ISEA2020: 26th International Symposium on Electronic Art


ISEA2020:  [Overview] [Venues] [Presentations] [Workshops] [Art Events] [Gallery]

26th International Symposium on Electronic Art

Location:
Montreal, Quebec Canada

Dates:
13 Oct - 18 Oct, 2020

Organised by:
Printemps numérique

Overview:

ISEA2020 will address pressing contemporary issues and present practice-based approaches to explore the theme “Why Sentience?”

We invite you to the first 100% online electronic art symposium: a pioneering and unique experience to share with fellow artists, scientists, scholars and researchers from around the world.

ISEA2020 will be fully dedicated to examining the resurgence of sentience—feeling-sensing-making sense—in recent art and design, media studies, science and technology studies, philosophy, anthropology, history of science and the natural scientific realm—notably biology, neuroscience and computing. We ask: why sentience? Why and how does sentience matter? Why have artists and scholars become interested in sensing and feeling beyond, with and around our strictly human bodies and selves? Why has this notion been brought to the fore in an array of disciplines in the 21st century?

Organising Committee:
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Organising Committee

  • General Director: Mehdi Benboubakeur
  • Programming Directors: Erandy Vergara-Vargas (Artistic Programme) & Manuelle Freire (Academic Programme)
  • Communication: Pauline Barthe, Margaux Davoine & Stephanie Creaghan
  • Workshop Coordinator: Sylvaine Chassay
  • Production Coordinator for the Online Artistic Programme: Sarah Wendt
  • Technical Director: Pascal Dufaux
  • Webmaster: Maximilien Briat Martin
  • Production Coordinator: Iriana Rakotobe
  • Production assistant: Laurence Yelle
  • Branding, website & design: Monarque Communication
  • Development: Marine Villedieu

Introductory and Welcoming Notes:

Theme:
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ISEA2020 turns towards the theme of “Why Sentience? Sentience describes the ability to feel or perceive. ISEA2020 will be fully dedicated to examining the resurgence of sentience — feeling-sensing-making sense — in recent art and design, media studies, science and technology studies, philosophy, anthropology, history of science and the natural scientific realm — notably biology, neuroscience and computing. We ask: why sentience? Why and how does sentience matter? Why have artists and scholars become interested in sensing and feeling beyond, with and around our strictly human bodies and selves? Why has this notion been brought to the fore in an array of disciplines in the 21st century?

Subthemes:
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Animality

Animality treats of the non-human and beyond human senses, of expanded notions of aliveness, panpsychism and hylozoism in species other than the humans of ISEA2020. A few non-humans are accepted at ISEA2020, just not as presenters.

The Ecosophic World

The theme Ecosophic World proposes explorations of sentience understood within the entanglements of scientific, environmental, and multispecies ecologies, and their current crises. Case-studies of symbiotic and expanded ecosystems, both natural and human-made will be explored in 10 different sessions at ISEA2020.

Machinic Sense and Sensibility

Machinic Sense and Sensibility saw a great deal of proposals about the autonomy and agency, and even intentionality of robotic and digital creations. Presentations in this theme take on both the sentience of machines and sentience through machines.

Sentient Difference

Sentient Difference shines a light on ways of navigating the social, natural and materials worlds that go beyond or against normativity in regards to race, gender, queer and trans, and (dis)ability.

Matter’s Mattering

Matter’s Mattering brings forward the tangible, materials things of sentience: the bodies, circuits, infrastructures, matter, how they come to be and the place they take in modalities of engagement and sentience.

The Politics of Sentience

The Politics of Sentience was tackled by some of the most critical scholars who will present their takes on the post-truth, post-sense, sensorization, surveillance, racism, weaponization, control, inequality, re-bordering, capitalism, neo-liberalism, other isms and the institutions of knowledge creation and management of today.

The Planetary

The Planetary: few but worthwhile proposals rethink the global to reaffirm, through creation, the aesthetics of sharing in the global currents and streams of the natural elements, shared resources, beneath and above this planet’s surface.

Other Committees:
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Summit Organising Committee

  • Wendy Coones & Oliver Grau, ADA
  • Bonnie Mitchell, SIGGRAPH
  • Wim van der Plas, ISEA
  • Christina Radner, Ars Electronica

Academic Committee

  • Christine Ross – McGill University (Montreal, Canada) – co-chair
    Chris Salter – Concordia University/Hexagram (Montreal, Canada) – co-chair
  • Pau Alsina – Open University of Catalunya UOC (Barcelona, Spain)
  • Joel Ong – York University (Toronto, Canada)
  • Philippe Pasquier – Simon Fraser University (Vancouver, Canada)
  • Louise Poissant – UQAM & Fonds de recherche du Québec Société et culture (Montreal, Canada)
  • Bart Simon – Concordia University (Montreal, Canada)
  • Christa Sommerer – University of Art and Design (Linz, Austria)
  • Jonathan Sterne – McGill University (Montreal, Canada)
  • Marcelo Wanderley – McGill University (Montreal, Canada)

Artistic Committee

  • Erandy Vergara – Printemps Numérique (Montreal, Canada) – co-chair
  • Alice Jim – Concordia University (Montreal, Canada) – co-chair
  • Caroline Andrieux – Darling Foundry (Montreal, Canada) – co-chair
  • Sofian Audry – Clarkson University (N.Y., U.S.A.)
  • Skawennati Fragnito – Concordia University (Montreal, Canada)
  • Bertrand Gervais – UQAM (Montreal, Canada)
  • Christiane Paul – The New School (N.Y., U.S.A.)
  • Cheryl Sim – Phi Foundation (Montreal, Canada)
  • Tamar Tembeck – OBORO (Montreal, Canada)
  • Irma Vila – Open University of Catalunya UOC (Barcelona, Spain)
  • Soh Yeong Roh – The Art Center Nabi, Seoul, South Korea

Art Jury:

International Programme Committee:

Subsidisers/Sponsors/Funders:

Video:
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Publications: