice, Emilie is a member of the Open Systems Association (OSA), a group interested in critical and theoretical practices with regards to media and computation.
Emilie is currently working for The Open University as a consulting artist on a project exploring how eTextiles can aid or enhance gallery and museum experiences for blind and visually impaired people. Recent projects also include The Conductive Craft Company in collaboration with designer Alan Waldock exploring how crafts can be augmented with technology, Assembling Ecologies, a project with artist Mirko Nikolic developing bio-sensoring systems using tools such as Arduino and soft circuits and Apocalypse London, a pervasive game which was designed for the London Metropolitan Archives in collaboration with Historical Interpreter Tom Furber, exploring the apocalypses which London has faced yet still stood through.
About the volunteership
Ever since my BA I have been fascinated by Blast Theory’s work. To spend two months with an artist group who inspires you so much is such a pleasure as you get a real insight into the inner workings of their practice.
My main task during the internship was to work on the visual interface of Riders Have Spoken, an audio archive of Rider Spoke. Being given this level of responsibility was both slightly terrifying but also amazing because as well as testing my creative skills to the max, it also gave me the opportunity to build on my confidence in a very real way, not something which a lot of internships allow you to do. My other area of focus was press and marketing. I was responsible for sending out a lot of the press for A Machine To See With when it premiered at Sundance Festival. As a result of me contacting him, the Guardian’s Keith Stuart wrote a very positive article about the piece, complimenting Blast Theory as being ‘agenda setters’ in the area of location-based urban gaming.
Sitting in on meetings with Matt, Ju and Nick was one of my favourite things as it was fascinating to see how they work together on a professional level. This helped me to re-evaluate the way in which I collaborate with others on creative projects and how to approach my own practice in a more professional way.
The best bit about the internship by far was experiencing the sense of camaraderie which is felt within Blast Theory. I’m so grateful I took the time to embark on the internship; it’s the sort of experience which I think always stays with you and is invaluable on a personal as well as professional level.