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  • Bettina Schroeder | FourthPortal

    All Improv Perfomers All Improv Gigs Bettina Schroeder Performer Bio (Max 1000 characters) London and South East improv gigs SKRONK #4 19 July 2016 SKRONK #5 9 August 2016 London Improvisers Orchestra #38 9 July 2025 SKRONK #176 15 July 2025 SKRONK #177 2 September 2025 Load More Performer notes, message or style description http://Website or social media email or phone number

  • Bill O'Connor | FourthPortal

    All Improv Perfomers All Improv Gigs Bill O'Connor Electric Guitar & Effects Performer Bio (Max 1000 characters) London and South East improv gigs ImproVox #06 5 February 2025 Performer notes, message or style description http://Website or social media email or phone number

  • Faradena Afifi | FourthPortal

    All Improv Perfomers All Improv Gigs Faradena Afifi Viola / Vocals / Objects / Conductor Performer Bio (Max 1000 characters) London and South East improv gigs Boat-Ting Nov24 4 November 2024 Boat-Ting Oct25 6 October 2025 London Improvisers Orchestra #39 28 September 2025 London Improvisers Orchestra #36 7 June 2025 Performer notes, message or style description http://Website or social media email or phone number

  • Chris Freudenberg | FourthPortal

    All Improv Perfomers All Improv Gigs Chris Freudenberg Performer Bio (Max 1000 characters) London and South East improv gigs SKRONK #4 19 July 2016 SKRONK #5 9 August 2016 SKRONK #6 23 August 2016 SKRONK #2 21 June 2016 SKRONK #3 7 May 2016 Load More Performer notes, message or style description http://Website or social media email or phone number

  • The Cloud Under The Sea | FourthPortal

    < Back The Cloud Under The Sea The industry responsible for laying the cables for the internet traces its origins back far beyond the internet, past even the telephone, to the early days of telegraphy. It’s invisible, under-appreciated, analog. Few people set out to join the profession, mostly because few people know it exists. The Verge 19 Apr 2024 Want a career connecting the world? An immersive long read about laying the cables that the internet and we all rely upon. The home of the Fourth Portal, St Andrew's Church, is dedicated to those who work and travel the seas. This excellent long read follows the journey of those who repair the cables of the worldwide internet, revealing a fascinating life and opportunities for employment to see a whole new world. ___ "St Andrew's Waterside Church Mission for Sailors, Fishermen and Emigrants, 1864-1939 was established in 1864 to serve merchant seamen, fishermen and emigrants passing through the parish of Holy Trinity at Milton-next-Gravesend on 'sound Church principles', (ie 'high' or mainstream rather than 'low' church within the Church of England)." ( https://mar.ine.rs/stories/st-andrews-waterside-church-mission/ ) ___ “It hasn’t changed in 150 years... The Victorians did it that way and we’re doing it the same way.” "The industry responsible for this crucial work traces its origins back far beyond the internet, past even the telephone, to the early days of telegraphy. It’s invisible, underappreciated, analog. Few people set out to join the profession, mostly because few people know it exists. Others come to the field from merchant navies, marine construction, cable engineering, geology, optics, or other tangentially related disciplines. When Fumihide Kobayashi, the submersible operator — a tall and solidly built man from the mountain region of Nagano — joined KCS at the age of 20, he thought he would be working on ship maintenance, not working aboard a maintenance ship. He had never been on a boat before, but Hirai enticed him to stay with stories of all the whales and other marine creatures he would see on the remote ocean. Once people are in, they tend to stay. For some, it’s the adventure — repairing cables in the churning currents of the Congo Canyon and enduring hull-denting North Atlantic storms. Others find a sense of purpose in maintaining the infrastructure on which society depends, even if most people’s response when they hear about their job is, But isn’t the internet all satellites by now? The sheer scale of the work can be thrilling, too. People will sometimes note that these are the largest construction projects humanity has ever built or sum up a decades-long resume by saying they’ve laid enough cable to circle the planet six times. The world is in the midst of a cable boom, with multiple new transoceanic lines announced every year. However, there is growing concern that the industry responsible for maintaining these cables is running perilously lean. There are 77 cable ships in the world, according to data supplied by SubTel Forum, but most are focused on the more profitable work of laying new systems. Only 22 are designated for repair, and it’s an ageing and eclectic fleet. Often, maintenance is their second act. Some, like Alcatel’s Ile de Molene, are converted tugs. “One of the biggest problems we have in this industry is attracting new people to it,” said Constable. He recalled another panel he was on in Singapore meant to introduce university students to the industry. “The audience was probably about 10 university kids and 60 old grey people from the industry just filling out their day,” he said. When he speaks with students looking to get into tech, he tries to convince them that subsea cables are also part — a foundational part — of the tech industry. “They all want to be data scientists and that sort of stuff,” he said. “But for me, I find this industry fascinating. You’re dealing with the most hostile environment on the planet, eight kilometres deep in the oceans, working with some pretty high technology, travelling all over the world. You’re on the forefront of geopolitics, and it’s critical for the whole way the world operates now.” The industry’s biggest recruiting challenge, however, is the industry’s invisibility. It’s a truism that people don’t think about infrastructure until it breaks, but they tend not to think about fixing it, either. In his 2014 essay, “Rethinking Repair,” professor of information science Steven Jackson argued that contemporary thinking about technology romanticizes moments of invention over the ongoing work of maintenance, though it is equally important to the deployment of functional technology in the world. There are few better examples than the subsea cable industry, which, for over a century, has been so effective at quickly fixing faults that the public has rarely had a chance to notice. Or as one industry veteran put it, “We are one of the best-kept secrets in the world, because things just work.” https://www.theverge.com/c/24070570/internet-cables-undersea-deep-repair-ships For more: Security, Infrastructure Previous Next

  • Linked Data Search For Donors To Leopold McClintock's 1857 Franklin search expedition | FourthPortal

    < Back Linked Data Search For Donors To Leopold McClintock's 1857 Franklin search expedition Wikidata, linked data, indirectly published. The Fourth Portal Lab hosts a plaque dedicated to the crew lost searching for the Northwest Passage in 1845. This PhD research uses a form of linking data to decipher the donors who paid for a search party to go out and find the ships. All Well Polar Notes by Allegra Rosenberg 7 Dec 2022 Example of linking data The Fourth Portal Lab hosts a plaque dedicated to the crew lost searching for the Northwest Passage in 1845. This PhD research uses a form of linking data to decipher the donors who paid for a search party to find the ships. ___ Using the list included in the book The Voyage of the Fox, I sought out biographical detail for as many of the donors to Leopold McClintock’s 1857 expedition in search of Sir John Franklin as I could find. The list is a fascinating cross-section of Victorian society: from artists to Chartists, musicians to engineers, Navy and Army men to Bishops, all invested in the ongoing public project that was the search for Franklin. There are many rich peers and notable MPs on the list, but there are also many nigh-anonymous Esqs. and Misses who gave just a few shillings. Naturally I was able to find far more biographical detail on the wealthier and more famous donors—however, in opening this up as a Public Humanities project I hope to receive comments and input that will expand the available information to hopefully include more details about the unidentified donors. ___ Full details here The Donors of the Fox Posted on December 7, 2022 by admin This summer, I was the recipient of the generous Digital Humanities Fellowship from NYU. My proposed project was a broad-reaching initiative called “Visualizing the Victorian Polar Network,” but once the fellowship began I quickly realized I had to narrow my view, and ended up settling on a revised version of my project where I would create an interactive, annotated biographical database of all of the donors to Leopold McClintock’s 1857 Franklin search expedition, spearheaded by Lady Jane Franklin as a private expedition to look for her missing husband and his crew after the Admiralty had abdicated all responsibility for the continuing search. cont ... https://allegrarosenberg.notion.site/9d3c4db5a6f743668405ef7166729358?v=25c9bbaa820c4542b8e1a6278f5ec7c7 For more: Machine Learning, Linked Data, Meta Tags Previous Next

  • Fourth Portal | Gravesend

    Fourth Portal at St Andrews Art Centre is a cafe-bar work exhibition events space nestled by the Thames in Gravesend.  Open to all and displaying old and advanced technologies, it provides a glimpse of the AI world ahead in a relaxed community atmosphere.   GRAVESEND Fourth Portal at St Andrew's Waterside Mission Church, Gravesend, 2023-2024 The Past and Future always meet in the Present Showcase List Glance Drilling For Oil | An Immersive Performance - Audience Snapshot, Saturday, 31 August 2025 Our beautiful, chilled-out Fourth Portal, nestled by the River Thames in Gravesend, ran from May 2023 until November 2024, gradually drawing out the town's innovators, creators, entrepreneurs, and the curious. The former seafarers chapel was transformed into a relaxed social space and venue introducing advanced technologies surrounded by an eclectic array of furnishings, books and retro computers. The Macs were free to use, fast internet, a licensed bar, coffee roasted in HMP Mount purchased directly from the growers, and much more, took place under stunning stained glass windows. Innovation Showcase The Innovation Showcase was a one-day immersive event held in Gravesend that brought together artists, engineers, academics, and entrepreneurs to explore the intersection of creativity, technology, and local community. See more and Watch the full video coming here Video Creative DIrector: Ningrui Liu 刘凝芮 Read More Rethinking how materials are made, adapted and recycled will be a prominent component of the emerging technological revolution and is central to public engagement at the Fourth Portal. For summer and autumn 2023, the Fourth Portal focused on paper before moving on to textiles for winter and spring 2024. Read More Fourth Portal stimulated knowledge exchanges by bringing technology, social gathering and innovation to life. Using specially selected objects that coalesce with local history, rich conversations have emerged, leading to collaborations and learning. FOURTH PORTAL REVIEWS All Categories Play Video Play Video 01:21 Review by Kitizo | 13 April 2024 Kizito, a civil engineer from Gravesend, had never seen the Fourth Portal before and was intrigued as he parked up outside. He found space as something special and that there should be more attention as it allows the locals to express themselves. Play Video Play Video 00:58 Review by Tim and Liz | 14 April 2024 Tim and Liz were taken by surprise when coming across the Fourth Portal on their Sunday afternoon walk. Guitar teacher and musician, Tim became fascinated by the innovative music technology and the diversity of the Fourth Portal audience. Play Video Play Video 03:41 Review by Harriet | 19 January 2024 From our inspired page. Local born and bred Harriet Hammond began coming into the Fourth Portal in the early summer of 2023 and was soon developing the Hypermedia event series along with co-founder Joe Clarey. Play Video Play Video Review by Elvin | 28 January 2024 INSPIRATIONAL AND INNOVATIVE Elvin nails the Fourth Portal in 50 seconds. Walking along the Thames Path with his partner, he wandered into the Fourth Portal and sees the robots. Head of Data Analytics for a FinTech company, Elvin immediately made the link between play, robots, learning, knowledge exchange and more. Fabulous review. https://www.fourthportal.com/event-documentation/ Play Video Play Video 00:34 Review by Jaye | 30 Nov 2022 Jaye reflecting on the Fourth Portal test site in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, from July-December 2022. See more on the Fourth Portal Great Yarmouth page. Play Video Play Video Review with Ravi | 15 March 2024 Objects stimulate the majority of the reviews about the Fourth Portal. Ravinder Singh here holds a Tights Ball made using 320 pairs of nylon tights and weighs around 10kg. This is how much landfill 320 pairs of nylon tights take up and there are around 2.5 billion pairs made each year. This ball will not begin to break down for at least 1,000 years! (Head Chemist, SwissRe Insurance, 2014). Video by Jagdev Verdee, guest Ravinder (Ravi) Singh, founder of Khalsa Aid International Background Tights Ball stories (2012-2015) https://re-imaginingtights.tumblr.com/ OPENING TIMES BUILDING ST ANDREWS St. Andrew's Waterside Mission Church, Gravesend The primary missionary purpose of the church was transferred to Tilbury when the docks were built, with services continuing until 1971 despite ongoing problems with damp. The Diocese of Rochester decided to close the church because of the cost of repairs, but it was rescued and purchased by Gravesham Borough Council in 1975 and transformed into an Arts Centre. Ceiling Representing the upturned hull of a ship Windows By Clayton and Bell around 1870, Regents St, London Plaques Various including Franklin, Singh and Beaufort BUILDING HISTORY MORE Notable history and architecture. SIR FRANCIS BEAUFORT The Beaufort Scale was created by Sir Francis Beaufort, an Irish-born Royal Navy officer and hydrographer, in the early 19th century. Beaufort developed the scale as a way to standardise the reporting of wind conditions for the British Navy, which he served in for many years MAHARAJA SIR DULEEP SINGH Maharaja Sir Duleep Singh, GCSI (4 September 1838 – 22 October 1893), or Sir Dalip Singh, and later in life nicknamed the "Black Prince of Perthshire" was the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. He was Maharaja Ranjit Singh's youngest son, the only child of Maharani Jind Kaur. JOHN FRANKLIN EXPEDITION HMS Erebus and Terror were two Royal Navy ships captained by Sir John Franklin during his ill-fated expedition to find the Northwest Passage in the Arctic in the mid-19th century. The expedition is notable for the innovative technology and equipment onboard the ships, some of which were groundbreaking for their time, including steam power, air-tight food containers, a portable observatory and desalination apparatus. CHARLES DICKENS Charles Dickens had many connections to Gravesend and lived nearby. He may have based Great Expectations on the town and possibly made a significant donation to the building of St Andrews. The Fourth Portal offers real-world and virtual spaces to meet, work, socialise, learn and enjoy events. Join us on the journey Do you have a town, building or location you wish to discuss? Get in touch. contact

  • Steve Potter | FourthPortal

    All Improv Perfomers All Improv Gigs Steve Potter Accordion Performer Bio (Max 1000 characters) London and South East improv gigs London Improvisers Orchestra #36 7 June 2025 Performer notes, message or style description http://Website or social media email or phone number

  • Fourth Portal | Hybrid Gathering and Work Space

    Fourth Portal offers hybrid events spaces - real world and virtual - for meetings, events and social gatherings using the latest technologies. Welcome Gateway to the Fourth Industrial Revolution Animating dormant places, inspiring innovation, and building do-it-yourself communities for over 25 years Snapshot of the queue for the Fourth Portal, Gravesend, 26-28 Jan 2024. Fourth Portal fosters knowledge exchange by bringing technology, social gathering and innovation together. We animate discarded locations, invigorate communities and stimulate economic activity by inspiring confidence in people, places and potential. Town centres are not returning to how they were twenty years ago. In the next ten years, businesses and jobs will have little resemblance to companies and employment from ten years ago. Knowledge being exchanged at the Fourth Portal The next generation of 'go-to towns' will be the ones with DIY culture . Recent technological breakthroughs, including generative AI, will transform how people work, learn, interact, socialise and grow. Creating the spaces and inspiring communities will be crucial for towns wishing to be part of this next wave of innovation and social revolution. GRAVES END Fourth Portal St Andrew's Waterside Mission Church Gravesend 2023 - 2024 Fourth Portal opened its second test site in May 2023 at St. Andrew's Art Centre, nestled by the River Thames in Gravesend. St. Andrew's was infrequently used, except for occasional exhibitions, meaning it was rare for residents or visitors to access the stunning interior. By implication, the entire riverside was generally deserted, except for people fishing and dog walkers. Fourth Portal attracted more than 10,000 visitors in the first ten months, putting the location firmly on the map in Gravesend, across Kent, London and the UK. Gravesend Event Archive Inspired Recent reviews FOURTH PORTAL REVIEWS All Categories Play Video Play Video 01:21 Review by Kitizo | 13 April 2024 Kizito, a civil engineer from Gravesend, had never seen the Fourth Portal before and was intrigued as he parked up outside. He found space as something special and that there should be more attention as it allows the locals to express themselves. Play Video Play Video 00:58 Review by Tim and Liz | 14 April 2024 Tim and Liz were taken by surprise when coming across the Fourth Portal on their Sunday afternoon walk. Guitar teacher and musician, Tim became fascinated by the innovative music technology and the diversity of the Fourth Portal audience. Play Video Play Video 03:41 Review by Harriet | 19 January 2024 From our inspired page. Local born and bred Harriet Hammond began coming into the Fourth Portal in the early summer of 2023 and was soon developing the Hypermedia event series along with co-founder Joe Clarey. Play Video Play Video Review by Elvin | 28 January 2024 INSPIRATIONAL AND INNOVATIVE Elvin nails the Fourth Portal in 50 seconds. Walking along the Thames Path with his partner, he wandered into the Fourth Portal and sees the robots. Head of Data Analytics for a FinTech company, Elvin immediately made the link between play, robots, learning, knowledge exchange and more. Fabulous review. https://www.fourthportal.com/event-documentation/ Play Video Play Video 00:34 Review by Jaye | 30 Nov 2022 Jaye reflecting on the Fourth Portal test site in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, from July-December 2022. See more on the Fourth Portal Great Yarmouth page. Play Video Play Video Review with Ravi | 15 March 2024 Objects stimulate the majority of the reviews about the Fourth Portal. Ravinder Singh here holds a Tights Ball made using 320 pairs of nylon tights and weighs around 10kg. This is how much landfill 320 pairs of nylon tights take up and there are around 2.5 billion pairs made each year. This ball will not begin to break down for at least 1,000 years! (Head Chemist, SwissRe Insurance, 2014). Video by Jagdev Verdee, guest Ravinder (Ravi) Singh, founder of Khalsa Aid International Background Tights Ball stories (2012-2015) https://re-imaginingtights.tumblr.com/ Event flyers for Gravesend Fourth Portal Lab Do you have a town, building or location you wish to discuss? Get in touch. contact The Fourth Portal offers real-world and virtual spaces to meet, work, socialise, learn and enjoy events. Join us on the journey.

  • Fourth Portal

    TEST PAGE - NOT PUBLIC - INVITE ONLY Platforms like Facebook and Twitter (X) are walled gardens, locking in your data. What if you could set it free on the open web? Welcome to the Cultural Memory System (CMS) Test Page Thank you for being part of our CMS prototype. This is a developing webpage to highlight our new Cultural Memory System (CMS), designed to collect information from artists, promoters, venues, and gig organisers. The aim is to help build a shared cultural archive that supports future creativity and preserves the stories behind events, people, and places. Demo: Improv Vox 2024 - 2025 Example of our interactive graph. How to use the graph Below is an interactive graph showing connections from the Lo-fi Ensemble Impro Vox sessions held at the Bridewell Theatre Bar, London, between 2024 and 2025. > Use the + and – buttons to zoom in and out. > Click or tap on a node to select it. > Press and hold a node to focus on its direct connections. > To exit focus mode, tap and hold the background. Performed or want to perform at Impro Vox? Add your details here to be included in the cultural memory of the Impro Vox sessions. [Or Click Here] About The CMS you are testing here is designed to open up the future of your events. By contributing, you will start to see how your occasions connect to each other, to venues, to artists, and to wider cultural movements. For You It supports new merchandise and marketing opportunities, helps archive and share your stories, and keeps your event data clean and structured. Most importantly, your data remains yours . It is not locked into Fourth Portal and can be used with any future technology you choose. Participate We are inviting selected venues, promoters, events, and artists from different disciplines to upload their details. These are then translated into structured, machine-readable data and visualised as interactive demo graphs like the one above. To become involved, please get in touch or complete one of the forms linked below. info@fourthportal.com Forms Below > Most fields are optional. You can provide as much or as little information as you like. > Submissions are processed automatically to test our backend and ensure your data appears correctly. In the next stage, we will return your input as clean, computer-readable data. > If you enter enough boxes, we may also show you a graph linking your events to others, as above. > This is an early prototype, so parts may still feel rough. Please let us know if you encounter any issues or have feedback. Your event is a cultural legacy Let it flow freely across the web Fill in the form to add your event and begin building your own rich cultural archive. Add Your Gig Gig Title or Artist Name* Headliner Act (if different) Venue or Location Support Act Headliner Website or Social Email* Date of Event Your Name (optional) Message / More Information Submit Fill in the form to add your venue and begin building your own rich cultural archive. Add Your Venue Venue Name Contact Name* Email* Phone Number Venue Type Music Venue Bar/Cafe Theatre Festival Conference Address Capacity (approx.) Website / Social Media Write a message Submit More Information The box colours are deliberate. We are testing whether colour-coding types of activity or groupings helps with finding information later. We recognise that concentration, dyslexia, and disability can make reading difficult, especially in the creative and live sectors. A key aim of the Cultural Memory System is to present content in multiple formats to improve accessibility. ARTIST CSM Contact Name of Artist or Act* Contact Artist Email* Genre Live Music Spoken Word / Poetry Experimental / Sound Art Theatre / Performance Visual / Multimedia Home City/Town Social Media or Website Upcoming Event Message / Anything Else Submit Performed or want to perform at Impro Vox? Add your details here to be included in the cultural memory of the Impro Vox sessions. IMPRO VOX PERFORMER 1. Performer Name (Your Name) 2. Email Address 3. Where are you based? (City/Borough/Town) 4. Have you performed at Impro Vox before? (Yes/No) Yes, I have performed before No, I have NOT performed before 5. Instrument / Role (Select Primary Instrument) 6. Instrument / Role (Select Secondary Instrument) 7. Tell us briefly about yourself Web & Social Links 8. Website 9. Instagram 10 . Facebook 11. TikTok 12. Bandcamp 13. Other Social Profile (e.g. SoundCloud, Threads) 14. Linktree or similar multi-link profile 15. Which of these should we show publicly? (Paste preferred link) Other Details 16. Do you have any upcoming performances elsewhere? 17. Do you give permission to record your performance? (Yes/No) Yes No 18. Do you give permission to use your photo? (Yes/No) Yes No 19. Your Name (if you're filling this in on someone else's behalf) 20. Message to the Impro Vox team (optional) I AGREE TO HAVE MY DETAILS SHARED ON OUR CSM PUBLIC, WITH IMPRO VOX ORGANISERS AND OTHER PARTIES. * Submit Impro Vox Performer Form

  • Martin Hackett | FourthPortal

    All Improv Perfomers All Improv Gigs Martin Hackett Melodica / Conductor Performer Bio (Max 1000 characters) London and South East improv gigs London Improvisers Orchestra #39 28 September 2025 London Improvisers Orchestra #38 9 July 2025 London Improvisers Orchestra #37 8 March 2025 London Improvisers Orchestra #36 7 June 2025 Performer notes, message or style description http://Website or social media email or phone number

  • Fourth Portal

    Ten years of research and development has been spent developing these original portal spaces focused on technology, environment and sound that offer opportunity for entrepreneurship that benefits whole communities while reducing the impact on the planet. Portals What are the Fourth Portal portals? Portals are venues that will become the next generation of gathering spaces, blending online and the virtual. As with the emergence of coffee houses in the 1990s based on those from the 1600s as places to meet the like minded, conduct business, work and enjoy social interactions, portals will be the next iteration, offering a hybrid experience where simultaneous real-life and virtual interconnection becomes normal. The Fourth Portal is at the forefront of this revolution, evolving new spaces and offering advice and services that will suit any need during Covid-19 and for the post-pandemic world. If you have a meeting, conference, party or seeking alternative ways of making your business operations run more efficiently, then get in touch for a chat. Read More > VIEW AT A GLANCE VIEW IN DETAIL EVENT LOCATION EVENT START TIME INTRODUCTION

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