Culture Arcade

A Playful Way To Explore And Connect

Join us! On August 30th, Culture Arcade opens at the Prince Claus Fund Gallery in Amsterdam. Video games have become a worldwide phenomenon, and you can come play in our interactive exhibition and game room. Culture Arcade features games with cultural themes that offer creative insights into the value of cultural heritage around the world.

Digital Sci-Fi by Omar Gilani

Also at Culture Arcade, lose yourself in sci-fi works by Omar Gilani, a young digital artist from Pakistan, whose imagination takes his country into a fantasy future.

I wanted to explore Pakistan in an alternate reality, within genres I was personally interested in, which are science fiction and fantasy. I wanted to show how things remain the same no matter how much they may appear to change. And, of course, I just wanted to make trucks fly.

– Omar Gilani

Students (Re)building Lost Cultural Heritage

During a unique educational programme, students come together in the Culture Arcade to reconstruct destroyed heritage using Minecraft. The reconstructions are inspired by the Prince Claus Fund’s previous rescue operations of heritage threatened by natural disasters or conflict situations. For more info and reservations, please see this invitation (in Dutch).

Sign Up To Make A Game

Also as part of the public programme, 20 people will come together in the Culture Arcade over 7 weeks to work together on making their own game: an interactive narrative in Twine or a playable world in Minecraft. You will learn the basics of game making, game design, game art, and narrative. Game developers and artists will also be giving presentations of their work. More information in this letter or register right here!

YCreate & Next Generation Programme

Culture Arcade is part of YCreate, a storytelling platform that shares stories of young creatives worldwide. Culture Arcade and YCreate are initiatives of the Prince Claus Fund’s Next Generation Programme. The Next Generation programme works with and for young people (ages 15 – 30). The aims of the Next Generation programme are to facilitate their exploration of alternative narratives and to promote learning through exchange in safe spaces. In this way, the programme aims to contribute to an inclusive society in which young people are motivated and inspired to explore their own identity and their relationship with the world around them.

Information

Culture Arcade at the Prince Claus Fund Gallery
30 August – 12 October 2018
Prince Claus Fund Gallery
Herengracht 603, Amsterdam
Opening hours: Wednesday and Thursday 13:00 – 17:00, Saturday 10:00 – 17:00
Admission is free
For groups, please contact Dilara Jaring, d.jaring@princeclausfund.nl

Virtual Reality Volunteers

Want to volunteer to help visitors experience Virtual Reality in the Culture Arcade? Please check here for more info and how to apply.

Downloads

Background

The Prince Claus Fund together with the VALUE Foundation have opened Culture Arcade to draw attention to games as a creative means to understanding other cultures. Through video games and narratives, players can enter the reality of people they may know little about, particularly in the countries where the Fund is active, in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

About the Prince Claus Fund

The Prince Claus Fund supports, connects and celebrates artists and cultural practitioners where cultural expression is under pressure.

About the VALUE foundation

The VALUE foundation is a Dutch Foundation that works internationally to design, facilitate, and conduct research, development, and outreach on the crossroads of gaming and academia.

About Omar Gilani

Omar is a digital artist, illustrator and designer from Peshawar, Pakistan. He was trained as an engineer, with an MSc in Mechanical Design and an MPhil in Robotics. He decided to build a career that is more in line with his interests and started working as a visual designer and consultant in various fields including corporate design, mobile games and apps, animated TV series and product marketing campaigns. Gilani was supported by the Prince Claus Fund in 2017.