HDSA 2016. If you are so smart why are you so poor

If you are so smart why are you so poor?

At work. About immaterial labor, digital economies and techno-societies.

Date: July 25th - August 5th 2016

Location: De PUNT (1st block), WAAG (2nd block), end presentation and lecture night, De PUNT

Price: Full program inclusive an informal welcome dinner, daily lunch, free access to the public programs, an arduino kit: €350,00 (excl. BTW) Price one program block: €200,00 (excl. BTW) Price public program: €5,00 entrance

Introduction

Hackers & Designers (H&D) is a non-profit cross-disciplinary community of professional technologists, designers, and artists. During the summer of 2016 Hackers & Designers will invite an international curated group of ambitious participants to learn by creating, researching, and discussing. After a successful first edition in 2015, 2016’s summer academy will be developed in close collaboration with Waag Society. The program will be stirred by the title and curatorial framework ‘At work. If you are so smart why are you so poor.’ The methodical emphasize will lie on a hands-on approach to learning. During the 10 day program the participants will be equipped with a cross-disciplinary vocabulary and the necessary scope to make more informed and ethical decisions.

Why

Designers and artists, in a world moving more and more digital, should be empowered with the tools of the digital realm including coding and hardware usage and construction. Conversely technologists should be more comfortable and effective in engaging in creative processes through familiarity with the vocabulary of designers and artists. All disciplines should become more comfortable in theoretical and social discourse, and thus be asking questions such as not only “can we” but “should we”. Title: At work. If you are so smart why are you so poor? In order to bring the diverse disciplines together in a meaningful way the program will be center around the controversial topic of immaterial labor, and the effects digital economies have on our current techno-society, – a crucial and on-going discussion at stake in both design/art and developer practices. H&D invites this year’s summer academy participants to go into discussion and critically reflect on their (digital) activities that exist outside/alongside the traditional wage-based definition of labor. What does it mean for the future of our practices to contribute to creative commons and open source projects, to self-initiate, to organize communities, to promote and publish on social networks, to perpetually generate content, to evolve multiple identities as bloggers, vloggers, mojo contributors (mobile journalism)…? Approach: Hands-on, DIY (Do it yourself) and DIT (Do it together) During the 10 day program the participants will get equipped with a cross-disciplinary vocabulary and approach and the necessary scope to make informed and ethical decisions. Concepts like encryption, crypto-currencies, post-scarcity, deep/dark webs, etc. will be addressed in a workshop manner. The hands-on approach and the challenges that come with making as opposed to talking will stay central throughout the whole program. H&D believes that in order to develop a deeper understanding of the qualities and disadvantages of technology we need to look inside the black boxes of the technology that we heavily rely on in our daily physical and digital, and our private and professional lives. Therefore we urge the participants of the summer academy to open the box, look inside it, rummage through it or even make their own boxes. Approach: Collaboration Technologists will, contrary to convention, be invited to engage at the very beginning of the creative process. Similarly the designers and artists will be invited to experiment and engage with unfamiliar and deeper technological concepts with which they may not be immediately equipped. It is through Aanvraag e-culture: Hackers & Designers Summer Academy 2016 2 the collaborative approach where common vocabulary and understanding will arise, and be available in future endeavors beyond the Summer Academy.

What

The summer academy will include international participants from both student and professional pursuits to build relationships and investigate new technologies and design media, which will jump start not only the academic careers in case of students, but also enrich existing and future professional careers with more technological tools, unique collaboration opportunities, a cross-disciplinary vocabulary, and an understanding of tech and design tools, all in a social and inclusive environment. Each day of the summer academy will be carefully programmed and structured with workshops, experimentation, and learning. During the workshops the participants will be challenged to use and push the boundaries of existing technology and programming platforms (web, hardware, software), networks online/offline (internet, peer 2 peer, beacons), and user experience (apps, web, installations, sensory organs), all in a practical manner as well as in regards to the content and ethical consequences.

Progam

The program will be divided in two blocks of each 5 days. Both program blocks fall under the thematic umbrella ‘At work’. The first block Soft work has a focus on software construction along side looking at soft concepts including soft money, soft intelligence, soft power, soft or informal forms of organization of work etc. while taking place at De PUNT. The second block Hard work focuses on Hardware construction along hard concepts like hard money, hard data, hard labor, etc., while taking place at the Fablab of Waag Society. The two blocks complement each other in terms of taught technical skills and in regards to the content. Participants can apply for one of the two blocks or for the full program. All workshops will be accessible for both the tech-savvy and newbie nerds.

Block 1 Soft work:

July 25th-July 30th 2016

Curated by H&D, taking place at De PUNT, Frans de Wollantstraat 84, Amsterdam

Mode of production: hands-on!

Workshopping, wire framing, software development & prototyping, designing, discussion

Block 2 Hard work

August 1st-5th 2016

Curated by Waag Society & Hackers & Designers,taking place at Waag Society’s Fablab, Nieuwmarkt 4 Amsterdam

Research question: Does smart technology makes us dumb?

Workshopping: Make an animate machine (bezielde machine)

Modes of production: hands-on!

Hardware hacking, wiring, soldering, prototyping and discussing while making a smart machine

Public program

The workshops will be contextualized with a public film screening curated by Jeffrey Babcock and a public lecture program, the Hackers & Designers Summer Talks. Both programs attract a bigger audience and therefore serve as a stage for projects created during the Summer Academy. For the lecture night Hackers & Designers and Waag Society will invite cross-disciplinary speakers to take the participants and the public into a deeper conversation around the topics investigated during the summer academy. The speakers promise an informed evening offering insights and diverse perspectives into their research, professional and artistic practices, but all the while maintaining the satirical and humorous approach of Hackers & Designers.

Who

H&D will be responsible for project management, developing the general thematic and curatorial framework of the Summer Academy and elaborate and finalize the 1st program block: Soft Work. H&D will furthermore develop a (visual) communication strategy. Waag will develop and facilitate the curriculum of the second part of the program: Hard Work, host the public film screening and will support H&D with advice throughout the development process. H&D and Waag will together develop the public program, and together share responsibilities on matters that concern the overall concept of the program. Both initiatives will generate media attention for the program, and both initiatives together will work on the selection process of Summer Academy participants. H&D & Waag will work closely together with the tutors to arrange any and all necessary materials for successful workshops.

Significance/importance

The Hackers & Designers Summer Academy provides a truly unique opportunity in the developing careers of designers, engineers, artists, and programmers to have unfettered access to disciplines which will have very little or no coverage in traditional undergraduate or graduate curriculums, especially in beta-sciences. Furthermore, it inspires students and practitioners to make a stake in technology, art and design and in the long term helps to provide the population of technically savvy citizens in the Netherlands, desire in order to create an tech economy that is relevant in global ecosystem.

Aim

Participants who have participated in the Hackers & Designers Summer Academy will at a minimum find a lower barrier to execution in technological mediums and design thinking and methodologies. The participants will have access to new tools and will develop personal networks for collaboration and assistance as they continue their future developing practices. Additionally, beyond hands-on experimentation with current technologies, participants will develop a foundation of theoretical knowledge valuable in the current and future public discourse.

Target group

The Summer Academy is for professional practitioners in the fields of design, art, and technology in and outside of the Netherlands as well as international undergraduate/graduate students. The participants will ideally be highly motivated and interested in cross-disciplinary practices as well as self-initiation.

Participants from all disciplines will be vetted based upon submitted applications, CVs, portfolios, and a history of engagement and/or interest in technology. The ideal applicants will also have a record of self-initiated projects.

Technology participants Technology participants primarily study and/or work in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, informatica, data science, bio engineering and/or physics. Designers and artists Participants from the fields of design and/or arts are interested in digital culture, technology and engaging critically in discussions about new social and technological developments.

The public program invites the broader public to engage in the topics of this year’s Summer Academy through film, lectures and discussion. It’s an opportunity to engage with participants, workshop leaders, lecturers and organizers with friendly curiosity and criticality, and join the discourse which hopefully will extend far beyond the 10 days of the event