Autonomous Technology

Autonomous technology and art in the North < The Arts Catalyst

Zacharias Kunuk and Matthew Biederman on live video satellite link from the Arctic wilderness to Canada House, London, 20 May 2010

The Arctic Perspective Initiative (API) is working towards the construction of free, open, information sharing infrastructures for people living in the Arctic. It is the brainchild of artists Marko Peljhan and Matthew Biederman, and grew out of Peljhan&apos;s 10-year Makrolab project. As the first step, the API is working in collaboration with communities in Arctic Canada to design a mobile work and habitation unit to support seasonally nomadic lifestyles. A prototype is currently being built in Pond Inlet, Nunavut. When complete, the unit will be customisable to suit a variety of needs and uses on the land: from basic survival and safety, to global media streaming, communications, and environmental monitoring.

API is an art project, conceived by an artist and presented in arts contexts, which sets out to highlight the cultural, geopolitical and ecological significance of the Arctic and its indigenous cultures. It is also a network of individuals and organisations working collaboratively on a practical project: a utopian quest for an a &apos;third culture&apos; beyond specialisation and national interests. It it art? It seems to me that more interesting questions are rather: Is this something that art can do? And how do we do it well?

–Nicola Triscott, Director

Read he full article here: Autonomous technology and art in the North < Blog < The Arts Catalyst.

Design Walks – 2nd Sustainable Summer School

The “2nd Sustainable Summer School” for design students from all around the world starts on August 30 and ends September 4, 2010.

It will take place in Jüchen, near the city of Cologne (Germany).

Creative ideas for a sustainable design of our daily life will again be in the spotlight, this year by looking at “Societies, Systems and Swarms”. Introduced to the subject by a public expert day, the students will work together for several days in inspiring workshops conducted by well known institutions.

The “2nd Sustainable Summer School” offered students from all over the world the unique possibility to design and to shape the future lifestyle in a sustainable way.

Information and Registration:

http://www.designwalks.org/

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Expert day on August 30, 2010

(ecosign – Academy for Design, Cologne)

9.30 Session 1

- Prof. Uwe Schneidewind, Director of the Wuppertal Institute: Swarm Economy
Are economic swarm phenomena part of the problem or part of the solution regaring sustainable development?

- Prof. Jens Krause:  Swarm Models
To which extent can scientific swarm studies develop models for society and design?

13.00 Session 2

- Prof. Johannes Weyer: Swarm Technology - New Modes of Governance of Complex Systems in the Era of Autonomous Technology
What are risks and opportunities of swarm structures for the human-technological interface?

- Prof. Harald Welzer: Swarm sociality
What are immanent values, dynamics, and obstacles of climate cultures?

17.00 Public Panel Discussion
– Swarms, Societies, Sustainable Development
Diverse Perspectives on the Future of Sustainable Development and the Role of Design