Do you have memories of the Isle of Thanet’s early experiments with cable TV, the Rediffusion service?
On October 29, 1929, Frank Austin got permission from Broadstairs Council to run a pair of wires from his house in Church Street to Magdala Road. St. Peters. From that, the Rediffusion network was built and, by the 1970s, it had over 100,000 subscribers across the region.
If you were one, artist Dan Thompson wants to hear from you.
The Isle of Thanet has always been a place of connections, and in a workshop at Margate’s old Woolworth building, he aims to map old technological networks like Rediffusion, digital networks now, and look at what might happen in the future.
Drop in to help him make connections between the Isle’s everyday digital life (from council apps to airbnb) and the past of Admiralty Telegrams, Rediffusion and signalling stations. The results will be used to imagine what a digital future for the Isle of Thanet could look like.
The workshop has been commissioned by Genetic Moo, as part of their Now Digital festival.
NOW Digital is organised by artist duo Genetic Moo. Over the last two years, they have been working with Dreamland Margate on large scale projects helping hundreds of children and adults get creative with computers and NOW Digital will showcase the results.
The festival also includes work by artists from across the Isle. At NOW Digital you can engage with interactive art, try your hand at creative coding and experience film, music, electronics and visuals made by a growing local digital scene. Your creations will be instantly added into this ever-changing show.
NOW Digital runs from October 18-27 at The Margate School, in the old Woolworth building on Margate High School. Dan Thompson’s workshops take place from 2pm-6pm on October 21-22
