Prof. Dr. Gesche Joost & Žarko Dumičić
Virtual Colloquium: The Freedom to Be Free
Colloquium, English, 2 SWS, 2 ECTS, open
Start date: 17.10.2024, 09:30 – 11:00 a.m. online on Zoom
Colloquium Time: Thursdays, 09:30 – 11:00 a.m. (Berlin-time)
Colloquium Venue: Zoom (online classes) & Berlin Open Lab at UdK (in-person classes) + 2 Museum Visits on Thu 14.11. & 5.12.2024

If you would like to join, please send an email with your name, matriculation number and study program to Žarko Dumičić at zarko.dumicic@drlab.org.

THE LINK TO JOIN THE ZOOM SESSIONS:https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82954605489?pwd=VP3XBDzVogeuQtLWaXbWEFpm9ObxiQ.1

Today, cultural spaces seem to have become a battleground for intense political confrontations on many complex topics that impact all of our lives. These spaces are set under great pressure while also being confronted with resistance and boycotts. We are also witnessing the growing ‘echo chambers’ in contemporary debate, often avoiding differences of opinions and forms of expression, shying away from conflicts of viewpoints as well as reflective dialogue, and ultimately leading to greater divides and polarization in communities. As a result of the current turbulent times, we have set out to explore as part of this semester’s Virtual Colloquium what it means to be free as designers and artists in today’s society and how we can meaningfully contribute to the communities and spaces that we inhabit.

As part of the Colloquium we will invite artists, activists, and scholars to present and discuss with us their perspectives on the topic of Freedom to Be Free from their different points of view including freedom as a lived / designed practice, decolonial strategies through design, representation of marginalized communities, the problem of radicalization of online spaces and more. Furthermore, we will use design interventions to create quick conceptual design objects / rapid prototypes that reflect on different aspects of the topics discussed. The students will also work with A.I. image generation tools to reflect on the discussions and explore how A.I. “sees” the respective aspects, how biases might be prevailing and how technology influences our worldviews.

The Virtual Colloquium this semester is also open to Studium Generale students that are interested in exploring the presented topics.

More information about the course can be found on the UdK Product & Fashion Design Lehrangebot website: https://design.udk-berlin.de/lehrangebot/designmethoden-virtual-colloquium-the-freedom-to-be-free/.

Gesche Joost is Professor for Design Research at the Berlin University of the Arts and since 2005 heading the Design Research Lab. With international partners, she conducts research and development projects in the areas of human-computer interaction, wearable computing, as well as user-centered design and participation. She acts in various committees, amongst them on the board of DGTF e.V. [German Society for Design Theory and Research] and on the board of the German National Academic Foundation (Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes).

Žarko Dumičić is a designer and researcher interested in sculptural communication design artifacts, especially within the field of data physicalization. Žarko is a research assistant at the Berlin University of the Arts, where he is also conducting his doctoral research project titled “Data Physicalization as a Design Tool for Science Communication”.