The first day in particular had a focus on artistic practice and the possibilities of machine learning  algorithms as a mode of production and creative tool.

 

K(not) a Conversation is an artistic research project by Thomas Heidtmann, Nayeli Vargas and Ambika Joshi exploring the concepts of artificial intelligence, creativity and labour. Through interactive installations inspired by ancient indigenous communication systems of Quipu knots, it instigates a communication and reflection process through the use of knots and AI systems. Quipus were devices composed from cotton of camelid fibre strings that recorded data through the organisation of knotted cords to inform a spectrum of social activities in Andean regions. Formally taking inspiration from this ancient apparatus, K(not) a Conversation instigates dialogue with an AI system to examine a possible evolution of concepts such as intelligence, creativity and labour. Started in 2020 as part of the BeFantastic CoLab Fellowship during the COVID-19 pandemic, the project has been displayed at Vorspiel / transmediale & CTM and India Art Fair.

 

 

Ariel Estrella (they/them) is a queer Latine scholar hailing from Queens, NYC who is pursuing a PhD in Literatures in English at Cornell University, specializing in queer of color lyricism, visual art, and aesthetic practices. Through their work, Ariel asks: what does lyricism offer queer creators of color in the midst of racism and cultural celebration; homophobia and queer kinship; transphobia and gender possibility? And, in turn, what do queer creators of color offer lyrical creative enterprises with their experiments in form? They have been published in several anthologies and were a 2021 Lambda Literary Emerging LGBTQ Writers Nonfiction Fellow.

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