Studio Residents Simon Johnson and Simon Evans of Simon Games last week launched The Hat Game as part of The Umbrella Group's activities at the SXSW festival in Austin Texas. Funded by iShed and Arts Council England, the pair have inspired a wild chase through the streets of Austin in search of a GPS-enabled bowler hat. SXSW festival delegates have been able to track the hat online and claim the hat, wearing it for as long as they can until it is claimed by someone else.

Already garnering substantial press from around the web, the GPS-enabled bowler hat has been chased around Austin for days, been filmed by the BBC, featured in The Guardian and yesterday was front page on BBC news.

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzCegzeQWiU]

Funded by Arts Council England and managed by Studio Director Clare Reddington, The Umbrella Group is made up of 12 of the UK’s most brilliant digital artists and producers, including studio residents Duncan Speakman and Simon Evans.

For more information about the group visit: The Umbrella Group.