Katharina Haverich & Fernanda Parente
Artistic Practice in the Metaverse
Block workshop, English/Deutsch, 2 SWS, 2 ECTS
Friday/Saturday 10-17 h on 15./16.11. and 29./30.11.2024
Location: Allerstr. 15, 12049 Berlin (Studio K. Haverich)

Registration on Moodle starts 14.10.2024 / Anmeldung auf Moodle beginnt am 14.10.2024:
https://moodle.udk-berlin.de/moodle/course/view.php?id=2471
Moodle Enrollment Key / Einschreibeschlüssel: metaverse

Please note: in this course are only 12 places and VR-glasses. If it is already full (or if you have an own vr glass) and you urgently want to take part, please write an email to sgp@intra.udk-berlin.de. Then we can put you onto the waiting list.

As our physical and digital lives converge, we search for new ways of redefining how we learn, create and engage with one another. Art and technology have the power to extend our realities into new realms and, when combined, can create a particular relevance for the times we live in and the futures we want to build. This workshop aims to introduce students to virtuality and explore the possibilities and challenges of artistic practice in this realm whilst developing a critical awareness of how immersive technologies impact society and vice-versa. Under the lenses of this year’s theme “Tipping Points”, students will navigate examples of how immersive technologies and art can open new channels to imagine and prototype desirable futures. The course will take place both in presence and on virtual reality platforms.

Learning Goals:               
- Develop an understanding of Virtual Reality (VR) technology and its applications.
- Explore forms of artistic practice in VR.
- Cross-disciplinary learning and exchange.
- Develop a critical awareness of how technologies impact arts, culture and society and vice-versa.
- Apply their skills in the development of a visual diary of their experiences in the metaverse.

Contents:                          
- Artistic practice in VR
- Learning how to navigate VR
- Exploring artistic concepts for VR
- Critical perspectives on VR and the metaverse within the course’s framework

Working Methods:        
- Presentations of key concepts & case studies
- Inquiry-based learning
- Project-based learning

Voraussetzung für die Teilnahme / Prerequisites for Participation: Students with limited motor skills or with visual or hearing difficulties may need assistance. We would ask for prior contact in order to ensure this support. For students with epilepsy, the use of VR glasses is not suitable, we suggest they work PC-based.

Konkrete Leistungsanforderungen für den unbenoteten Schein // Fulfilment criteria for ungraded accreditation: Active participation with presentation of final assignment: Journal developed by the students throughout the semester.

Katharina Haverich works at the intersection of media and theatre under the influence of dreams. As a conceptual performance artist and initiator, she stages dream-based sequences in digital and physical spheres. She has worked with Zentrum für Politische Schönheit, Emilio García Wehbi and Maricel Álvarez, Martin Nachbar and internil among others. Notable collaborations were presented at Münchner Kammerspiele, Teatro El Milagro (Mexico City), Theaterdiscounter, HAU, Centro Cultural Ricardo Rojas (Buenos Aires) and Akademie der Künste Berlin. Katharina Haverich gives talks and facilitates workshops in social virtual reality to explore the possibilities of avatarian co-presence. She trained with The Wooster Group, Tania Bruguera and Nevin Aladağ. Katharina Haverich holds a B.A. in Theatre and Professional Practice from Coventry University (England) and an M.A. in Theatre Studies from Freie Universität Berlin.

Fernanda Parente has been conceptualising and curating programmes at the intersection of art, technology and society for over 10 years. She started collaborating with VR creators in 2012 when she was the Head of Programme for the film and technology festival Digital Biscuit, an initiative of the Screen Directors Guild of Ireland. Since then, her interest in VR has been a constant in her career. She has previously collaborated with re:publica, the German Federal Foreign Office, Kulturstiftung des Bundes, 48hrs Neukölln among others. Since 2018, she has been lecturing at universities such as Institut HyperWerk in Basel, University of Applied Arts Vienna and at the Berlin University of the Arts. Between  2019 and 2022, she co-founded and led the studio for digitality Rosy DX. Currently, she is the Project Lead for Goethe-Institut’s worldwide metaverse project GoetheVRsum. Fernanda Parente holds a B.A. in Communications from the University of State of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and a Postgraduate Diploma in Cultural Event Management from the Institute of Art Design and Technology (Ireland).