TEDxAlbertopolis An Unparalleled Celebration Of The Arts And Sciences

LONDON – As part of its mission to increase and promote access to the arts and sciences and provide quality experiences that stay long in the memory, the Royal Albert Hall has partnered with TEDxAlbertopolis, an historic event landed in London last week.

TEDxAlbertopolis was the first TEDx event held at the Royal Albert Hall, and presented an unparalleled look at the artistic and scientific cultures that flourish within the South Kensington estate, known as Albertopolis, celebrating the ideas, motifs, concepts and philosophies that have thrived within its institutions. A community as diverse as this has produced many world-class scientists, engineers, musicians and artists and now, for the first time ever, the intransient bond between them all was showcased and applauded.

On stage David Braben throughout who has been exploring what is possible to achieve with computer technology. From developments in gaming theory to best practice in teaching Computer Science to children, David has always been at the fore. Dame Sally C Davies recently named one of the top ten most powerful women in the Uk is the Chief Medical Officer for England, guiding the Government on all medical issues, particularly Public Health. John Halpern cryptic crossword setter for The Guardian, The Times, The Financial Times, The Independent and The Daily Telegraph. Nicholas McCarthy (below on pic), born without his right hand,  the youngest solo left-handed pianist in the world. Max Barclay is a manager of Natural History Museum: when Barclay wrote to the head of the beetle collection at the Natural History Museum asking for work, little did he know that years laternot only would he work with the largest, oldest and most important beetle collection in the world, but that he would manage it. Roland Lamb is the founder and Ceo of Roli, a technology start-up which invented seaboard “Grand”, an exciting new musical instrument. It contains sensors which react to the touch via a soft, three-dimensional surface that enables unprecedentedly intuitive manipulation of the fundamental characteristics of sound. Hannah Redler is a curator of cross-discipline projects between photography, contemporary art, design, science and technology and specialising in media art. She is currently Head of Media Space and Arts Programme at the Science Museum, London. Julia Lohmann designer and researcher who occupies the threshold between design, science, art and craft, she uses her work to challenge attitudes around sustainability and materials. Deirdre Murphy curates the collections at the Historic Royal Palaces – Kensington Palace, The Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Kew Palace and the Banqueting House in Whitehall. She spends her days immersed in the history of Albertopolis and the life of its namesake, Prince Albert. Jessica Thom (above on pic), she has Tourette’s Syndrome and says ‘biscuit’ sixteen times a minute. A visual artist and a graduate of the Royal College of Art, she founded Touretteshero to celebrate the humour that can emerge from Tourette’s, challenge misconceptions about the syndrome and encourage people to familiarise themselves with the creative opportunities it presents. Andrew Shoben who founded greyworld in 1993, with a mission to transform “grey zones” in city spaces with an engaging mix of art and technology. Where these spaces were previously without function and purpose, greyworld sought to fill them with imaginative, thought-provoking, magical installations. Since then, greyworld has become a world-renowned artists’ collective, well-known for heralding a new era of public art, primarily about play, and encouraging some form of creative expression in urban spaces that usually exclude or ignore it. Ryan Francois is a foremost authority in the United States and Un ited Kingdom on all authentic jazz dance styles associated with the 1920s, 30s and 40s – especially the Lindy Hop, and his unique and very modern approach to traditional styles of dance are very much in demand. (A.A.)

The speech videos soon on TEDx