Summer Camp @ Catch Collective
Makery was in correspondence with representatives of Catch, Aalborg University and Copenhagen IT University, the main organizers of the Summer camp 2019, happening between 12-16 August in Elsinore, Denmark.
For the third time this year, and as part of the Feral Labs Network series, Catch and the Shakespeare-flavoured town of Elsinore will host a summer camp. The relationship between human and tech will be examined through artistic and curatorial practices at the 2019 edition of the camp in Elsinore’s historical shipyard. Aalborg University, Catch and IT University have joined forces to offer a summer camp open to artists, curators, master and PhD students focusing on “artistic and curatorial practices in the age of technogenesis“. This year, the summer camp will also be a prelude to the conference RE:SOUND Sound Media – Theories, Histories, Practices, happening from 20-23 August in Aalborg.
The partners have jointly invited an international group of speakers, who will address curatorial and institutional perspectives, procedural design practice, sound, distribution & production in the digital realm, and critical strategies for alternative ways of creating cultural value-production. Summer school will include speakers who are renowned artists and curators themselves: Laura Beloff, Morten Søndergaard, Claudia Robles, Tanya Toft Ag, Florian Weigl, Miguel Carvalhais, Magnus Kaslov, Anna Nacher, Helen Leigh, Frederik Tollund Juutilainen and Nina Cecilie Højholdt.
Trailer of the Summer camp 2019:
Camp in a theoretical context
“Technogenesis, as theoretical proposition, is a test to our conventional understanding that humans and technology are separate and apart. At the summer camp we wish to work around such dualist views and instead ask critical questions about what technology generates and what that might imply for art and curating”, explained Morten Søndergaard from the Aalborg University.
Technogenesis as camp’s central term is based on N. Katherine Hayles’s conceptualization of how human species and various tools and technologies co-evolve. During the camp the participants will investigate the aspects of technogenesis, its effect, horizons and thresholds, with a focus on processes of innovation and intersecting materialities in the context of sound. In other words, the camp will have a general emphasis on sound practices and sound as a material. However, it is not expected that participants are sound experts or work primarily with sound.
“The participants are expected to develop ideas, prototypes and concepts as responses and reflections to discussed topics and the world at large. One of the aims of the course is to explore ways to deal with theoretical and “large” questions within artistic practice, and to scrutinize what kind of wider impact and interpretation the constructed prototype might have”, mentioned Laura Beloff from the IT University of Copenhagen.
Outcomes for the participants
The 5-days Summer Camp is tailored to provide a two-track programme for artists and for curators, but also for researchers. The format of the summer camp is open to master students, PhD-students, artists, professionals, makers and creatives of all sorts. “It is a unique possibility to meet up with other artists, curators and researchers working within this specific area – and art and technology in general”, specifies Majken Overgaard, program manager at Catch.
And what are the advantages of this approach? “At Catch we have held summer camps the past two years and working together intensively for a week always brings people together in a very good way; you learn a lot, not only through the keynotes, but also by engaging with the other participants and their practice”, adds Overgaard.
A special track of the Summer Camp is arranged for PhD students, securing that formal requirements are met. Laura Beloff highlights the academic value of the camp, designed especially for PhD students: “The course includes readings on technogenesis and sound, and additionally various articles by the invited speakers (the readings are obligatory for the academic PhD-course participants). The invited talks by a range of practitioners and curators on the field of art-technology-science and academic research will bring new aspects into the discussion.”
Morten Søndergaard, Aalborg University, notes that “The PhD course is closely connected to the conference RE:SOUND Sound Media – Theories, Histories, Practices in that the series focusses on the relationships of art, technology and science in the cultural constructions of artistic expressions, curating, histories and archives.” The conference represents an additional value for researchers in order to make their work more visible. The RE:SOUND conference follows the camp soon after, from 20-23 August in Aalborg. For Summer Camp participants the reduced fee for the conference will be offered.
The Summer Camp is designed to provide an ideal combination between theory and practice. Its format is open albeit it also offers a formalized attestation for those who need it. Morten Søndergaard’s words sound promising for all the knowledge-seekers: “The course will be vivid with its multiple inputs from various individuals – expect to get inspired, challenged, surprised and have an intense week of work!”
Catch Summer Camp 2019, from 12-16 August, Elsinore, Denmark.
RE:SOUND Sound Media – Theories, Histories, Practices, from 20-23 August, Aalborg.
The Feral Labs Network is co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.