The Ars Electronica Futurelab Academy cultivates transdisciplinarity through Art Thinking
Ars Electronica Futurelab Academy @ QUT
The Ars Electronica Futurelab Academy, a part of the Futurelab Education Initiative, was created to support students and educators from international partner universities to engage in transdisciplinary practice. Participants come from a range of backgrounds; art and design through to science, engineering and technology.
Art Thinking (trading as Ars Electronica Australia) was hosted at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) to collaborate on such transdisciplinary education programs in 2017 & 2018. The format of Ars Electronica Futurelab Academy had already been trialed at QUT previously as design course work between 2013 and 2016 but now the approach was to create a whole new curriculum spanning the full breadth of the creative industries faculty and inviting students, researchers and teachers from across the entire University to participate. The program was an overwhelming success and fostered a completely new way to approach education and research through applied experimental artistic practice.
10 projects were prototyped and 6 went on to be demonstrated, exhibited or performed at Ars Electronica Festival in Linz, Austria. These videos provide a good overview of the process and the inspirational students behind the projects.
Statement from Queensland University of Technology
The Ars Electronica Futurelab Academy at the Queensland University of Technology affords students the opportunity to situate their emergent practice within a rich transdisciplinary context. Working with peers, researchers, industry, and artists they work through stages of ideation, experimentation, prototyping, pitching and presenting media art works. The participant-led nature of the Ars Electronica Futurelab Academy @QUT creates space for students to be co-leaders and co-creators, driving their own nascent practices while being inspired, guided and mentored by a transdisciplinary team. The dynamism and culture of the Ars Electronica Futurelab Academy enables students to make the transition from highly structured learning environments to professional practice. More from QUT: https://nowalls.qut.edu.au/ars-electronica-futurelab-academy-2018/
PROJECT CREDITS
Ars Electronica Australia (powered by Art Thinking):
Kristefan Minski: Project Lead & Transdisciplinary Mentor
Lubi Thomas: Curatorial Mentor
QUT Educators & Artists:
Steph Hutchison: Artist & Educator
Greg Jenkins: Education Program lead, Artist & Educator
Yanto Browning: Artist & Mentor
Matt Strachan: Creative Technologist
Ars Electronica Futurelab
Horst Hörtner: Founder & Director
Peter Holzkorn: Futurelab Education Initiative Lead
Below some more impressions from the process.
