Music and AI liven up the connecting corridor in Passeig de Gràcia
Metro users taking the connecting corridor in the Passeig de Gràcia station will be able to enjoy a new visual and sound experience for three months, combining the digital and analogue worlds through an interactive system, plus a live music space to favour the work of musicians working in the network. The Ars Gràcia project by Artificia will be applied as a three-month pilot project after winning the challenge to improve user experience here, out of a total of 52 entries, and comes within the context of the metro centenary.
ARS artificial intelligence will create music and video based on the presence of users and the interactions they generate during the walk along the corridor. Everybody will become a musical note that forms part of changing patterns of sounds, visuals and light beats along a 35-metre section of the corridor, generating a constantly evolving audiovisual atmosphere.
The project includes a space for performing live music, where members of the Barcelona Metro Buskers Association (AMUC) will be able to play on the ARS Stage with excellent acoustics and a chance to boost their performances through the visual technology implemented in the connecting corridor at the station.
This was the winning project in the challenge to improve user experience in the interchange between lines L3 and L4 through music, launched by Barcelona City Council and Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), through Fundació BIT Hàbitat and in conjunction with the Fundació Barcelona Music Lab.
The pilot project will only be installed in a specific section of the corridor. It has received 50,000 euros in funding, covering roughly 80% of the cost, plus a prize of 3,000 euros.
ARS Gràcia is a project by Artificia, a Catalan platform for the promotion and dissemination of artificial intelligence in the arts, with the support of the Institute for Research into Artificial Intelligence (IIIA-CSIC), Kreomúsica and the Barcelona Metro Buskers Association (AMUC).
Two other projects each won prizes of 3,000 euros: ‘Atmósferas en Tránsito’, by the agency we are Labels.team, and ‘El Cànon de Barcelona’, by the team Flop Work.
