Thomas Soetens & Kora Van den Bulcke (Workspace Unlimited)
Kora Van den Bulcke
Kora Van den Bulcke (1972, Ghent, B) graduated as an architect at the University of Montreal in 1996. She received the Gold Medal of the Royal Architecture Institute of Canada for the "Invention Factory - Cultural House of the Future" project. From 1996-2000 she practiced as an architect in established architecture firms in the Netherlands, Belgium and Canada. Her theoretical architecture projects have been exhibited in museums and architecture institutions such as The Architecture Foundation (London) and the Lighthouse (Glasgow) for their innovative approach in architecture and technology.
Her vision of architecture is not limited to the design of future physical spaces, but also includes the creation of "hybrid space": mixed/augmented environments that coexist within the global culture of the Web. Though conceptually engaged with the materiality of architectural space and urban life, her creative output focuses on immersive technologies and electronic networks that activate a new field of relations between people, architecture and the broader environment.
In 2001 Kora Van den Bulcke associated with visual artist Thomas Soetens and co-founded Workspace Unlimited new media organization. Workspace Unlimited has been commissioned to create site-specific installations by leading media art institutions and festivals such as such as the new center for Experimental Media and Performance Art Center - EMPAC (New York), the V2_Institute for the Unstable Media (Rotterdam), the Museum of the Moving Image (New York), LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial (Gijón, Spain), the Society for Arts and Technology (Montreal) and Elektra festival (Montreal). The collective's work has been highlighted in numerous publications, including Space Time Play (Birkhauser 2007) and Interact or Die! (V2_publications 2007). In addition to the artistic practice Workspace Unlimited also initiates research projects and workshops in collaboration with an international network of researchers, art institutions and universities.
Thomas Soetens
Thomas Soetens (1972, Kortrijk, B) graduated in 1992 as a visual artist with a master degree of arts at the St-Lucas School of Arts, Belgium. From 1992-2000 he had an independent practice as a painter and was represented on a permanent basis by established galleries in Belgium.
For the last few years Thomas Soetens has been creating a unique conceptual framework: an international hybrid platform that reflects the impact of contemporary technologies through new forms of interactive and participatory artwork created with game engines. His work addresses the intrusive character of technology, as well as the human (un)consciousness of the hybrid realities that emerge between artificial environments and their inhabitants, both virtual and real.
Since 2001 Thomas Soetens is founder and leading artist of Workspace Unlimited new media organization. Workspace Unlimited has been commissioned to create site-specific installations by leading media art institutions and festivals such as such as the new center for Experimental Media and Performance Art Center - EMPAC (New York), the V2_Institute for the Unstable Media (Rotterdam), the Museum of the Moving Image (New York), LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial (Gijón, Spain), the Society for Arts and Technology (Montreal) and Elektra festival (Montreal). The collective's work has been highlighted in numerous publications, including Space Time Play (Birkhauser 2007) and Interact or Die! (V2_publications 2007). In addition to the artistic practice Workspace Unlimited also initiates research projects and workshops in collaboration with an international network of researchers, art institutions and universities.
Residencies (selection)
Artists
A curated overview of visual artists in Flanders.
Flanders Arts Institute
Expertise centre for performing arts, music and visual arts.