Guest Talk – Winnie Soon

The first colloquium of this semester will feature Winnie Soon, Assistant Professor at Aarhus University whose lecture is entitled “Humanistic and Computational Thinking Through Practice”.

Date: 12 Jan 2018 (Friday)
Time: 11:30 am
Venue: M6094 Future Cinema Studio, Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre, 18 Tat Hong Avenue, Kowloon Tong

Topic: Humanistic and Computational Thinking Through Practice

Abstract:
In this talk, I will present some of my artistic works that span the areas of net art, software-based art, and electronic literature. My works examine the materiality of computational processes that underwrite our experiences and realities in digital culture that touch on cultural-social-political topics, such as Internet censorship, the economy of likes, spam and literary culture, politics of APIs, cultural machines and feminist software.

I consider computational practice as a mode of humanistic inquiry to understand the digital culture – a condition that we are highly engaged with, and surrounded by, software and networked systems. I ask how might we understand cultural systems through computational practice? This talk will unfold the importance of computational practice in my thinking and research, examining the infrastructure and implications of cultural systems.

About the Speaker:
Winnie Soon is an artist-researcher who resides in Hong Kong and Denmark. Informed by the cultural, social and political context of technology, Winnie’s work approach spans the fields of artistic practice and software studies, examining the materiality of computational processes that underwrite our experiences and realities in digital culture. Her projects and lectures have been presented internationally at museums, art festivals, universities and conferences, including but not limited to ZKM, Transmediale2015/2017 (Berlin), ISEA2015/2016 (Vancouver, Hong Kong), V&A Museum (London), ARoS Aarhus Art Museum (Aarhus, Denmark), Si Shang Art Museum (Beijing), Pulse Art + Technology Festival (Savannah, USA), FutureEverything Art Exhibition (Manchester), The Wrong – New Digital Art Biennale, Hong Kong Microwave International Media Arts Festival, Taipei National University of Arts, Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design and The University of Hong Kong.

Winnie’s current research focuses on Computational Thinking and Empowerment, working on a book project with Geoff Cox titled “Aesthetic Programming: A Handbook of Software Studies, or Software Studies for Dummies”. Currently, she is Assistant Professor at the Department of Digital Design and Information Studies in Aarhus University.

To find out more about Winnie Soon, you can check out the speaker’s pages.

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Guest Talk – Jane PONG

The last colloquium of this semester will feature Data Visualisation Journalist Jane PONG whose lecture is entitled: “The space between: intersecting science and art”.

Date: 05 Dec 2017 (Tuesday)
Time: 4:00 pm
Venue: M6094 Future Cinema Studio, Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre, 18 Tat Hong Avenue, Kowloon Tong

Topic: The space between: intersecting science and art

Abstract:
What does a curiosity-driven career path look like? How do we navigate the boundaries between science, art, and design? In this talk, Jane reflects on her path to data visualisation. She discusses her creative motivations and process, and shares some lessons she’s learnt along the way.

About the Speaker:
Jane Pong is a data visualisation journalist at the Financial Times, where she specialises in data-related information graphics. With a unique background in both science and arts, her work attempts to bring aesthetics to scientific rigor and form to artistic introspection. Jane has previously worked as a graphics editor at South China Morning Post and Reuters. She is a co-organiser of the local chapter of Hacks/Hackers in Hong Kong, an international journalism organisation that brings together journalists and technologists who rethink the future of news and information.

To find out more about Jane PONG, you can check out the speaker’s pages.