This series of events is born out of a sensibility that we are at the end of the world as we know it: current ecological, political and technological narratives and histories are volatile and unstable. Environmental disasters, future of net neutrality, vanished species and looming nuclear disasters are no longer a part of science fiction writing or a post apocalyptic movie but a part of our reality. The three events investigate the possible ends of an era, its entangled histories, open-ended narratives and flux identities. They aim to carefully glimpse into the possible futures of humankind and otherkind: the vital necessity for co-dependence and urgency to remember, preserve and act now.
The third and last event in the series, titled The End / Survival Guide for a Post Apocalyptic Child, will look into the dark, uncertain future of our planet and its inhabitants with a glimmer of hope. Amongst the very tangible fears of an event that will end it all, be it a total environmental collapse, robot takeover or a nuclear war, we will attempt to imagine alternative ways of being together. How can we challenge the ways we use digital technology, VR and social media? How can we challenge the ever-growing power of those in charge of emerging technologies, and the way they are using us for their own interests through data collection, social media addiction, fake news, internet governance and such? What are the future opportunities digital technologies can offer for the greater good of communities? What kind of political strength and opportunities for resistance there might be in a slow (offline) living?
We will think how to challenge the current power structure, a structure that inevitably ships us towards the looming apocalypse, total social unrest and wars over basic resources. Is there still time to stop the inevitable and to speed-build a just society whilst preserving what is left of our rich ecology? What is the future we will leave for those yet to be?
The participants are invited to imagine and test out ideas and tools to preserve what we have, to remember what we had, and to imagine a future where co-dependence is nurturing, inclusive and vital for us all to thrive.
PARTICIPANTS
Carl Miller is the Research Director of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media (CASM) at Demos. He is interested in how social media is changing society, and how researching it can inform important decisions. This includes: digital politics and digital democracy; cybercrime, and the hacking community; cyber-bullying, hate crime, misogyny and abuse online; information warfare and online disinformation;‘Fake news’, digital and citizen journalism; automated decision-making, Internet governance and digital addiction; building new methods and technology to study social media data. He researches and writes widely on these issues, including for Wired, New Scientist, the Sunday Times, the Telegraph and the Guardian.
Kim-Leigh Poutin is Creative Interaction Director at Sky and VR Experience Designer at Kimeleon.TV. She enables teams to experiment with interaction design prototypes, identifying the opportunities and implications of emerging technologies. She is currently investigating new forms of interactive, immersive storytelling in AR + VR. Her specialties are: Conceptual innovation, interactive storytelling, interactive VR narrative, uncovering opportunities for emerging tech, pitching and presenting, creative direction, interaction design, UI design, motion transition design, motion sketching, prototyping, and major interests: challenging technology, public engagement, interactive narratives, natural interaction, invisible UI.
Nastja Säde Rönkkö is the organising artist behind this event. This event is part of her residency titled 6 Months Without, where the artist lives and works in London without the Internet for 6 months. The intention of Rönkkö’s slow offline existence and the accompanying events is to actively research, create and test out new ways of connecting, communicating and being in a city, community and the society at the time of major changes in the ways we live, feel and function in the world.
The events and the residency are supported by Somerset House Studios, Wysing Arts Centre, The Finnish Institute in London and Alfred Kordelin Foundation.