That’s right. There are Nuggets in Singapore. Daniel and I arrived on Saturday, July 26th as you may have learned from his post yesterday. We are attending the International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA 2008). It is a gathering of artists, museum professionals, university faculty and others who use technology to inform, educate and interact with audiences.

The sessions include a variety of perspectives that range from topics like how gaming relates to learning and actual behaviors of people to how technology affects viewer’s understanding and appreciation of art. Daniel and I are closer to the latter, presenting on Wednesday, July 31st about the integration of technology in the exhibition, Nature Holds My Camera: The Video Art of Sam Easterson. We will share how we organized the exhibition to maximize the use of technology and make visitors to the gallery feel more comfortable in the role of an art viewer.

Thus far we have attended some sessions, including a keynote Lecture by Larry Lessig. He talked about the Creative Commons project and how US copyright laws affect the creative process. The discussion is a complex one that has many opposing viewpoints. If you are interested, you should check out an engaging lecture that Lessig presented at last year’s TED conference.

And what about Singapore? Well here are a few nuggets for you about the Garden City:

• Singapore was settled by the British in 1826. You can still see this influence today in things like street names, high tea service at restaurants, and architecture.
• In 1965, Singapore became an independent nation.
• The time difference between Indianapolis and Singapore is 12 hours!
• The infamous Singapore Sling was said to have been invented at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. If you want a recipe, you can find one from the National Library Singapore.
• Don’t miss our Flickr set with images from Singapore!

Have a burning question about Singapore or the ISEA conference? I’ll do my best to answer it…