Solar Power for Artists Workshop Series

Solar Power Art Making Workshop Series!!!

Learn about solar powed sound art, kinetic sculpture, design methods, and more! These workshops are for adults.

Workshop sessions include solar power art design methods, solar power sound art, and solar powered kinetic art. Participants will build small solar art projects they can take with them. We will discuss the history of artists working in the field, common conceptual approaches, and a number of technical methods. No prior experience with solar power or electronics is necessary.

All workshops will be taught by Alex Nathanson.

Need-based/ sliding scale discounted admission is available by request. Email alex@energytransitiondesign.com to request discounted admission.

Saturday July 27

Workshop #1

10am-1pm: Design Methods for Solar Art and Education Projects

This workshop will introduce participants to the Logic & Behavior design framework for conceptualizing and creating solar power art and education projects. The framework will be introduced to participations through a series of small hands on experiments and projects.

Workshop #2

2pm-5pm: Solar Power Sound Workshop

This workshop will introduce participants to a range of techniques for creating solar powered sound making devices that can be applied to instruments, installations, performances, and more. We will discuss the history of the field, common conceptual approaches, and a number of technical methods. All participants will build their own solar powered instrument in the workshop.

Three techniques for building instruments will be demonstrated.

• Direct drive acoustic instruments
• Solar powered analog synthesis
• Sonifying light frequencies

Sunday July 28

Workshop #3

10am-1pm: Solar Power Kinetic Art Workshop: Bots, Drawing Machines, & Kinetic Sculptures

This workshop will introduce participants to a range of techniques for creating small solar powered robotic devices that can be applied to making sculptures, draw bots, percusion instruments, and more. We will discuss the history of artists working in the field, common conceptual approaches, and a number of technical methods. All participants will build their own solar powered mechanical creature or device.

Workshop #4

2pm-5pm: Solar Power Art Project Play Testing

Participants will be shown new projects from the upcoming Solar Power for Artists book to play test. They will be given the choice of a number of different projects to experiment with. This workshop will build on the techniques and concepts from introduced in previous workshops. All participants will build a project they can take with them. Participants will get the most out of this workshop if they have already attended at least 1 of our other workshops.

About

About the venue:

The workshop will occur at Flux IV in Long Island City, Queens, NY.

About the Instructor:

Alex Nathanson is a designer, multimedia artist, technologist, and educator who has been working with solar power for a decade. His work is primarily focused on exploring both the experimental and practical applications of sustainable energy technologies, particularly photovoltaic solar power. He is the author of the book A History of Solar Power Art and Design and leads the education platform Solar Power for Artists as well as the design studio Energy Transition Design LLC.

About Solar Power for Artists:

Solar Power for Artists is a design studio and education platform focused on both creative and traditional applications of sustainable energy, particularly photovoltaic solar power. We're making sustainable energy tangible, accessible, and understandable. We provide a wide range of design and education services for community organizations, cultural and educational institutions, and businesses in the sustainable energy industry. Our education platform provides accessible, often open source, resources for learning about creative applications of photovoltaic solar power. This includes an historic archive, workshops, and tutorials, among other initiatives. More info is available at https://www.solarpowerforartists.com/