Katharina Haverich & Fernanda Parente
Artistic Practice in the Metaverse
Seminar in presence with hybrid elements, English/Deutsch, 2 SWS, 2 ECTS
Thursdays, 10-13 h on 27.10.2022 (10-14 h), 17.11. (ATTENTION: instead of 10.11.!), 24.11. 8.12., 15.12.2022, 19.1., 2.2., 9.2.2023 (10-14 h), Fasanenstr. 86, LDI seminar space in the ground floor (access with the seminar group only, please come on time!)

This course aims to introduce students to the possibilities of artistic practice in virtual worlds whilst developing a critical awareness of how these technologies impact society and vice-versa.  Students will work together in multidisciplinary groups and bring their own perspectives and specific skills to experiment and prototype artistic projects. At the same time, the course will encourage students to investigate and discuss how existing power structures affect their practice under the lenses of intersectionality. The course will take place partially on campus, but mostly remotely in virtual reality platforms.

In this workshop, participants will develop an understanding of Virtual Reality (VR) technology and its applications as well as a critical awareness of how technologies impact arts, culture and society and vice-versa. Working methods in the seminar include presentations of concepts and case studies, readings and discussions as well as project-based learning. There will be cross-disciplinary learning and exchange. Participants will experiment with various platforms and forms of artistic practice in VR. They will apply their discipline skills and concepts in practical projects and prototyping artistic concepts in VR. Critical perspectives on Class and Art will be discussed within the course’s framework.

Requirements for the ungraded Studium Generale credits: The only assignment will be the presentation of group works, which will be developed throughout the semester.

Prerequisites for Participation: Students with limited motor skills or with visual or hearing difficulties would need special assistance. For this, we would ask for prior contact to ensure this support. For students with epilepsy the use of VR glasses is not suitable, they would work PC-based.

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. Haverich is a founding member of Virtual Club of Dangerous Women and unreal.theater as well as co-founder of neo.NEULAND and Radikale Töchter. Among others, she worked with Zentrum für Politische Schönheit, Emilio García Wehbi & Maricel Álvarez, Christopher Hotti Böhm, Martin Nachbar and internil. Her shows were presented at Chicago Virtual Art Museum, Acker Stadt Palast Keller, fleetinsel Rundgang, Keller Mareschstr 15, Vollgutlager and Spreehalle. Further notable collaborations include presentations at Münchner Kammerspiele, fft, Teatro El Milagro (Mexico-City), Theaterdiscounter, HAU, Centro Cultural Ricardo Rojas (Buenos Aires) and Akademie der Künste Berlin. Haverich regularly gives talks and facilitates workshops in social virtual reality (VR) to explore the possibilities of avatarian co-presence. Together with diverse groups of participants she experiments in different settings with the use of social VR.

Fernanda Parente is a curator, entrepreneur and lecturer in the fields of art, culture & technology. She is interested in the power of immersive content and in innovative ways of artistic production and audience engagement. Fernanda has previously curated for the film and technology festival Digital Biscuit, re:publica, Future Affairs, Martin Roth Symposium, Goethe Institute, 48hrs Neukölln among others. Since 2018, she has been lecturing internationally on topics such as Converging Technological Trends, Extended Realities and Speculative Futures. Universities include Hochschule für Medien, Kommunikation und Wirtschaft (Berlin-DE), FH-Kufstein Tirol (Kufstein-AT), Institut HyperWerk (Basel-CH) and Universität für angewandte Kunst (Vienna-AT). In 2019, she co-founded the studio for digitality Rosy DX, which operates in Berlin and Düsseldorf.