Upcoming activities
Taller amb Elisa Giardina Papa i Zach Blas
IMPORTANT: Per motius aliens a l’organització, les dates d’aquest taller s’han posposat al 12, 13 i 14 de desembre.
HacTe, juntament amb els seus membres Hangar i einaidea, organitza un taller intensiu de tres jornades amb lxs artistes Elisa Giardina Papa i Zach Blas. El taller s’impartirà en anglès entre els dies 12 i 14 de desembre, i reflexionarà sobre els modes actuals d’automatització digital del coneixement, les emocions i processos creatius, així com les formes de resistència, pertorbació i qüestionament que poden emergir des de les pràctiques artístiques. Dues sessions de mitja jornada de treball donaran lloc, el tercer dia, a un esdeveniment públic de posada en comú, presentació de pràctiques i taula rodona a Hangar.
Zach Blas (West Virginia, els EUA, 1981) és artista, cineasta i escriptor. La seva pràctica aborda la materialitat de les tecnologies digitals a través del vídeo, la computació, la teoria, la performance i la ciència-ficció. Les seves obres investiguen les filosofies i els imaginaris que aguaiten en la intel·ligència artificial, el reconeixement biomètric, la vigilància predictiva, la seguretat aeroportuària, Internet i la guerra biològica. Ha participat en exposicions i conferències en Tate Modern (Londres); Walker Art Center (Minneapolis); la Biennal de Gwangju; Berlinale (Berlín); Escorxador (Madrid) i ZKM (Karlsruhe), entre altres.
Elisa Giardina Papa (Medicina, Itàlia, 1979) és una artista que investiga el gènere, la sexualitat i el treball en relació amb el capitalisme neoliberal i les fronteres del Sud Global. El seu treball ha estat exposat en la 59a Biennale di Venezia; MoMA’s Modern Mondays (Nova York); el Museu Whitney (Nova York); Seoul Mediacity Biennale 2018; XVI Quadriennale di Roma; Flaherty (Nova York); UnionDocs (Nova York) i ICA Milan, entre altres. Ha donat conferències en el Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women (Brown University), el Institute for Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies (McGill University), i el Global Emergent Mitjana Lab (Concòrdia University), entre altres.
Aquest taller és gratuït i obert, amb inscripció prèvia. Si t’interessa, envia un breu paràgraf de motivació abans del dia 1 de setembre a antonio@hangar.org
Amb el suport del Departament de Cultura de la Generalitat de Catalunya
Previous activities
Quantum Art and Uncertainty, Masterclass by Paul Thomas
The New Art Foundation and Fundació Épica La Fura dels Baus, in collaboration with HacTe, present, as part of The Gate Festival, Quantum Art and Uncertainty, a masterclass exploring the intersections between art and science from the perspective of Dr. Paul Thomas, a pioneer in transdisciplinary practice working at the convergence of nanoscience, quantum theory, and fine arts.
Alongside this activity, on October 15th, from 11 am to 1 pm, a closed-door discussion and conversation session will be held with Paul Thomas, specifically aimed at HacTe members.
Photosynthesis at the interface of Arts, Sciences and Society
Photosynthesis at the interface of Arts, Sciences and Society explores the dynamic intersection between science and the arts, with a focus on photosynthesis for societal impact. Photosynthesis is a long-standing subject of scientific investigation and artistic inspiration. In the scientific field, this theme unveils the processes governing nanoscale energy transfer, raising questions about the improvement of its functions and the potential advances in sustainable agriculture, green energy, and carbon capture. In the field of bio-art, this topic draws inspiration from the philosophical, societal, and environmental implications of recombinant genetics, molecular biology, and biotechnology.
By bringing together researchers and artists, the dialogue will examine both scientific and creative approaches to understanding and harnessing this vital biological process, from the microscopic mechanisms of photosynthesis to large-scale applications such as regenerative life support systems for human space missions.
The event will feature the participation of Prof. Nicoletta Liguori, Group Leader of the Photon Harvesting in Plants and Biomolecules research group at ICFO; the artistic collective DISNOVATION.ORG; Francesc Godia, director of the Melissa Pilot Plant project and UAB professor; Raoul Frese, physicist at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Head of the Hybrid Forms Lab and the visual artist and environmentalist Paula Bruna.
Photosynthesis at the interface is organised by HacTe and ICFO, in the framework of the residency of DISNOVATION.ORG at the ICFO during the S+T+ARTS in the City project. The initiative is funded by the European Commission that aims to stimulate innovation between the arts, sciences and technologies, with the support of the Department of Culture of the Generalitat de Catalunya. The event has the support of Ajuntament de Barcelona.
Organising committee: Prof. Dr. Nicoletta Liguori (Group Leader of the Photon Harvesting in Plants and Biomolecules research group at ICFO), Prof. Raoul N. Frese (physicist at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Head of the Hybrid Forms Lab) and Tere Badia (Director of Hac Te)
Participants
- Nicoletta Liguori, ICFO
- Raoul Frese, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
- Nicolas Maigret, DISNOVATION.ORG
- Paula Bruna, visual artist
- Francesc Gòdia Casablancas, UAB
Moderator: Irma Vilà i Òdena, UOC
Agenda
17.30h: Welcome
17:40h: “Hybrid Forms of Photosynthesis”, setting the scene in Sci-Art collaboration with Raoul Frese, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
17:50h: “Photosynthesis under the microscope”, with contributions from Nicoletta Liguori (ICFO) and DISNOVATION.ORG.
18:10h: “Photosynthesis beyond the telescope”, with contributions from Francesc Gòdia (UAB) and Paula Bruna.
18:40h: Open discussion
19:15h: Networking and drinks
Assistive robotics and care networks: how do we imagine our future?
As populations age, there is an urgent need to rethink the future of assisted living. Somoure is an artistic research project that explores the production processes, impacts, and consequences of developing assistive robotics.
Nyam is a robotic arm designed by the Institute of Robotics and Industrial Informatics (CSIC-UPC) to feed individuals who cannot do so themselves. Over nine months, the collaboration between IRI and the artist Mónica Rikić has allowed the robot to be reimagined from the perspective of assistive robotics—not only as a technological problem to be solved but as a network of necessary interconnections to shape expectations about the demographic shift.
Through the conceptual research process, the project has gathered opinions from specialists in philosophy of technology, sociologists, domestic work union representatives, and other activists regarding the presence and impact of assistive robotics in caregiving work.
This dialogue on assistive robotics, future structures, and care will feature Júlia Borràs (IRI, CSIC-UPC), Karina Fulladosa (Sindillar), Daniel López (CareNet, UOC), and Mónica Rikić. The goal is to collectively reflect on how care and society must be examined from a critical, reflective, and interdisciplinary perspective. Following the discussion, there will be an informal debate with the audience and a presentation of the artistic outcome of the project: a DIY replica of Nyam created through a collaborative design process. This replica aims to modify (hack) its form, behavior, and most importantly, the architecture of its code to reflect various social concerns and critical philosophical perspectives on robotics and care.
Currently, the Somoure project is on display at the Monasteri de Sant Cugat as part of the Manifesta15 Barcelona Metropolitana Biennial.
This event is organized by HacTe, the Institute of Robotics and Industrial Informatics (CSIC-UPC), UPCArts, and Ateneu Barcelonès, as part of the S+T+ARTS in the City project, a European Commission-funded initiative that aims to foster cross-innovation between the arts, sciences, and technologies. It is supported by the Department of Culture of the Generalitat de Catalunya.
PROGRAM
6:00 – 6:05 PM: Welcome
6:05 – 7:30 PM: Dialogue: Assistive robotics and care networks: how do we Imagine our future?
7:30 – 7:50 PM: Presentation of the Somoure Project: Artistic Residency and Nyam Robotic Platform
7:50 – 8:30 PM: Aperitif
Participants:
- Mónica Rikić: Electronic artist. Winner of the 2021 National Culture Award of Catalonia. She works with code and creative electronics, combining them with non-digital objects to create electronic theatrical devices and robotic installations. Her interest lies in the social impact and critical thinking around alternative technologies through open hardware.
- Júlia Borràs: Researcher at CSIC focused on how robots learn to interact with their environment and the design of robotic hands, with over 15 years of research experience. She studied Mathematics at UPC and Computer Science at UOC and earned her PhD in robotics from the Institute of Robotics and Industrial Informatics (UPC-CSIC) in 2011. She conducted research in the US and Germany for seven years and returned to Catalonia in 2018 as part of a European project on robotic manipulation of clothing. She won the prestigious Ramon y Cajal research fellowship and became a tenured scientist at CSIC in 2020. She currently researches assistive robotics and clothing manipulation, serves as editor of the international journal IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, and is the deputy director of the Institute of Robotics and Industrial Informatics (CSIC-UPC).
- Daniel López Gómez: Associate professor of Social Psychology at the Faculty of Psychology and Education at the UOC and co-director of the CareNet research group at the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3). His research lies at the intersection of Science and Technology Studies (STS) and Aging Studies. He examines the emergence of new care infrastructures in a context of care crisis and demographic change, focusing particularly on the development and consequences of care digitalization and the creation of new environments, communities, and homes to age with care.
- Karina Fulladosa-Leal: Social researcher and activist from Sindillar/Sindihogar. She holds a PhD in social psychology from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) with the thesis: Women on the Move: Expanding the Margins of Social and Political Participation in Collective Action as Domestic and Care Workers (2017). Her main contribution is the concept of “mimopolitics,” which refers to a set of practices related to care politics by engaging affectively and politically in social transformation processes and the demand for dignified working and living conditions. She is currently a board member of the Francesca Bonnemaison Women’s Center – La Bonne.
- Carles Sora-Domenjó: Interdisciplinary researcher in new media, designer, and producer of digital projects in the cultural field. He is currently the director and professor at the Center for Image and Multimedia Technology (CITM) at UPC-BarcelonaTech. He holds a PhD in digital media from Pompeu Fabra University (2015) and was a postdoctoral Fulbright researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2017-2019). His research focuses on interactive and immersive narratives and digital art. He has contributed to various applied research projects, co-led a S+T+ARTS project, and published several articles in international journals, as well as a book on digital temporalities (UPC Press).
Moderator:
- Alejandra López Gabrielidis: Philosopher and researcher specializing in art and digital technologies. Her research focuses on new modalities of embodiment that arise in relation to the phenomenon of datafication, exploring the interaction between data and the body from an agency and distributed cognition perspective. She currently works as the coordinator of the PhD Unit at BAU, University Center of Arts and Design in Barcelona, and as a professor of Aesthetics and Art Theory in the Design and Fine Arts degrees at the same university. She has worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Technopolitics unit of the CNSC (Communication Networks and Social Change) group at the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3) at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), and as co-coordinator of the Socio-Technical Conceptualization Vector. In addition to her academic work, she has translated works by authors such as Franco “Bifo” Berardi and Katherine Hayles, and has published numerous articles and essays in various specialized journals and media outlets.
Xerrada de Mark Farid a Sobtec. VI Congrés de Sobirania Tecnològica
Mark Farid, artist in residence at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) as part of the S+T+ARTS in the City programme, will participate as a speaker at Sobtec, VI Congrés de Sobirania Tecnològica. During the event, which will take place at Hangar next March 2, Farid will present his project ‘Invisible Voice’ (IV), a platform that reveals the power structures and business practices behind the websites we interact with. The project seeks to leverage our collective action to bring about meaningful change through the empowerment of data.
The talk will be in English.
Workshop by Matthew Fuller: Art as Metadiscipline
In recent decades artists have increasingly worked on the problems and the modes of enquiry of other disciplines and fields. The findings, styles of thought, and habits of operation and conduct of the sciences, sociology, mathematics, literature, governance and education, amongst others, have become resources for reworking and expanding. They are used to probe questions of power, imagination and invention. This condition has multiple roots. Some are quantitative, due to the expansion of art schools and the sheer volume of people trained and prompted to rework ideas in a reflexive manner characteristic of contemporary art. Others are to do with the changing terrain of post-conceptual art and its multiple tendencies, including what is discussed as research. Some of this includes an engagement with sciences and the adoption and alteration of their working methods. Such work includes approaches ranging from treating disciplines and their objects as “found objects” or of elaborating techniques of mutual interest. Others rework the idea of art into a process of learning and becoming in education or in forms of political and ecological direct action or speculation and also, uniquely to art, a mobilisation of what is rejected or expelled by disciplines.
These tendencies suggest that art is fragmentarily emerging as something that might be called a meta-discipline: a mode of work whose operation includes both working in other disciplines and to act upon them. Mathematics and philosophy have been key meta-disciplines for a long period. They work in and on both the conditions of possibility and the working matters of other fields.
Art has historically been allocated the role of working on sensation and feeling via representation. In the present, art also works on concepts, institutions, techniques and information, including the workings of these prior-metadisciplines. This workshop will examine aspects of the genealogy and potential of this tendency. The workshop will consist of an introductory talk and then a mapping exercise, all artists, curators, organisers and anyone interested are very welcome.
Xerrada performativa ‘The Smallest of Worlds’, amb Uwe Brunner, Bettina Katja Lange i Joan Soler-Adillon
This activity is part of the program Oasi, within the exhibition Digital Impact
Oscillating between the physical and the virtual dimension, The Smallest of Worlds
(2021) and #See You at Home (2022) explore the meaning of private and intimate space
in times of ubiquitous connectivity, examining home in its dual relationship between safe
shelter and a platform for public exhibition.
This lecture performance will delve into the archive of these two artworks, which is made
up of a multitude of digitized private spaces, with its narrative, intimate routines, and
personal memories: fragments that were collected in more than 40 countries during the
most intense periods of self-isolation during the pandemic.
Showing the archive from a new perspective, custom made for Digital Impact’s immersive
space, the artists will discuss the implications of the ways our perceptions of such private and
intimate spaces radically changed during this intense period, and are now being reconfigured
to achieve new meanings in a hybrid context where our online and offline presence is
ever more entangled.
Since 2020, Uwe Brunner, Bettina Katja Lange and Joan Soler-Adillon have worked
together to explore how immersive experience can offer new and unique narratives.
Their work has been shown in major European XR and documentary festivals in Europe
and around the world. Now, for the first time, the immersive experience leaves behind
single-person headsets and standard screens to be experienced collectively in a
large-scale projection space.
Language: Catalan and English
Conversa/demo sobre Intel·ligència artificial i música, amb AWWZ, UPC i Sónar
Foto: AWWZ b2b AI / Klamer Hernandez
La intel·ligència artificial s’està convertint ràpidament en la medul·la digital de les nostres vides, amb un impacte en totes les facetes de l’entreteniment, la cultura i la comunicació. Impulsat al 2021 per Sónar, la UPC i betevé, l’AI and Music S+T+ARTS Festival va explorar el rol d’aquestes noves tecnologies en les nostres vides prenent la música com un exemple.
Una de les tres cocreacions d’artistes i enginyers especialment creades pel Festival va estar AWWZ b2b AI Dj, fruit de la col·laboració entre la productora i dj AWWZ, i un equip d’investigadors de la UPC: Mireia de Gràcia, Casimiro Pio i Dimas Ávila.
En el marc de Digital Impact, aquest equip transdisciplinar ens explicarà com va estar aquest procés de cocreació on s’entrecreuen la classificació de gèneres amb intel·ligència artificial i la performance. Durant la xerrada es presentarà aquesta IA especialment entrenada que tradueix els comentaris de Youtube en suggeriments de cançons i AWWZ ens en farà una petita demo del seu funcionament.
Participa:
- AWWZ (Gemma), dj i productora
- Mireia de Gràcia, enginyera de telecomunicacions especialista en so i computació musical i dj
- Antònia Folguera, comissària de Sónar+D
Aquesta activitat forma part del programa Oasi, en el marc de l’exposició Digital Impact
Performance ‘Sons en Causa’, amb l’Orquestra del Caos
Aquesta activitat forma part del programa Oasi, en el marc de l’exposició Digital Impact
Sons en Causa és un projecte basat en un arxiu sobre el qual l’Orquestra del Caos treballa des del 2009. En creixement constant, l’arxiu de Sons a Causa conté preses d’alta qualitat de paisatge sonors realitzades per Carlos Gómez i Josep Manuel Berenguer al capdavant de diferents equips a la proximitat de llocs de Llatinoamèrica on les activitats humanes han experimentat un increment notable en èpoques recents. El mostreig acústic al llarg de trajectes entre les zones més afectades pel bullici humà i les més allunyades podria arribar a donar idea de com va ser el paisatge sonor en aquests contextos abans que la influència humana el transformés a mesura que les societats es feien cada cop més complexes.
Actualment recull 1700 preses d’àudio binaurals realitzades a Amèrica Llatina, a 24 bits de resolució, 48kHz de freqüència de mostreig i de 20 minuts de durada. La raó d’una tan llarga durada és el desenvolupament lent de l’evolució temporal del comportament de les fonts sonores al paisatge. No ens interessen els sons aïllats, sinó llurs relacions; llurs conflictes i llurs resolucions, que s’aprecien de manera gradual o sobtada i en relació amb els equilibris immediatament precedents. L’escolta atenta i profunda del batec del món és molt gratificant. Proporciona un gaudi estètic considerable d’evident interès per a nosaltres, artistes i músics; però el registre sonor no és únicament una qüestió d’abast estètic, així que, malgrat la nostra tendència a valorar els aspectes formals, els que més directament orienten les nostres accions i projectes, ens sentim profundament responsables de les seves implicacions més enllà del que és purament artístic. Estem convençuts que l ́escolta atenta del paisatge sonor és un element distingit de conscienciació sobre les necessitats socials d’un so saludable. D’aquesta manera neix la nostra orientació cap a la presa de so en contextos d’especial interès humà i social. Amb el temps, s’ha convertit en un esperó de primera magnitud. Ens orienta a la reflexió sobre els dominis de l’art i de la seva funció, sempre en redefinició.
Amb la participació de:
- Lina Bautista
- Josep Manuel Berenguer
- Matias Klenner
- Anna Gatz
- Ginebra Raventós de Volart
Xerrada ‘L’espai-temps, el material més rigid que coneixem’, amb Eugenio Coccia (IFAE)
L’espai-temps té les propietats d’un material. Es deforma i vibra com els materials que coneixem, però no n’hi ha cap de més rígid.
La teoria de la gravetat ens explica com la massa deforma l’espai temps i com es poden produir vibracions de l’espai-temps que viatgen pel cosmos. D’aquí surten els forats negres i les ones gravitacionals, fenòmens còsmics que ens permeten entendre el passat de l’Univers.
I si l’espai-temps no fos continu sino digital?. És una proposta que ens ajudaria a entre el més petit i el més gran en una sola teoria. Seguim investigant l’univers amb instruments cada cop més precisos per tal de descobrir si és així o no.
Xerrada/demo sobre escultura virtual, amb UPC
Aquesta activitat forma part del programa Oasi Digital, en el marc de l’exposició Digital Impact
En aquesta xerrada s’explicarà el procés de creació d’escultures digitals amb l’eina Tilt Brush, un pinzell virtual que permet pintar en un espai 3D en realitat virtual. La seva paleta pot incloure textures tan variades com ara tinta o fum, neu o foc, explorant totes les possibilitats d’aquesta eina virtual de pintura en l’espai.
Aquest recull de peces que es presentaran ha estat confeccionat per l’alumnat de l’assignatura de realitat virtual del Grau d’animació i art digital del Centre de la Imatge i la Tecnologia Multimèdia de la Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya.
Crèdits dels projectes seleccionats:
City of Tears
- Daniel Anter Tolansk de Melo
- Judith Berenguer Guinovart
- Jazmin Catrea
- Oscar Cerezo Garcia
- Edurne Espes Rodriguez
Fantasy Scenario
- Nuria Roca
- Michela Vistarini
- Marçal Rossell
- Jana Moyes
- Judıth Estrada
A look in the Deep
- Leyre-Ying Paredes
- Cristina Gutierrez
- Victoria Castro
- Carla Asensio
- Claudia Dai
Anatomy Park
- Lois Navarro
- Sara Roig
- Blanca Perez
- Eric Olmo