Culturunners @ MIT
Two workshops, storytelling symposium, exhibition, public lecture (2014)
MIT Program in Art, Culture, Technology, The Cube
CULTURUNNERS is an artistic expedition in search of connections across borders (see general project description). Between October 1 and 6, 2014, the MIT Program in Art, Culture, and Technology (ACT) hosted a three-day creative workshop and a storytelling symposium with an exhibition. Participants included international artists, designers, filmmakers, scientists, curators, and scholars who came together to share technologies and applications for cultural collaboration between the United States and the Middle East. Two workshops were organized, each focusing on one subject related to the programmatic agenda for the CULTURUNNERS expedition: (1) mobile and wearable technologies, or (2) online communications and archival platforms. Workshop participants presented their work to one another and engaged in critical conversations, artwork screenings, Skype interviews, and discussions. These interactions served as a springboard for the future series of CULTURUNNERS explorations into mutual understanding between individuals or communities from the United States and the Middle East.
The symposium featured a day-long marathon of talks, screenings, performances, and readings. The ACT’s performance space, the Cube, was temporarily transformed into a majlis, an Arabic term denoting a welcoming environment that embraces diverse types of social gatherings. Invited presenters included Edge of Arabia artists in residence, Smithsonian curators, and MIT researchers, artists, and alumni. During this program, research, artwork, case studies, and technologies related to the theme of transcultural encounters were communicated through objects and stories. The accompanying exhibition in the same space involved various interactive projects, such as a photo station where visitors could take pictures with the “Other,” a microscope station for micro-encounters through hair comparisons, an empathy machine where visitors could body swap with one another, and a fashion performance in which artists formed a collective body by wearing the Yarn-dez-vous (2014) jackets.
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Duration: Workshops: 1-3 October 2014, Symposium and exhibition: 5 October 2014, Lecture: 6 October 2014
Curatorial concept: Workshops and symposium are chaired by Azra Akšamija and Stephen Stapleton. Exhibition co-curated by Azra Akšamija and Ava Ansari.
Workshop participants: Mobile & wearable technologies workshop led by Azra Akšamija. Participants: Lara Baladi, Kelly Dobson, Dina El-Zanfaly, Lilian Harden, Daanish Masood, Matthew Mazzotta, Regina Möller, Marko Peljhan, Peter Schmitt, Karina Silvester, Floor van de Velde.Online communications and archival platforms workshop led by Stephen Stapleton and Ahmed Mater. Participants: Husam Al Sayed, Ziad Al-Sayed, Saeed Arida, Henry Hemming, Carol Huh, Garbiel Kahan, Molly Kleiman, Chris Morrissey, Kuba Rudzinski, Jon Rubin.
Symposium participants: Azra Akšamija, Abdullah Al-Mutairi, Husam Al-Sayed, Ava Ansari, Ali Asani, Ursula August, Lara Baladi, Amir Baradaran, Gedney Barclay, Kelly Dobson, Dina El-Zanfaly, Huma Gupta, Lilian Harden, Sohrab Kashani, Molly Kleiman, Adrianne Koteen, Daanish Masood, Ahmed Mater, Matthew Mazzotta, Peter McMurray, Regina Möller, Marriam Mossali, Michael Rakowitz, Jon Rubin, Rashad Salim, Layla Shaikley, Karina Silvester, Stephen Stapleton, Jackson Struthers Davidow, Orkan Telhan, Katayoun Vaziri.
Exhibition participants: Jon Rubin (with Sohrab Kashani & Gedney Barclay), Azra Akšamija (with Lillian Harden, Karina Silvester, Andy Bolt), BeAnotherLab, Adrianne Koteen, Ursula August, Orkan Telhan, MIT students, Matteo Enrico Lonardi, Alexandra M Glorioso, João Philippe Inada, Katayoun Vaziri, Brian Zegeer, Amir Baradaran, Kelly Dobson, Matthew Mazzotta, Adi Hollander.
Sponsoring: MIT Program in Art, Culture, and Technology, Edge of Arabia, in partnership with Art Jameel