Events are an integral part of the master programs: from workshops with guests professors to lectures series with relevant practitioners.
past events
Wed, Dec 13, 2023
masters’ talks
7.30 pm — Event at DHub
Open to the public
Yazmany Arboleda
Color Changing Everything
At the heart of Yazmany Arboleda’s practice is the idea that art is a verb, not a noun. It is something we do, and something we see. He believes that art is a universal language of invention and agency, through which we define and redefine culture, express our shared experiences and envision all possibilities. His values driven practice centers collaboration and interdependence as a future-casting practice. The talk will explore a series of projects that showcase the evolution of his practice.
Yazmany Arboleda (b. 1981, Colombian-American) serves as the first People’s Artist for New York City at the Civic Engagement Commission and is the Founder of The People’s Creative Institute. An architect by training, Yazmany art practice fosters community connections through expansive public art initiatives. He also holds the role of Senior Artistic Advisor for the Community Art Network, He has been commissioned by Carnegie Hall, the Yale School of Management, and the United Nations.
His artistic practice is deeply rooted in the trauma he endured when his father and uncles were assassinated in Medellin, Colombia, at the age of 11. For him, art became a sanctuary for exploration and self-discovery. It has provided him with the means to grasp his own evolving identity as a continually changing individual. His mission is to convey that art can function as a similar space of discovery and transformation for others as well. He endeavors to inspire people to recognize the potential of art for personal growth and collective understanding.
Wed, Oct 25, 2023
masters’ talks
7.30 pm — Event at DHUB
Open to the public
Alice Rawsthorn
Design as an Attitude
What does design mean to us now? What will it mean in the near future? How can it help us to address the complex challenges of this turbulent, often terrifying time: from the climate emergency and refugee crisis, to curbing inequality, bigotry and violence, and ensuring that powerful new technologies will be used to make our lives better, not worse. Alice Rawsthorn will describe how the new generation of “attitudinal designers” are reinventing the practice and possibilities of design by using their skills, networks and resourcefulness to address these issues and to foster positive change.
Alice Rawsthorn is an award-winning design critic and author, whose books include Design as an Attitude and, most recently, Design Emergency: Building a Better Future. co-written with Paola Antonelli, senior design curator at MoMA, New York. Alice’s weekly design column for The New York Times was syndicated worldwide for over a decade. In all her work, Alice champions design’s potential as a social, political and ecological tool to foster positive change.
Born in Manchester and based in London, she is a founding member of the Writers for Liberty campaign for human rights and a cofounder, with Paola, of Design Emergency, a podcast and research platform that investigates design’s role in forging a fairer future.
Wednesday
May 31, 2023
7.30 pm
Gail Bichler, The New York Times Magazine
Masters’ Talks
Design for the Times
Design for the Times
The New York Times Magazine is known for bringing together ambitious journalism, powerful visuals and daring typographic systems. Creative Director, Gail Bichler will discuss how her team approaches designing for the diverse range of content that the magazine publishes including designing for current events in real-time.
She will talk about the current role of the magazine within the larger context of the Times, give a behind the scenes look at how their conceptual covers are made, and share her thoughts on the role of experimentation in everything from the magazine’s special issues to their digital presence to some of their forays into other mediums like audio and print only sections of the paper.
Gail Bichler is the creative director of The New York Times Magazine where she leads the creative team responsible for the design and art direction of The Magazine and its supplements. She and her team have won numerous awards for their print and interactive design from organizations including the Art Directors Club, the Society of Publication Designers, D&AD, the American Institute for Graphic Arts, the Type Directors Club and Creative Review, among others. Gail has taught and lectured internationally. She is a member of AGI and a former board member of the SPD.
Wednesday,
April 12, 2023
7.30 pm
Lev Manovich
Masters’ Talks
One billion Rembrandts?
Inside Visual AI Revolution
Event at COA, Plaça Nova 5
Book your seat (soon)
In an article about people using AI image synthesis tools, WSJ compared their arrival to another major technological revolution in art – the adoption of photography in the 19th century (8/19/22). New Yorker magazine stated: “How we work — even think — changes when we can instantly command convincing images into existence.” (9/19/22) NYT wrote that “A.I.-based image generators like DALL-E 2, Midjourney and Stable Diffusion have made it possible for anyone to create unique, hyper-realistic images just by typing a few words into a text box.” (10/21/22)
Are we indeed living through a major revolution in visual culture? Is it true that “anybody” can create “unique” images using this technology? In my talk I will critically evaluate some of the claims made about AI Image Synthesis, and suggest alternative ways of understanding it. The talk draws on the latest chapter in the book “Artificial Aesthetics: a Critical Guide to AI, Design and Media” (Manovich and Arielli, 2021-) being published online at manovich.net
Lev Manovich is a world-renown innovator and top influencer in many fields, including digital art, media theory, digital humanities, and cultural analytics. He is a Presidential Professor at The Graduate Center, CUNY, and a Director of the Cultural Analytics Lab. Manovich was included in the list of “25 People Shaping the Future of Design” and the list of “50 Most Interesting People Building the Future”. He is an author of 15 books that include The Language of New Media described as “the most suggestive and broad-ranging media history since Marshall McLuhan.”
Wednesday,
March 22, 2023
7.30 pm
Jesper Kouthoofd, Teenage Engineering
Masters’ Talks
Work and life at Teenage Engineering
Event at COA, Plaça Nova 5
Book your seat (soon)
teenage engineering is developing the alternative future of consumer electronics, each invention designed to last. from reimagining music-making with the iconic OP-1 portable synthesizer and growing the synth population with the affordable pocket operator series, to rethinking listening with the OD-11 ortho directional speaker and the OB–4 magic radio, they have applied their signature mindset to a new legacy of enduring technologies.
Their creations have attracted collaborations with well-known artists and brands, sharing in their vision to integrate creativity into the everyday. teenage engineering was founded in 2007 and is based in Stockholm, Sweden.
Jesper Kouthoofd is head of design, founder & CEO of teenage engineering. His work has been recognised in magazines such as New York Times, Vanity Fair, GQ, Vogue, Wall Street Journal, Wallpaper, Wired, Popular Mechanics, G3 and many more across the globe. Together with his 40 engineers at teenage engineering he has launched products such as the already legendary synthesizer OP-1, pocket operators and reengineered the classic OD-11 (by Stig Carlsson). He believes in making products for everyone, no matter where you live or what language you speak.
Wednesday
February 22, 2023
7.30 pm
Amical Dall, Assemble
Masters’ Talks
The Work of Repair
Event at COA, Plaça Nova 5
Book your seat (soon)
The Work of Repair
Amica will reflect on how architectural and creative practices can orientate themselves away from invention and innovation towards the patient and slow work of repair, and consider work that is based on making long-term, personal or ethical commitments to sites, situations, and social contexts. She will cover some of Assemble’s early work, before discussing a set of projects that reorientated her and the studio’s attitudes towards the city and the rural, material ethics and intergenerational justice.
Amica Dall is an inter-disciplinary practitioner focused on architecture and city culture and children’s right to the city. She is a founding member of Assemble, where she delivered more than 15 major projects over ten years. Her work as a writer and filmmaker has been broadcast on the BBC, exhibited at the Venice Biennale, and published in E-Flux. She recently co-wrote a book on post-carbon future for architecture with architecture practice, Material Cultures. Amica has taught across a wide range of subjects and works with both children and post-graduates.
Assemble is a multi-disciplinary collective working across architecture, design and art. Founded in 2010 to undertake a single self-built project, Assemble has since delivered a diverse and award-winning body of work, whilst retaining a democratic and co-operative working method that enables built, social and research-based work at a variety of scales, both making things and making things happen. Turner Prize in 2016, and nominated in 2022 to the Royal Academy in recognition of their collective contribution to the culture of city making.
