project Archives - Page 2 of 2

Artists in residency 2022-2023

In 2022 / 2023 we are kicking off our yearly programme to support research, residency, co-production and mediation of artistic projects linking art, science and technology.

This programme allows us to support contemporary creation in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation and to participate in the transmission of scientific and technological knowledge in the Brussels Region.

Each artist receives a personalised support, ranging from meeting and exchange with scientists, access to Ohme spaces and lab to work for short residencies, financial participation in research projects, technical research and development by Ohme Lab and the creation of a tailored artistic and scientific mediation.

While there is no obligation to the production of a final work, we invite the artists to participate in a public presentation of their project, focusing on their research – whether in progress or concluded – and to raise awareness of scientific topics and technologies. These events will take place between spring and autumn 2023.

For this first edition, we have selected 6 artists to work with, putting our skills and competences at the service of their creation, on an intermittent basis, for a period of 1 year. The artists with whom we have the pleasure of working are Damien Petitot, Studio Adrien Lucca, Laura Colmenares Guerra, Frederik Vanhoutte, Yannick Jacquet and Otto Lindholm.

Stay tuned for more info !

PROJECT PARTNERS

This programme is organised thanks to the support of

the Digital Arts Commission of Wallonia-Brussels Federation and Innoviris

Machines for Good

WHAT IS MACHINES FOR GOOD?

Can Artificial Intelligence be not only a tool but also a topic to discuss?

Starting from this challenge, 4 European organizations – Baltan Laboratories, Fundación Zaragoza Ciudad del Conocimiento – FZC, Ohme, led by Sineglossa – launch Machines for Good, a new European project funded by the European Commission under the CERV program.

CERV stands for Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values: it’s a program launched in 2021 by the European Union that will run for seven years, until 2027. It seeks to support and develop open, rights-based, democratic, equal and inclusive societies based on the rule of law. This includes a vibrant and empowered civil society, encouraging people’s democratic, civic and social participation and cultivating the rich diversity of European society, based on our common values, history and memory.

Machines for Good will contribute to achieve this goal by using AI not only as a tool but also as a driver of participation of youngsters, when combined with arts. To do so, the project plans a series of training workshops in each country where partners are based – Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain – aimed at teenagers and young people, in which artificial intelligence tools will be shown and used to critically address issues related to 4 technology challenges: technology and sustainability, technology and democracy, technology and climate change, and technology and community.

From these workshops, a set of guidelines will emerge and will be discussed with local and international policy makers and stakeholders. As a last step, a document of policy recommendations will be published, aiming to increase awareness on Artificial Intelligence and its potential for citizen’s participation.

Artificial intelligence workshops

On 12 and 13 July 2023, Ohme hosted two interactive workshops at FARI, the AI Institute for the Common Good, to explore practical responses to societal problems using AI.

Working with citizens, AI experts and professionals, we explored how these technologies can be applied to two important sectors for the sustainability of our communities: food and the circular economy. How can these new tools have a positive impact on society? How real can this impact be?

In partnership with The Barn Bio Market – Brussels | La Ferme du parc Maximilien | K roket | Le Péd alo | T erroirist

Mission: To meet the challenges of a Brussels partner active in the food sector by exploring the possibilities and limits of these new technologies.

This workshop also focused on the ethical and societal issues involved in implementing such tools, in order to provide an overview of this highly topical subject.

In partnership with Repair together

Mission: To respond to various challenges such as repairability and programmed obsolescence by exploring the possibilities and limits of these new technologies.

This workshop also focused on the ethical and societal issues involved in implementing such tools, in order to provide an overview of this highly topical subject.

Policy-maker event: ENGAGE - AI & citizen participation

On 30 November 2023, Ohme hosted at FARI a morning of talks and exchanges to explore the potential of artificial intelligence combined with art to enhance civil participation and engagement in democratic processes, with a focus on climate change issues. This event – free upon registration – was designed for an audience of policymakers, researchers and civil servants working in Belgian public administrations.

9:30 – 10:00 : Reception of participants and the public at FARI’s premises in Be-Central (Cantersteen 16, 1000 Brussels)

10:00 – 10:40 : First talk by Neena Singh of Knowledge center – Data & Society, the central hub for the legal, social and ethical aspects of data-driven applications and AI applications presenting Amai! – Boosting AI Literacy and co-creating AI Solutions for societal challenges.

10:40 – 11:00 : Coffee break

11:00 – 11:40 : Second talk by Antoine Bertin, a French artist working with the research centre Earth Species Project to decode animal language using AI to develop innovative forms of sensibilisation and advocacy practices to raise public awareness on climate change issues.

11:40 – 12:30 : Panel talk with the morning’s speakers and a representative from FARI

12:30 – 13:30 : Networking Lunch

PARTNERS

Baltan Laboratories is a cultural indisciplinary lab based in Eindhoven (NL). Baltan Lab focuses on societal issues through a relational approach, creating spaces to rehearse living otherwise. In a world full of complexity, Baltan Lab stands for the importance of interactions between different disciplines to achieve a relational approach able to respond to the environmental, political, social, economic and technological issues we must address today.

Ohme is an organisation based in Brussels (BE) that creates and produces original content at the intersection of Arts and Sciences. Drawing on a multidisciplinary team of engineers and professionals from the cultural sector as well as a large scientific and artistic network, Ohme’s objective is to develop new forms of scientific mediation, multidisciplinary artistic creation, education and innovation through collaborative practices.

Sineglossa is a cultural organisation based in Ancona (IT) that fosters new sustainable development models in response to global challenges by applying the processes of contemporary art.

Zaragoza City of Knowledge Foundation (FZC)/Etopia is a private non-profit foundation founded in 2004 based in Zaragoza (ES). Its founding objectives include the dissemination of the progress made by the Knowledge Society to build a more participative, equalitarian, inclusive, and innovative society; open to new developments and opportunities offered when we work at the intersection of art, science and technology.

Triaxes+

As a Brussels-based actor around the topics of interdisciplinarity, innovation and collaboration, taking part to the coordination of TRIAXES Ens from 2019 was an opportunity Ohme couldn’t miss !

TRIAXES Ens is an intensive and exciting collaborative project developed jointly with the design, business, engineering and law schools. It brings together students from four faculties to collaborate and integrate design thinking models for both the product prototyping and business model envisaged. This interfaculty master module for MA2 students combines the following features : creativity, multidisciplinarity, entrepreneurship, product development, teamwork and project-based learning. The uniqueness of the program comes from this innovative combination, from how it is integrated in a continuously improving pedagogical ecosystem and from the strong and rare learning outcomes offered by this experience.

Any curriculum at university-level in a specific faculty and scientific field offers few opportunities to exchange, share and collaborate with people having other backgrounds. The TRIAXES methodology offers this opportunity to step outside the specific educational monoculture students faced during higher education. TRIAXES ENS is a practical allegory of what one would call “transdisciplinary synergy”. The collective intelligence of students with different backgrounds, united behind a common goal, leads to creative solutions to complex challenges and tangible results which go beyond what would be possible by simply setting out disciplines side-by- side.

In terms of learning outcomes, this collaborative experience helps to overcome individualism and silo thinking and to acquire new sustainable (meta-)skills and mindsets which are key success factors in the (post-graduated) real-life world of work: open-mindedness, critical thinking, perspective shifting, knowledge transfer, teamwork mentality, task breakdown, introspection, etc. Moreover, the project-based learning approach motivates the students by actively engaging them in a real-world
and personally meaningful project.

From 2013 to present, 89 students have taken part to TRIAXES Ens projects. The 2019-20 edition signalled the end of the first chapter. Indeed, we have new perspectives and ambitions for TRIAXES Ens programmes. We’re currently working with the supervisory team on two new formats: TRIAXES Ens Master Theses and TRIAXES Ens Advanced Master.

Our highest desire and ambition is to go even further in interdisciplinarity by involving people with broader backgrounds: artists, biologist, architects, musicians, philosophers, etc. More info soon!