title: instrumental gaitanaki
type: co-created interactive art installation
year: 2014
author/composer: Olivia Kotsifa (concept, interaction design, digital fabrication, co-creation), Alexandros Kontogeorgakopoulos (interaction design, sound design, programming, electronics)
funded by: the Audiovisual Arts Department, Ionian University (Oliva Kotsifa’s artistic residency)
first exhibition: Tsepelovo main square, Greece, July 2014
Gaitanaki is a form of Greek folk circle dance originated in Thessaly and widespread in Epirus. The instrumental gaitanaki is an artistic installation that aspires to bring the community kids together. During a workshop, the participants kids learn about the dance, its cultural context and at the same time they gain knowledge in digital fabrication, block printing as well as in sound recording. The maypole ribbons are weaved around the main pole and when touched, trigger the sounds previously recorded by the participants while their motion controls their timbral characteristics.