RIVERS&BRIDGES is a world-wide project for radio and all communications media (Internet, BBS, Telephone, Fax, etc.) initiated by the ARS ACUSTICA Experts Group of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).


The main event of the RIVERS&BRIDGES project took place from September 1 to 7, 1996 in the context of the ARS ELECTRONICA FESTIVAL'96 with the main events taking place on September 5 ... but RIVERS&BRIDGES will probably never really end ... persisting as long as the rivers and bridges themselves.
It is intended that the communications infrastructure created during the project should continue afterwards as a platform for research, discussion and collaboration ... as an open laboratory for new projects.
Such a project, "RECYCLING THE FUTURE" began in July 1997 with 10 days at "Hybrid Workspace" at Documenta X, Kassel.

RIVERS&BRIDGES and RECYCLING THE FUTURE - are a further development of the immensely successful "HORIZONTALRADIO", a global multimedia radio/Internet project (June 22/23 1995). Local events -- performances, installations, concerts -- were incorporated into the tapestry of the project and broadcast, sampled, remixed and rebroadcast, live, by 24 radio stations on 30 radio channels - and on the Internet - for 24 hours.


"RIVERS&BRIDGES" should be understood as a basic concept (the relationship of rivers to bridges and bridges to rivers) that can be interpreted literally, metaphorically, poetically, historically. "Flowing" and "Bridging" are often used metaphorically in describing the movement of information in the networks and the globe-spanning transmission systems that comprise them. The theme therefore allows a broad scope for projects of all kinds and it is hoped that artists of every discipline as well as many creative non-artists will join in the project.


Background pattern after a 1920 design by Varvana Stepanova.


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