Blackbox Whitecube XR (BBWCXR) Symposium Day 2- Panel at Hellerau

Friday 25 October, 2024
5:00 pm CET
Großer Saal
Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 56 01109 Dresden, Germany (map)

The second day of the two-day symposium ‘Black Box White Cube XR’ (BBWCXR), curated by Maria Chatzichristodoulou and Bika Rebek, offers installations and screenings by Andrea Khôra, Andric Spaeth, AΦE, Carrie Chen, Gabriel Massan and Letta Shtohryn (11:00-22:00) as well as several workshops with Mark Coniglio, Teresa Pollo and Vali Lalioti (10-13:30).

Duration: 13:00 – 19:30
Language: English with German simultaneous translation

13:00
Following the opening panel on 25 October with Marlies Wirth, Andric Spaeth, Andrea Khôras and Letta Shtohryn, on the second day of the BBWCXR symposium curated by Maria Chatzichristodoulou and Bika Rebek, several artists and researchers will address the relationships between technology, space, human and non-human bodies as well as the opportunities and risks of ‘Extended Reality’ (XR) in lectures and presentations and a joint closing discussion in the Great Hall of the Festspielhaus.

13:00
Irini Mirena Papadimitriou “Technological Embodiments”
Technology, while being so enwrapped in our everyday lives, shaping the way we behave, perceive and interact with the world, is often portrayed as an independent force driving change independently from the human bodies that created it. In this presentation, I am sharing examples of my curatorial practice and work exploring how technological embodiments are shaped by human traits, fears, aspirations, beliefs but also fallibilities. Social inequalities are imprinted in technologies, while in our technological embodiments, bodies continue to be controlled, surveilled, objectified, and quantified. Human labour and bodies get concealed within technologies, while machine intelligence and automation are rooted in the ‘surrogate humanity’ of servants as authors and scholars Neda Atanasoski and Kalindi Vora reveal. But I am also sharing examples of how artists often explore counternarratives in opposition to (western) technological colonialism, reductionism and biases. Narratives that reframe definitions of posthumanism and futurity, allowing us to imagine different perspectives and realities.

13:45
Mark Coniglio “The Importance of Being Interactive”
From GPS trackers in our phones to smart watches, the notion of being sensed – of turning human action into data – has become more the rule than the exception. What remains unusual, is using such devices to deeply expand our body in an artistic way, especially in the context of live performances for the stage. In this talk, Mark Coniglio delves into his long history as a creator of interactive performance to show what can happen when we use such tools to become the conductor of a media orchestra of video, sound and light – an ensemble that goes beyond being an accompaniment to become an extension to the body itself.

14:30 Uhr
Marlon Barrios Solano “Duets in Latent Space”
“Duets in Latent Space,” is a live collaboration between the artist – situated before a laptop – and machine learning models and their enigmatic latent space. Through various forms of input, whether they be movements, sounds, or digital interactions, the AI responds in kind, generating visual, auditory, or textual outputs that are played back in real time. “Duets in Latent Spaces” is conceived as a lecture-performance interacting with web apps programmed by the artist, attempting to make tangible the remembered, the affective and the speculative. It combines a series of vignettes, story-telling, interfaces, software, movement scores and re-performances, weaving trajectories of cybernetics, time travel, queer longing, recursion and migrations with algorithmic playfulness.

15:15
Gabriel Massan “Mapping out reparation: Worldbuilding as a practice”
Gabriel Massan discusses the concept of ‘fictional archeology’, in the frame of their work touching upon digital sculpture and video art, which has triggered a maximalist practice in worldbuilding and collaborative storytelling.
Carrie Chen “Avatars of Memory: Exploring Ancestry, Productive Uncanny, and the Sublime”
This talk provides an overview of Chen’s recent works and explores how avatars, spatial installations, and emerging technologies evoke the “Productive Uncanny” to reflect upon ancestry, memory, intercultural narratives, and the sublime.

17:00
Esteban Lecoq “XR Dance Experience Creations with VR, AR and AI”
Join Esteban Lecoq as he delves into the captivating journey behind AΦE’s groundbreaking creations, WHIST, 0AR and LILITH.AEON. Gain invaluable insights into the creative process with VR, AR and AI, uncover insider tips, and discover practical strategies for integrating these revolutionary technologies into immersive performance productions.

Vali Lalioti “The Art and Tech of Creative Robotics”
In her keynote talk “The Art and Tech of Creative Robotics” Professor Lalioti will explore the crucial role of creativity and art in developing AI and Robotic technologies and how these shape our relationship to ourselves, others and the world around us. Drawing from her research and academic experience educating future creative technologists in the UK and advising global companies across the US, Europe, and Asia, she will highlight the crucial role of the arts and share her insights on how integrating artistic perspectives into AI and robotics is essential for fostering sustainable and equitable societies.

Jona Wolf „Space Invaders- Exploring the Intersection of Digital and Physical Spaces“

18:30
Irini Mirena Papadimitriou, Mark Coniglio, Marlon Barrios Solano, Gabriel Massan Carrie Chen, Esteban Lecoq, Vali Lalioti, Jona Wolf
Concluding joint discussion round with all participants and the curators Maria Chatzichristodoulou und Bika Rebek

To round off the day, Silke Grabinger will present her reminiscence of the legendary performance ‘I like America and America likes me’ by Joseph Beuys with SPOTSHOTBEUYS (20:00) at the Festspielhaus Hellerau.

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