Call for Art+Com2011: Techno-Ecologies conference

CALL for Exhibition and Conference proposal

Art+Communication 2011 festival:

TECHNO-ECOLOGIES

Inhabiting the deep technological spheres of everyday life

Techno-Ecologies is the theme of this year's Art+Communication

festival, the 13th edition of which will take place in Riga from

November 3 – 6, 2011, featuring conference (November 4–5) and

exhibition (November 4–December 11) as well as broad programme of

performances, screenings, public lectures and workshops in Riga and

Liepaja, Latvia.

* Conceptual framework

Everyday life has become so intimately interwoven with complex

technological ecologies that we can no longer consider technology as

the alienating other. A careful consideration of the relationships

between the natural and the artificial is required. The idea that we

'inhabit' technological ecologies emphasises our connectedness to our

environment (material, natural, technological) and our dependence on

the resources available there (material, energetic, biological,

cultural). Mastering these conditions is vital to our survival on this

planet.

Techno-Ecologies builds upon the concerns of Felix Guattari (the

French philosopher and co-conspirator of Gilles Deleuze) about the

lack of an integrated perspective on the dramatic techno-scientific

transformations the Earth has undergone in recent times. Guattari

urges to take three crucially important 'ecological registers' into

account: the environment, social relations, and human subjectivity.

Techno-Ecologies will develop a discussion between artists, theorists,

designers, environmental scientists, technologists, responsible

entrepreneurs and activists to develop this perspective. Diversity,

social and ecological sustainability, and a much deeper understanding

of technology as an extension of our desires are the building blocks

that we want to bring together to build a perspective that can help us

chart less hazardous routes into the future than the ones currently

travelled.

-----> The Techno-Ecologies concept for Art+Communication 2011

festival and exhibition is developed by Eric Kluitenberg.

See full concept text at the festival website: http://rixc.lv/11^[1]

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* Conference CALL:

In relation to the theme proposed above, for the Techno-Ecologies

conference we welcome proposals by by both – academic researchers and

artists, as well as scientists, technology researchers, sociologists,

philosophers, architects, designers, futurists, and other lateral

thinkers, who are engaged with the issues of social and ecological

sustainability, and are interested in a deeper understanding of

technology.

Please send your short abstract (ca. 200 words) and bio (ca. 60 words)

to e-mail: <rixc (at) rixc.lv> and / or <rasa (at) rixc.lv> (Rasa

Smite)

The DEADLINE for conference abstracts: October 5, 2011

The conference is 2-day international academic event that takes place

in Riga, November 4 - 5, 2011 (at RIXC Media Space), co-organized by

RIXC and MPLab (Art Research Lab) of Liepaja University.

The conference papers and thematically related articles after the

conference will be published in the next issue (No. 11) of Acoustic

Space, peer-reviewed journal for transdisciplinary research on art,

science, technology and society.

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* Preliminary programme:

November 3, 2011 – Opening of the Art+Communication festival and the exhibition.

November 4 – 5, 2011 – 2-day conference.

November 4 – December 11, 2011 – Techno-Ecologies exhibition open for public.

November 7 – 13, 2011 – follow-up events: iWeek workshops and public

lectures in Liepaja.

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* Organisers:

The festival and the exhibition is organized by RIXC, The Center for

New Media Culture

http://rixc.lv^[2]

The exhibition is co-curated by Raitis Smits, Rasa Smite and Eric Kluitenberg.

The international academic conference is organized by RIXC in

collaboration with MPLab (Art Research Lab) of Liepaja University

http://mplab.lv^[3]

http://rixc.lv/11^[4]

References

1. ^{^} http://rixc.lv/11 (rixc.lv)
2. ^{^} http://rixc.lv (rixc.lv)
3. ^{^} http://mplab.lv (mplab.lv)
4. ^{^} http://rixc.lv/11 (rixc.lv)