Merry Christmas everyone!

STRP – The Conference for The Curious

The man and the machine are more and more connected though new apps and new devices. The behaviour and the way of thinking of a biological system needs to be translated in lines of code so that the quality of life of people is further increased. More and more biological data needs to be collected, processed, analysed and interpreted. This provides ample reason for STRP to focus on Senses & Sensors in the Biennial of 2017, where both scientists and local people are invited to indulge in their own sense of curiosity.

Video 1. Conference for The Curious – the presentation video created by OddOne for STRP and distributed on Vimeo

During the STRP Conference for The Curious : Senses & Sensors on 28 March 2017, high profile international speakers explored this theme from different perspectives. Artists and designers, writers and scientists, and nonetheless coders are gathered to show a glimpse on how are interpreted the complex processes through which the world around us is perceived both by human and machine. Together they outlined the contours of new developments in today’s sensory systems, and shared their thoughts on how this could influence us. The talk for each presenter was recorded and posted online through YouTube and it is accessible through the link attached to their individual name.

The moderator of the first part of the day is Isolde Hallensleben (NL), who is a main contributor to the development of the TU/e Innovation Space, a place for challenged-based, interdisciplinary and hands-on education.

Photo 1. Conference for The Curious – curiosity

The first presenter, Claire L. Evans (US), a musician and a writer, brings us to our attention that in science fiction music is shown as the universal language of communication, and it is a way to quantify and transmit the emotional and cultural impact of life.

Photo 2. Conference for The Curious – the presentations

The second presenter, Tobias Revell (UK) is an internationally-exhibited artist, designer and programme director for Graphic Design Communication at London College of Communication. He focuses on the interplay between mythology and contemporary technology.

Photo 3. Conference for The Curious – the human and the cup of tea

The third presenter, Tom Pursey (UK) is the co-founder and creative director of Flying Object, a London-based creative agency that developed the prize winning exhibition Tate Sensorium in 2015.

Photo 4. Conference for the Curious – let’s make sense of the future now

To Sissel Tolaas (NO), the fourth presenter, the nose knows a lot more than most of us know. After studying and working at the universities in Oslo, Warsaw, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Oxford and Princeton, Sissel works actively and focuses on the topic of smell, smell and language communication since 1990, within different sciences, fields of art and other disciplines. Sissel believes that smell is a crucial component to define, understand and move within a specific environment and now creates in the lab “the alphabet for the nose”.

Photo 5. Conference for The Curious – the workshops

The moderator for the second part of the day is Koert van Mensvoort, an artist and philosopher best known for his work on the philosophical concept of Next Nature. He introduces and moderates the highlight of the Conference for the Curious - the keynote by Kevin Kelly (US), the founding executive editor of Wired magazine, and the author of bestsellers such as What Technology Wants (2010) and The Inevitable(2016).

Video 2. Conference for The Curious – the program

The Conference for The Curious was the meeting place for 2 days with in-depth talks and interviews for creators and thinkers, do-ers and experts, who are shifting every day the borders of current knowledge within their field of expertise through novel techniques and devices.