BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Edinburgh Futures Institute - ECPv6.15.20//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-WR-CALNAME:Edinburgh Futures Institute
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Edinburgh Futures Institute
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:Europe/London
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+0000
TZOFFSETTO:+0100
TZNAME:BST
DTSTART:20240331T010000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+0100
TZOFFSETTO:+0000
TZNAME:GMT
DTSTART:20241027T010000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+0000
TZOFFSETTO:+0100
TZNAME:BST
DTSTART:20250330T010000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+0100
TZOFFSETTO:+0000
TZNAME:GMT
DTSTART:20251026T010000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+0000
TZOFFSETTO:+0100
TZNAME:BST
DTSTART:20260329T010000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+0100
TZOFFSETTO:+0000
TZNAME:GMT
DTSTART:20261025T010000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250502T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250502T190000
DTSTAMP:20260501T112039
CREATED:20250205T123126Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250624T103849Z
UID:10000232-1746208800-1746212400@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Marcus du Sautoy: How Mathematics Shapes Creativity
DESCRIPTION:Many of the artists that we encounter are completely unaware of the mathematics that bubble beneath their craft\, while some consciously use it for inspiration. Our instincts might tell us that these two subjects are incompatible forces with nothing in common – mathematics being the realm of precise logic and art being the realm of emotion and aesthetics – but what if we’re wrong?  \n\n\n\nMarcus du Sautoy joins us at the Futures Institute to unpack how we make art\, why a creative mindset is vital for discovering new mathematics\, and how a fundamental connection to the natural world intrinsically links these two subjects.  \n\n\n\nSpeaker Biographies\n\n\n\n\n\nMarcus du Sautoy\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMarcus du Sautoy has been named by the Independent on Sunday as one of the UK’s leading scientists\, has written extensively for the Guardian\, The Times and the Daily Telegraph and has appeared on Radio 4 on numerous occasions. In 2008 he was appointed to Oxford University’s prestigious professorship as the Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science\, a post previously held by Richard Dawkins.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nChair: Minhyong Kim\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMinhyong Kim is Director and Sir Edmund Whittaker Professor of Mathematical Sciences at the International Centre for Mathematical Sciences in Edinburgh. He works on arithmetic geometry\, the study of spaces built out of finitely-generated systems of numbers\, employing ideas of mathematical physics\, especially topological quantum field theory.  Minhyong is a keen communicator of mathematics and has published 13 books in Korea for the general public. His latest project is a series of illustrated children’s books featuring a mathematician (who quickly disappears)\, his family (who search for him)\, and Schroedinger’s cat (who does both).
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/marcus-de-sautoy-how-mathematics-shapes-creativity/
LOCATION:Edinburgh Futures Institute\, Level 0 Event Space\, 1 Lauriston Place\, Edinburgh\, EH3 9EF\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Making Waves: Spring 2025,Talk/Discussion
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/250502_MarcusduSautoyHowMathematicsShapesCreativity.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250429T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250429T203000
DTSTAMP:20260501T112039
CREATED:20250205T122745Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250410T093314Z
UID:10000231-1745949600-1745958600@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:The New Real Salon: Doing AI Differently 
DESCRIPTION:Join us for the third iteration of The New Real Salon\, which introduces their new international initiative\, Doing AI Differently. This initiative sets out to integrate the humanities\, data science\, and engineering in shaping the future of artificial intelligence. It is led by The New Real and the Data-Centric Engineering at Alan Turing Institute; and brings together the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC/UKRI) and partner institutions in the UK and North America.  \n\n\n\nAI has transitioned from numerical outputs to text-based\, qualitative ones\, highlighting the need for the humanities\, arts and social sciences to guide its development. Doing AI Differently brings humanities insights directly into AI design\, fostering collaboration between disciplines and aims to address complex\, context-dependent tasks in AI. By doing so\, it enhances AI tools for deep contextual analysis across different domains\, and fundamentality advances data-centric engineering.  \n\n\n\nThis event will showcase insights from our research in exploring humanities-based approaches to AI design. Throughout the event\, audience members will have the opportunity to participate in the discussion.  \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\nImage credit: Yutong Liu & Kingston School of Art  / Better Images of AI / Talking to AI 2.0 / CC-BY 4.0
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/the-new-real-salon-doing-ai-differently/
LOCATION:Edinburgh Futures Institute\, Level 0 Event Space\, 1 Lauriston Place\, Edinburgh\, EH3 9EF\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Making Waves: Spring 2025,Talk/Discussion
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/250429_NewReal-Yutong-Liu-Kingston-School-of-Art-Better-Images-of-AI-Talking-to-AI-2.0-CC-BY-4.0.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250425T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250425T190000
DTSTAMP:20260501T112039
CREATED:20250205T121926Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250327T151901Z
UID:10000230-1745604000-1745607600@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:David Farrier: Nature’s Genius
DESCRIPTION:Life on Earth is changing; the question is\, can we change with it? Can we remake the world to be fit for all life to thrive once more? In his new book Nature’s Genuis: Evolution’s Lessons for a Changing World\, Professor David Farrier takes us on a profound journey into this ever-changing natural world\, encouraging us to think creatively about finding ways that we can adapt\, ways to stop the destruction we’re causing to the planet.  \n\n\n\nSpeaker Biographies\n\n\n\n\n\nDavid Farrier\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDavid Farrier is Professor of Literature and the Environment at the University of Edinburgh. David’s first book\, Footprints: In Search of Future Fossils\, looked at the marks we are leaving on the planet and how these might appear in the fossil record in the deep future. It was named by both The Times and Telegraph as a Book of the Year\, earned praise from Robert Macfarlane and Margaret Atwood\, and has been translated into ten languages. He has had pieces published in The Atlantic\, BBC Future\, Emergence\, Prospect\, Daily Telegraph\, Orion and The Washington Post. He has spoken at numerous online events\, has given an invited lecture at the Royal Geographical Society\, and has appeared on radio and podcasts such as BBC’s Free Thinking and Little Atoms.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nChair: Hermione Cockburn\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHermione Cockburn is an Honorary Fellow of the School of Geosciences at the University of Edinburgh and former Scientific Director at Dynamic Earth. She began her career in research working on landscape evolution in Africa\, Antarctica and Australia before moving on to present science programmes for the BBC including an 8-part television series about British palaeontology for which she wrote an accompanying book. She is passionate about empowering people with understanding and empathy for the Earth and enabling life-long learning. She was an associate lecturer with the Open University in Scotland teaching environmental science for many years and now works with a variety of organisations to support learning for a range of audiences. Hermione is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh\, a trustee of National Museums Scotland and in 2020 was awarded an OBE for services to public engagement in science. 
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/david-farrier-natures-genius/
LOCATION:Edinburgh Futures Institute\, Level 0 Event Space\, 1 Lauriston Place\, Edinburgh\, EH3 9EF\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Making Waves: Spring 2025,Talk/Discussion
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/250425_DavidFarrierNaturesGenius.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250425T100000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250425T160000
DTSTAMP:20260501T112039
CREATED:20250205T120553Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250403T153101Z
UID:10000229-1745575200-1745596800@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Utopia Lab: The Understorey 
DESCRIPTION:Utopia is a ‘no-space’ for contemplation\, innovation and collaboration. The term utopia was coined from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia\, describing a fictional island society in the Atlantic Ocean. The word comes from Greek: οὐ (“not”) and τόπος (“place”) and means “no-place” and strictly describes any non-existent society ‘described in considerable detail’.  \n\n\n\nOur Utopia Labs are ‘no-spaces’\, places where everyone is welcome to join us in dreaming futures that inspire our experience of the present. Our labs curate interactions between academics\, artists\, entrepreneurs\, students and audiences in person and online globally. We are interested in that which is provocative and irreverent as well as that which is nurturing and joyful. Utopia questions are catalysts for inquiry\, learning and creativity. With an emphasis on innovative and experimental ways of communicating\, we will explore meditation\, dialogue and co-creation with the help of a facilitator. Participants consist of University of Edinburgh staff and students\, and non-University practitioners.  \n\n\n\nIn this Utopia Lab session\, artist and writer Anna Chapman Parker will present her understanding of Utopia\, looking at how creative practices can respond to feelings of uncertainty\, disconnection and powerlessness. We will explore a variety of drawing and reading-drawing activities through which to engage with the everyday wildness of common local plants\, or ‘weeds’. We will consider what Utopia means and how it could be a useful crucible in which to explore positive change. \n\n\n\n\n10am-11am:   Welcome\, Warm Up and Introductions \n\n\n\n11am-12:30pm: Walking – Seeing – Drawing\n\n\n\n12:30pm-1:30pm:   Lunch \n\n\n\n1:30pm-3:30pm: Reading – Drawing – Sharing\n\n\n\n3:30pm-4pm:   Integration \n\n\n\n\nLunch and materials for creating will be provided. The lab will also include meditation\, poetry reading/listening and simple movement and breathing exercises. All body types and levels of experience welcome. Please wear comfortable clothing and be prepared to go for a walk outdoors\, in whatever the weather.  \n\n\n\nBiographies\n\n\n\n\n\nAnna Chapman Parker\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n Anna Chapman Parker is an artist and writer based in Northumberland. Her work explores relationships between drawing\, writing\, body and place. She is particularly interested in acts of focused observation; in how we record and report periods of looking within the increasingly mediated culture of the attention economy. She uses a variety of materials and methods from ink drawing to digital media\, often navigating uncertain relationships between drawing and text.  \n\n\n\nRecent exhibitions include Sonikebana\, commissioned by Edinburgh College of Art for Edinburgh Art Festival; Imprints: Art Edits Modernism at Shandy Hall\, Yorkshire; and I sat till I could see no longer at Fife Contemporary Arts\, St Andrews. My writing has appeared in Happy Hypocrite\, MAP and Rake’s Progress.   \n\n\n\nUnderstorey\, her first book\, was published by Duckworth Books in June 2024\, and was featured or reviewed in The Observer\, The Scotsman and the Daily Mail.   \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJennifer Williams\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJennifer Williams is the Creative Projects Manager at Edinburgh Futures Institute. She manages a portfolio of creative projects that connect the work of the Institute to communities within the University of Edinburgh and beyond its walls. Utopia Lab\, for instance\, is a project in which people from many different places gather to dream futures that inspire our experience of the present and allow us to see the world in new ways that enable change.  \n\n\n\nJennifer is a poet and librettist and her background is in writing\, art\, collaboration\, creative learning and project management. Williams is particularly interested in expanding dialogues across languages\, perspectives and cultures and in poetry\, cross-form work\, music\, visual art\, dance\, opera and theatre. She is concerned with the body\, and how slowing down can help busy people to experience their connection to themselves\, one another and the world more fully.  \n\n\n\nShe holds a BA degree from Wellesley College in English Literature with a Studio Art minor\, and an MLitt in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow. Recent posts have included Projects & Engagement Coordinator at the Institute for Academic Development\, Programme Manager at the Scottish Poetry Library and Literature Officer at the Traverse Theatre.  \n\n\n\nSee Jennifer’s website (www.jlwilliamspoetry.co.uk) for more information about her own creative explorations.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMatjaz Vidmar\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDr Matjaz Vidmar is one of the first utopians\, joining the pilot project in 2019. He is excited about philosophical\, processual and political implications of utopian thinking\, but actually enjoys the off-grid\, poetry-infused meditative vibe of our labs the most. Matjaz is also an academic in Engineering Management\, where he is researching innovation processes\, R&D (eco)systems and futures strategies and design\, especially within the space industry\, artificial intelligence and data-driven economy. He leads interdisciplinary projects spanning arts\, science and civil society\, he is involved in several start-up companies; and he delivers an extensive public engagement programme. More at www.blogs.ed.ac.uk/vidmar 
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/utopia-lab-the-understorey/
LOCATION:Room 2.55\, Edinburgh Futures Institute\, 1 Lauriston Place\, Edinburgh\, EH3 9EF
CATEGORIES:Making Waves: Spring 2025,Workshop
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/250425_Utopia-Lab-1536x1024-1.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250417T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250417T193000
DTSTAMP:20260501T112039
CREATED:20250205T120000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250623T104406Z
UID:10000228-1744912800-1744918200@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:A&I (Beta): Orange Grove Dance’s Embodied Performance with AI
DESCRIPTION:An international premiere performance by dance\, design\, and film company\, Orange Grove Dance (USA)\, A&I is a new dance and multimedia live production between five performers and a solitary AI interface (Luna) that uses smart home technology on a theatrical scale. The work questions how we see and care for the technologies we have created\, which hold up the fragile ecosystems of modern society.  \n\n\n\nA&I PERFORMANCE TRAILER CAN BE FOUND HERE ** \n\n\n\nA&I is a first-of-its-kind production\, integrating AI technology to respond to performers’ actions in real-time while controlling technical elements of the performance. The work explores how we perceive and care for the technologies rapidly shaping the modern world. Engaged in embodied conversations of their hopes and dreams\, the performers and Luna (AI) are led into situations where they must see each other ‘face-to-face’— together creating emotionally driven digital and sonic landscapes that reference the nostalgia of what it means to be a 21st century human.   \n\n\n\n**Performances at The Voxel in April 2024 marked the Beta debut of the work. Performances of A&I will continue to change and develop as the technology for the work continues to evolve.  \n\n\n\nAbout Orange Grove Dance\n\n\n\nOrange Grove Dance (OGD) continually redefines creative ingenuity through its interdisciplinary approach to dance and art-making. Known for innovative performances that blend movement\, design\, film\, and technology\, the company consistently expands the boundaries of contemporary dance. The imagistic gravity of the work compels audiences beyond the confines of traditional stage venues and reflects the extraordinary influence of dance in everyday life. Under the direction of Artistic Directors Colette Krogol and Matt Reeves\, OGD’s acclaimed canon of works is recognised for its powerful imagery and choreography\, which engages audiences in a world that is relevant\, mysterious\, and absorbing.  \n\n\n\nOGD enacts its mission (to bring dance\, design\, and film to all communities) through the artistic vehicle of its presentation\, research\, and educational programming through films\, performances\, classes and workshops and – a hallmark of its programming – the OGD Summer Intensive. The Intensive serves as a unique embodiment of the company’s priorities and mission to embolden interdisciplinary artists and designers through an affordable weeklong incubation with the company. The OGD Intensive allows artists to get inside of OGD’s creative processes while continuing the development and exploration of their own artistic voice.  \n\n\n\nOver the past decade OGD has been presented by The Voxel\, The Kennedy Center\, Dance Place\, Maryland Theater for the Performing Arts\, U.S. Botanic Garden\, Museum of Zhang Zhidong\, City of Alexandria’s Waterfront Park\, CulturalDC\, Dupont Underground\, Joe’s Movement Emporium\, and The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.  \n\n\n\nBiographies\n\n\n\n\n\nColette Krogol and Matt Reeves || Artistic Directors\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nColette Krogol and Matt Reeves are acclaimed directors\, choreographers\, filmmakers\, and mixed media designers. As a collaborative duo they have been creating dances together for over fifteen years through their founding and directing of Orange Grove Dance. Their award-winning works are noted for bringing virtuosic athleticism\, mesmerizing design landscapes\, and powerful imagery to their audiences.   \n\n\n\nKrogol and Reeves are Helen Hayes Award winners for “Outstanding Choreography in a Play” for their work in Round House Theatre’s production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (2020). Additional honors and commissions include: 2023 Rubys Artist Grantees through the Deutsch Foundation\, The Carla Fund for Choreography and Performance (Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation)\, Maryland State Arts Council’s Artist Awards\, the Baker Artist Awards (2024\, 2023\, and 2021)\, and The Voxel’s 2024 Artists-in-Residence program– where they continued developing their newest stage work\, A&I.   \n\n\n\nAs faculty\, they have served at Johns Hopkins University’s Peabody Institute\, Towson University\, George Washington University\, University of Florida\, University of Maryland\, and the Wuhan Institute of Design and Sciences in China. They have also directed residencies at American University\, Dickinson College\, Sweet Briar College\, Hillsborough Community College\, and the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance in Israel.   \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLondon Brison || Performer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLondon Brison\, a South Tennessee native\, is an East Coast-based performing artist. Holding a BFA in Dance from Troy University in Alabama\, he has trained under mentors like Dominic Angel and Dante Puleio\, while showcasing his talent in works by choreographers including Kyle Abraham\, Kile Hotchkiss\, Tucker Knox\, and Trey Coates-Mitchell. Brison’s professional credits include Dendy/Donovan Projects\, Orange Grove Dance\, Dafi Alteba\, Chris Bell Dances\, and The Dash Ensemble with notable performances at the American Dance Festival\, Jacob’s Pillow\, the U.S. Botanic Garden\, The Kennedy Center\, New York Live Arts\, and Dance Place DC.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRobin Neveu Brown || Performer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRobin Neveu Brown is a Baltimore/DC-based dance teaching artist\, performer\, choreographer\, writer\, and mover/lover/mother. Her passion is working with people as a creativity amplifier\, uncovering the connections between body\, mind\, heart\, and community. To that end\, she works as an early childhood teaching artist with the Wolf Trap Institute and Arts for Learning Maryland\, spreading the gospel of embodied learning. She holds an MFA and BFA in Dance from the University of Maryland and the University of Florida\, respectively. Additionally\, Robin is a trained birth doula\, helping people transition into parenthood through the meaningful movement of pregnancy\, labor\, and birth. Robin has had the continually soul-feeding experience of working with Orange Grove Dance since 2015.   \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLevi Coy || Performer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLevi Coy (they/he) is a queer artist\, choreographer\, educator\, filmmaker\, and mover based in Baltimore\, MD. Levi’s artistry has been showcased through captivating performances with The Collective\, Kinetics Dance Company\, GRIDLOCK Dance\, Extreme Lengths Productions\, and Orange Grove Dance. With a BFA in Dance from Ball State University\, Coy also serves as faculty at Howard Community College training students at all levels of modern/contemporary technique.   \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJuliana Pongutá Forero || Performer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJuliana Pongutá Forero is an artist\, choreographer and educator born in Colombia. Her works and practices explore the relationship between imagination\, creativity and community. She is passionate about creating and exploring experiences that foster individual curiosities while developing capacities for collaboration and reflection. Her original work has been presented in several Latin American countries and the United States\, and she has collaborated with various companies such as Orange Grove Dance\, S.J. Ewing & Dancers\, and Dance Exchange in the DC area. Currently\, she is studying social work as a way to interconnect dance and community work.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDylan Glatthorn || Composer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDylan Glatthorn is a Brooklyn-based composer and sound designer. Dylan has written music for eleven feature films\, numerous shorts\, documentaries\, and commercials for clients such as Lindt\, Nickelodeon\, Oakley\, Red Bull\, Alessi\, PBS\, and the Tokyo Metro. As a long-time collaborator with Orange Grove Dance\, he has composed numerous original musical scores for their works including REMNANTS (Premiere: Kennedy Center in Washington\, D.C.) and Leaning Toward the Sky (commissioned by the US Botanic Garden in Washington\, D.C.). His original full-length musicals include The Pelican (MTW New Works Fest ’24\, NAMT Festival ’22\, Frank Young Fund Grant ’20-’21)\, Pottersfield (NFMT Grant ’24) and Edison. Original one-act musicals include Bittersweet Lullaby\, Starshine\, and Peach Melba. Other awards and honors include: RaumArs Artist Residency (Finland)\, New Hampshire Theatre Award for Best Sound Design\, Clive Davis Award for Excellence in Music in Film\, Best Original Score at First Run Film Festival\, and two-time recipient of the Alan Menken Award. Member: TNNY Musical Writers Lab\, ASCAP\, and The Dramatists Guild of America\, Inc. www.dylanglatthorn.com  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPeter Leibold VI || Systems & Design \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPeter Leibold VI is a lighting and projection designer based in New York City. His work includes shows at The Kennedy Center\, Signature Theatre\, Synetic Theatre\, Sierra Repertory Theatre\, Andy’s Summer Playhouse\, The Spoleto Festival\, The Geffen Stayhouse\, Annapolis Opera Company\, and many more. Some of the work Peter is most proud of is many shows with Orange Grove Dance. See more of his work at www.peterleibold.com  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nShanice Mason || Performer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nShanice Mason (she/her) is a Washington\, DC-based dance artist\, consultant\, and educator. She is an adjunct professor in the School of Dance at George Mason University and a faculty member at both the VIVA School of Dance and the Madeira School. As a performer\, Shanice has worked with esteemed companies\, and her choreographic work has been showcased at Dance Place\, The Clarice Performing Arts Center\, The Madeira School\, and the VIVA School of Dance. Most recently\, Shanice has been focused on her artistic collaboration with Jamison Curcio and their commitment to durational experiences\, experimental usages of space\, and community care. They are currently the 2024-25 Local Dance Commissioning Project grantees at the Kennedy Center and have a new work premiering at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in February 2025.  \n\n\n\nShanice brings extensive expertise as a digital media consultant\, collaborating with organizations such as the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP)\, BlackLight Summit\, Callahan Consulting for the Arts\, the Center for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment (CREA)\, CityDance Productions\, Inc.\, and Dance/USA.   \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLuna || Performer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLuna is a new AI currently in its second stage of development that was created specifically for this work\, A&I. Seen as a sixth performer in the space\, Luna orchestrates the sensory landscape for A&I by processing verbal prompts given by the other five on-stage performers. As the always-listening conductor\, Luna then responds by transforming the dynamic canvas of the stage in real-time—marking a paradigm shift in the collaborative relationship possible between art and technology.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHeather Rikic || Event Chair\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHeather Rikic is the programme director of the University’s MSc Dance Science and Education programme and a teaching fellow on postgraduate and undergraduate courses at Moray House School of Education and Sport. Before moving to Edinburgh\, Heather performed for various independent contemporary choreographers in New York City\, USA and Belgrade\, Serbia; taught learners of various ages and abilities including as a teaching artist for Alonzo King LINES Dance Center (San Francisco\, USA)\, New York City Ballet’s education department\, KC Magacin (Belgrade\, Serbia)\, Dance Base (Edinburgh) and currently teaches Cunningham Technique® at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (Glasgow). 
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/ai-beta-orange-grove-dances-embodied-performance-with-ai/
LOCATION:Edinburgh Futures Institute\, Level 0 Event Space\, 1 Lauriston Place\, Edinburgh\, EH3 9EF\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Making Waves: Spring 2025,Performance
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/250417_AI-1536x1025-1.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250416T130000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250416T171500
DTSTAMP:20260501T112039
CREATED:20250205T120347Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250416T140920Z
UID:10000227-1744808400-1744823700@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Future-Proofing Creative Skills for Responsible AI Adoption
DESCRIPTION:Image Credit – Analogue scans of Re-Assessing Normal\, workshop 3/3. Georgia Gardner funded by EFI. \n\n\n\nRegistrations will close on 9th March at 5pm. Secure your spot now! \n\n\n\nThis series of workshops is aimed at identifying and discussing the new and future-proof skills\, and related training opportunities\, needed by creatives in the current technological landscape.   \n\n\n\nWhat challenges are creatives facing in adopting AI tools? What skills will creatives need to thrive in an AI-integrated workplace? How can we prepare for and shape these futures? How might education and training programs evolve to support creative collaboration with AI?  \n\n\n\nThis interactive workshop series brings together creatives to collaboratively imagine the future of creative practices and address today’s most pressing skills and adaptation challenges.  \n\n\n\nAll the sessions in the workshop series will have a similar structure\, with each session being tailored to creatives at different stages of their careers:  \n\n\n\n\n26th March: Freelancers\n\n\n\n2nd April: Students and early career practitioners \n\n\n\n9th April: In-house professionals (including those working in creative agencies\, studios\, and teams)\n\n\n\n16th April: Creative managers and leaders\n\n\n\n\nThese workshops are part of the programme of activities of the project “CREA-TEC: Cultivating Responsible Engagement with AI Technology to Empower Creatives”\, led by Dr. Caterina Moruzzi\, University of Edinburgh\, in collaboration with Adobe\, and aimed at promoting the responsible integration of Generative Artificial Intelligence tools in creative practices. The project is supported by the Bridging Responsible AI Divides (BRAID) programme with funds from the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The workshops are conducted in collaboration with the Innovation Services team at Edinburgh Futures Institute and delivered as part of Edinburgh Futures Institute’s Spring 2025 events programme. \n\n\n\nVisit the project website here. \n\n\n\nFacilitators\n\n\n\n\n\nPushpi Bagchi\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDr Pushpi Bagchi is a visual communication designer and researcher dedicated to leveraging design as a tool for social innovation. As Principal Designer in Edinburgh Futures Institute’s Innovation Services team\, she leads participatory design initiatives and futures-focused methodologies to foster interdisciplinary collaboration. Her expertise spans visual communication\, participatory design\, and critical theory. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKam Chan\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKam Chan is an artist and creative producer. As Engagement Producer for Edinburgh Futures Institute Innovations Services team she leads on the delivery of workshops\, events and bespoke projects to support stakeholders to find solutions to complex challenges through co-creation and collaboration. She is currently co-Vice President of Visual Arts Scotland programming and curating exhibitions\, residencies and events including at the Royal Scottish Academy\, and a co-producer for Architecture Fringe CIC delivering a biennial festival programme exploring architecture and design in our social\, political and cultural contexts. She has a Master of Fine Art and a BA(Hons) in Art\, Philosophy and Contemporary Practices from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLaura Herman\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLaura Herman specialises in emerging technologies’ impact on artistic and creative practices. Currently\, she is the Head of AI Research at Adobe\, where she leads a team of UX Researchers covering Generative AI for Creative Cloud. Laura received her PhD from the University of Oxford’s Internet Institute and has previously held research roles at Harvard\, Princeton\, and Intel. Laura has worked with arts institutions such as the Serpentine Galleries\, the Tate\, Studio Olafur Eliasson\, and Ars Electronica; her curatorial and research work has been covered by venues including the BBC\, Forbes\, Artnet\, New Scientist\, Newsweek\, and the Wall Street Journal. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCaterina Moruzzi\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDr Caterina Moruzzi is a Chancellor’s fellow in Design Informatics\, University of Edinburgh. Her research lies at the intersection between the philosophy of art\, human and artificial creativity\, and the philosophy of Artificial Intelligence. As a BRAID Research Fellow\, she leads a collaboration with Adobe to promote the responsible integration of AI tools into creative practices. Caterina is lead of the research cluster ‘Creativity\, AI\, and the Human’ at the Edinburgh Futures Institute.
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/future-proofing-creative-skills-for-responsible-ai-adoption-4/
LOCATION:Edinburgh Futures Institue\, Level 4 Event Space\, 1 Lauriston Place\, Edinburgh\, EH3 9EF
CATEGORIES:Making Waves: Spring 2025,Workshop
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Analogue-scans-of-Re-Assessing-Normal-e1744812540193.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250410T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250410T193000
DTSTAMP:20260501T112039
CREATED:20250205T120000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250429T105152Z
UID:10000226-1744308000-1744313400@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Technomoral Conversations: AI & Creative Labour
DESCRIPTION:The Technomoral Conversations series brings together leaders\, creators and innovators from academia\, technology\, business and the third sector in a ‘fireside chat’ format to discuss futures that are worth wanting. Focusing on AI and creative labour\, this Technomoral Conversation will look at issues ranging from the AI industry’s copyright violations\, to the responses from creatives in the UK and elsewhere\, to the wider ethical and political questions about the role of AI in creative practice and culture.  \n\n\n\nThe Centre for Technomoral Futures\n\n\n\nThe Centre for Technomoral Futures focuses on the ethical implications of present and future advances in AI\, machine learning and other data-driven technologies. It supports work and research in these areas across the Futures Institute\, the University of Edinburgh and with a wide portfolio of partners\, projects and networks.  \n\n\n\nAs part of Edinburgh Futures Institute\, the Centre’s shared goal is to help people create and shape more resilient\, sustainable and equitable forms of life. The Centre for Technomoral Futures is a home for developing more constructive modes of innovation: innovation that preserves and strengthens human ties and capabilities; that builds more accessible and just paths to public participation in the co-creation of our futures; and that reinvests the power of technology into the repair\, maintenance and care of our communities and our planet.  \n\n\n\nBridging Responsible AI Divides (BRAID)\n\n\n\nBRAID is a UK-wide programme dedicated to integrating Arts and Humanities research more fully into the Responsible AI ecosystem\, as well as bridging the divides between academic\, industry\, policy and regulatory work on responsible AI. They represent a six-year\, £15.9 million investment in enabling responsible AI in the UK\, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and running from 2022 to 2028. Working in partnership with the Ada Lovelace Institute and BBC\, their team brings together expertise in human-computer interaction\, moral philosophy\, arts\, design\, law\, social sciences\, journalism\, and AI. \n\n\n\nSpeaker Biographies\n\n\n\n\n\nCaroline Sinders\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCaroline Sinders is an award winning critical designer\, researcher\, and artist. They’re the founder of human rights and design lab\, Convocation Research + Design\, and a current BRAID fellow with the University of Arts\, London. For the past few years\, they have been examining the intersections of artificial intelligence\, intersectional justice\, harmful design\, systems and politics in digital conversational spaces and technology platforms. They’ve worked with the Tate Exchange at the Tate Modern\, the United Nations\, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office\, the European Commission\, Ars Electronica\, the Harvard Kennedy School and others. Caroline is currently based between London\, UK and New Orleans\, USA.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPaula Westenberger\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDr Paula Westenberger is a Senior Lecturer in Intellectual Property Law and a member of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence at Brunel University of London. She has a Masters and a PhD in IP law from Queen Mary University of London\, and is the Deputy Editor of the European Copyright and Design Reports. Her research interests cover the intersection between copyright law\, human rights and culture\, with a particular focus on the use of digital technologies (including AI) in the cultural heritage sector. She is a BRAID Research Fellow working on the project ‘Responsible AI for Heritage: copyright and human rights perspectives’ in partnership with RBG Kew. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRichard Combes\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRichard Combes is the Head of Rights and Licensing and Deputy Chief Executive for ALCS. His work focuses on the development of collective rights and licensing schemes in the UK and internationally\, aimed at providing writers with fair remuneration for the re-use of their work. This role involves a significant degree of partnership and collaboration with other UK writers’ organisations and licensing bodies as well as authors’ societies and collecting agencies around the world. \n\n\n\nRichard’s department is also responsible for engaging with UK and EU policy on copyright and authors’ rights – an area of growing prominence on the political agenda – by drafting responses to government consultations\, preparing Ministerial briefings and setting the agenda for the All Party Writers’ Group. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nChair: Shannon Vallor\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nProfessor Shannon Vallor serves as Director of the Centre for Technomoral Futures in the Edinburgh Futures Institute. She holds the Baillie Gifford Chair in the Ethics of Data and Artificial Intelligence in the University of Edinburgh’s Department of Philosophy. Professor Vallor joined the Futures Institute in 2020 following a career in the United States as a leader in the ethics of emerging technologies\, including a post as a visiting AI Ethicist at Google from 2018-2020. She is the author of The AI Mirror: How to Reclaim Our Humanity in an Age of Machine Thinking (Oxford University Press\, 2024) and Technology and the Virtues: A Philosophical Guide to a Future Worth Wanting (Oxford University Press\, 2016). She serves as advisor to government and industry bodies on responsible AI and data ethics. She is also Principal Investigator and Co-Director (with Professor Ewa Luger) of the UKRI research programme BRAID (Bridging Responsible AI Divides)\, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/technomoral-conversations-ai-creative-labour/
LOCATION:Edinburgh Futures Institute\, Level 0 Event Space\, 1 Lauriston Place\, Edinburgh\, EH3 9EF\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Making Waves: Spring 2025,Talk/Discussion
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/250410_TechnomoralConversations.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250409T130000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250409T171500
DTSTAMP:20260501T112039
CREATED:20250211T140703Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250226T112352Z
UID:10000243-1744203600-1744218900@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Future-Proofing Creative Skills for Responsible AI Adoption
DESCRIPTION:Image Credit – Kinnari Saraiya\, Tarang (2025)\, Virtual World \n\n\n\nRegistrations will close on 9th March at 5pm. Secure your spot now! \n\n\n\nThis series of workshops is aimed at identifying and discussing the new and future-proof skills\, and related training opportunities\, needed by creatives in the current technological landscape.   \n\n\n\nWhat challenges are creatives facing in adopting AI tools? What skills will creatives need to thrive in an AI-integrated workplace? How can we prepare for and shape these futures? How might education and training programs evolve to support creative collaboration with AI?  \n\n\n\nThis interactive workshop series brings together creatives to collaboratively imagine the future of creative practices and address today’s most pressing skills and adaptation challenges.  \n\n\n\nAll the sessions in the workshop series will have a similar structure\, with each session being tailored to creatives at different stages of their careers:  \n\n\n\n\n26th March: Freelancers\n\n\n\n2nd April: Students and early career practitioners \n\n\n\n9th April: In-house professionals (including those working in creative agencies\, studios\, and teams)\n\n\n\n16th April: Creative managers and leaders\n\n\n\n\nThese workshops are part of the programme of activities of the project “CREA-TEC: Cultivating Responsible Engagement with AI Technology to Empower Creatives”\, led by Dr. Caterina Moruzzi\, University of Edinburgh\, in collaboration with Adobe\, and aimed at promoting the responsible integration of Generative Artificial Intelligence tools in creative practices. The project is supported by the Bridging Responsible AI Divides (BRAID) programme with funds from the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The workshops are conducted in collaboration with the Innovation Services team at Edinburgh Futures Institute and delivered as part of Edinburgh Futures Institute’s Spring 2025 events programme. \n\n\n\nVisit the project website here. \n\n\n\nFacilitators\n\n\n\n\n\nPushpi Bagchi\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDr Pushpi Bagchi is a visual communication designer and researcher dedicated to leveraging design as a tool for social innovation. As Principal Designer in Edinburgh Futures Institute’s Innovation Services team\, she leads participatory design initiatives and futures-focused methodologies to foster interdisciplinary collaboration. Her expertise spans visual communication\, participatory design\, and critical theory. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKam Chan\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKam Chan is an artist and creative producer. As Engagement Producer for Edinburgh Futures Institute Innovations Services team she leads on the delivery of workshops\, events and bespoke projects to support stakeholders to find solutions to complex challenges through co-creation and collaboration. She is currently co-Vice President of Visual Arts Scotland programming and curating exhibitions\, residencies and events including at the Royal Scottish Academy\, and a co-producer for Architecture Fringe CIC delivering a biennial festival programme exploring architecture and design in our social\, political and cultural contexts. She has a Master of Fine Art and a BA(Hons) in Art\, Philosophy and Contemporary Practices from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLaura Herman\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLaura Herman specialises in emerging technologies’ impact on artistic and creative practices. Currently\, she is the Head of AI Research at Adobe\, where she leads a team of UX Researchers covering Generative AI for Creative Cloud. Laura received her PhD from the University of Oxford’s Internet Institute and has previously held research roles at Harvard\, Princeton\, and Intel. Laura has worked with arts institutions such as the Serpentine Galleries\, the Tate\, Studio Olafur Eliasson\, and Ars Electronica; her curatorial and research work has been covered by venues including the BBC\, Forbes\, Artnet\, New Scientist\, Newsweek\, and the Wall Street Journal. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCaterina Moruzzi\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDr Caterina Moruzzi is a Chancellor’s fellow in Design Informatics\, University of Edinburgh. Her research lies at the intersection between the philosophy of art\, human and artificial creativity\, and the philosophy of Artificial Intelligence. As a BRAID Research Fellow\, she leads a collaboration with Adobe to promote the responsible integration of AI tools into creative practices. Caterina is lead of the research cluster ‘Creativity\, AI\, and the Human’ at the Edinburgh Futures Institute.
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/future-proofing-creative-skills-for-responsible-ai-adoption-3/
LOCATION:Edinburgh Futures Institue\, Level 4 Event Space\, 1 Lauriston Place\, Edinburgh\, EH3 9EF
CATEGORIES:Making Waves: Spring 2025,Workshop
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Kinnari-Saraiya-Tarang-2025-Virtual-World1.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250404T110000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250404T123000
DTSTAMP:20260501T112039
CREATED:20250324T153959Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250416T140957Z
UID:10000224-1743764400-1743769800@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:In Pursuit of Justice: Lockerbie
DESCRIPTION:On 21 December 1988\, Pan Am flight 103 was flying over Lockerbie when a bomb in the cargo hold exploded\, killing 270 people. It remains the deadliest terrorist attack in UK history. \n\n\n\nAcclaimed playwright David Harrower (Knives In Hens\, Blackbird\, A Slow Air) is the writer of Sky Atlantic’s 2025 series Lockerbie: A Search for Truth\, starring Colin Firth. Based on The Lockerbie Bombing: A Father’s Search for Justice by Jim Swire and Peter Biddulph\, the series follows Jim and Jane Swire’s dogged pursuit of justice for the victims of the bombing\, including their daughter Flora. \n\n\n\nThis event explores the use of drama in campaigning for justice\, placing Lockerbie: A Search for Truth in a lineage of consciousness-raising TV from Cathy Come Home in 1966 to last year’s Mr Bates vs The Post Office. Drama can shine a light on issues of truth\, mercy and redress\, but what responsibility does the writer have when portraying real people and events? How are the demands of art and story balanced with personal ethics? What can Jim Swire’s decades-long search for answers about the Lockerbie bombing tell us about justice and its limits?  \n\n\n\n\n\nDavid Harrower\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDavid Harrower is an Olivier-Award-winning and Tony-nominated Scottish playwright and screenwriter. He has just written and executive produced 5 episodes for Carnival / NBC Universal / Sky’s original TV series Lockerbie: A Search for Truth\, based on the true story of Jim Swire’s search for justice after his daughter died in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. The series is directed by Otto Bathurst\, stars Colin Firth\, and premiered in January 2025 to critical acclaim. Film includes an adaptation of his play Blackbird as a feature film for Film 4\, retitled Una\, directed by Benedict Andrews and starring Rooney Mara\, Ben Mendelsohn and Riz Ahmed. Theatre includes Blackbird (written at the University of Edinburgh’s Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities)\, which won an Olivier Award for Best New Play for its premiere in the West End in 2006 before transferring to New York\, and which received 3 Tony nominations including Best Revival for its Broadway revival in 2016. He’s currently writing a new TV series for Submarine based on a true story about espionage during the Cold War\, with Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland) attached to direct.
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/in-pursuit-of-justice-lockerbie/
LOCATION:Edinburgh Futures Institute\, Level 0 Event Space\, 1 Lauriston Place\, Edinburgh\, EH3 9EF\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Making Waves: Spring 2025,Performance
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/250404_IASHConference-e1744812585980.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250402T130000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250402T171500
DTSTAMP:20260501T112039
CREATED:20250211T140610Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250226T112455Z
UID:10000242-1743598800-1743614100@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Future-Proofing Creative Skills for Responsible AI Adoption
DESCRIPTION:Image Credit –  dmstfct\, Waluigi’s Purgatory (2024) \n\n\n\nRegistrations will close on 9th March at 5pm. Secure your spot now! \n\n\n\nThis series of workshops is aimed at identifying and discussing the new and future-proof skills\, and related training opportunities\, needed by creatives in the current technological landscape.   \n\n\n\nWhat challenges are creatives facing in adopting AI tools? What skills will creatives need to thrive in an AI-integrated workplace? How can we prepare for and shape these futures? How might education and training programs evolve to support creative collaboration with AI?  \n\n\n\nThis interactive workshop series brings together creatives to collaboratively imagine the future of creative practices and address today’s most pressing skills and adaptation challenges.  \n\n\n\nAll the sessions in the workshop series will have a similar structure\, with each session being tailored to creatives at different stages of their careers:  \n\n\n\n\n26th March: Freelancers\n\n\n\n2nd April: Students and early career practitioners \n\n\n\n9th April: In-house professionals (including those working in creative agencies\, studios\, and teams)\n\n\n\n16th April: Creative managers and leaders\n\n\n\n\nThese workshops are part of the programme of activities of the project “CREA-TEC: Cultivating Responsible Engagement with AI Technology to Empower Creatives”\, led by Dr. Caterina Moruzzi\, University of Edinburgh\, in collaboration with Adobe\, and aimed at promoting the responsible integration of Generative Artificial Intelligence tools in creative practices. The project is supported by the Bridging Responsible AI Divides (BRAID) programme with funds from the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The workshops are conducted in collaboration with the Innovation Services team at Edinburgh Futures Institute and delivered as part of Edinburgh Futures Institute’s Spring 2025 events programme. \n\n\n\nVisit the project website here. \n\n\n\nFacilitators\n\n\n\n\n\nPushpi Bagchi\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDr Pushpi Bagchi is a visual communication designer and researcher dedicated to leveraging design as a tool for social innovation. As Principal Designer in Edinburgh Futures Institute’s Innovation Services team\, she leads participatory design initiatives and futures-focused methodologies to foster interdisciplinary collaboration. Her expertise spans visual communication\, participatory design\, and critical theory. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKam Chan\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKam Chan is an artist and creative producer. As Engagement Producer for Edinburgh Futures Institute Innovations Services team she leads on the delivery of workshops\, events and bespoke projects to support stakeholders to find solutions to complex challenges through co-creation and collaboration. She is currently co-Vice President of Visual Arts Scotland programming and curating exhibitions\, residencies and events including at the Royal Scottish Academy\, and a co-producer for Architecture Fringe CIC delivering a biennial festival programme exploring architecture and design in our social\, political and cultural contexts. She has a Master of Fine Art and a BA(Hons) in Art\, Philosophy and Contemporary Practices from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLaura Herman\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLaura Herman specialises in emerging technologies’ impact on artistic and creative practices. Currently\, she is the Head of AI Research at Adobe\, where she leads a team of UX Researchers covering Generative AI for Creative Cloud. Laura received her PhD from the University of Oxford’s Internet Institute and has previously held research roles at Harvard\, Princeton\, and Intel. Laura has worked with arts institutions such as the Serpentine Galleries\, the Tate\, Studio Olafur Eliasson\, and Ars Electronica; her curatorial and research work has been covered by venues including the BBC\, Forbes\, Artnet\, New Scientist\, Newsweek\, and the Wall Street Journal. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCaterina Moruzzi\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDr Caterina Moruzzi is a Chancellor’s fellow in Design Informatics\, University of Edinburgh. Her research lies at the intersection between the philosophy of art\, human and artificial creativity\, and the philosophy of Artificial Intelligence. As a BRAID Research Fellow\, she leads a collaboration with Adobe to promote the responsible integration of AI tools into creative practices. Caterina is lead of the research cluster ‘Creativity\, AI\, and the Human’ at the Edinburgh Futures Institute.
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/future-proofing-creative-skills-for-responsible-ai-adoption-2/
LOCATION:Edinburgh Futures Institue\, Level 4 Event Space\, 1 Lauriston Place\, Edinburgh\, EH3 9EF
CATEGORIES:Making Waves: Spring 2025,Workshop
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/dmstfct_Waluigis-Purgatory-2024.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250401T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250401T193000
DTSTAMP:20260501T112039
CREATED:20250205T124933Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250317T113804Z
UID:10000222-1743530400-1743535800@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Culture is Bad for You
DESCRIPTION:Culture is Bad for You offers a powerful call to transform the cultural and creative industries\, by examining the intersections between race\, class\, and gender in inequalities in cultural occupations. Exclusion from culture begins at an early age\, the authors argue\, and despite claims by cultural institutions and businesses to hire talented and hardworking individuals\, women\, people of colour\, and those from working-class backgrounds are systematically disbarred. Since its publication in 2020 the book has proved a powerful provocation to policymakers and cultural practitioners\, and found resonance in cultural policy and sociology researchers internationally.  \n\n\n\nTo mark the publication of a new\, updated edition\, this event will bring together scholars from around the world with the authors to discuss the mechanisms of exclusion in cultural work and how they are mirrored in other national and policy contexts.  \n\n\n\nThis event is hosted in partnership with the Edinburgh Centre for Data\, Culture & Society (CDCS).  \n\n\n\nSpeaker Biographies\n\n\n\n\n\nOrian Brook\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nOrian Brook is Chancellor’s Fellow in Social Policy at the University of Edinburgh. She studies social and spatial inequalities in the creative economy\, and holds an ESRC ADR Fellowship exploring earnings of creative graduates. She is co-author of the book Culture is Bad for You and the report ‘A Class Act: Social mobility and the creative industries’ published with the Sutton Trust. She is a member of the College of Experts for the Department for Culture\, Media and Sport.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDave O’Brien\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDave O’Brien is Professor of Cultural and Creative Industries at the School of Arts\, Languages and Cultures\, University of Manchester. He is the co-author of Culture is bad for you\, and has written numerous papers on the contemporary creative economy. His policy research includes a role in the AHRC-funded Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre\,  the co-authored Panic! report\, and the Creative Diversity APPG’s Creative Majority and the Making the Creative Majority reports. He has twice been an advisor to the House of Commons’ Culture\, Media and Sport Select Committee\, and is currently on a research secondment to the UK government’s Department for Culture\, Media and Sport.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nantonio cuyler\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nantonio c. cuyler\, PhD (he/him/his) is Professor of Music in Entrepreneurship & Leadership\, Faculty Associate in Voice & Opera in the School of Music\, Theatre & Dance (SMTD)\, and Faculty Associate in the African Studies Center at the University of Michigan. Dr. cuyler’s scholarship interweaves curiosities and inquiries about arts administration\, entrepreneurship\, leadership\, management curricula\, creative justice\, cultural policy\, and experiential learning. The central question of his consulting\, research\, service\, and teaching portfolio is\, “in what ways can the creative sector ensure and protect the creative justice of historically and continuously low casted\, othered\, and subalterned peoples?” Routledge will publish his forthcoming book\, Achieving Creative Justice in the U. S. Creative Sector\, in March. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nElysia Lechelt\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nElysia Lechelt is a Lecturer in the School of Art History at the University of Edinburgh. Specialising in cultural policy\, her research questions how we might begin to (re)imagine cultural policy in ways that move it away from dominant imperatives and notions of cultural value and towards issues of social justice and human flourishing. Her expertise encompasses urban and regional cultural policy practices\, creative industries\, and cultural labour. Furthermore\, she has authored and presented work on participatory (or co-produced) cultural policy processes. Elysia is committed to investigating the essential role of art and culture in promoting a more equitable and sustainable society. Currently\, she is examining how a capability approach can be utilised to understand the arts’ potential to enhance collective well-being and drive transformative policy change. Before entering academia\, Elysia gained experience in the cultural sector\, working with organisations such as Contemporary Calgary\, where she managed public programming\, audience development\, and community outreach initiatives. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBeata Kowalczyk\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBeata M. Kowalczyk is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Sociology\, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań\, Poland\, and an associated researcher at the Institutions et Dynamiques Historiques de l’Économie et de la Société (Paris 1 Panthéone Sorbonne). Currently\, she is a Nawa Bekker Research Fellow at the School of Social and Political Science\, University of Edinburgh. She has conducted multi-sited fieldwork on the working conditions in the arts\, with a focus on Japanese musicians navigating the professional landscape of the classical music industry in Warsaw\, Paris\, and Tokyo. Her research has been published in Recherches sociologiques et anthropologiques\, Work\, Gender & Organization\, Men and Masculinities and other outlets. She is also the author of Transnational Musicians. Precariousness\, Ethnicity and Gender in the Creative Industry (Routledge\, 2021). \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nInés Ruiz Alvarado\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nInés Ruiz Alvarado is UNESCO Chair in Public Policy and Cultural Management at the Universidad Científica del Sur\, and Co-Chair of the Executive Committee of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) Peru. Her research focuses on social and gender inequalities\, particularly examining the intersections of gender\, race\, and class. Her career spans key areas such as gender studies\, human rights\, and community communication. Her doctoral research examined the consequences of forced sterilization campaigns on the lives of affected women\, culminating in the book Pájaros de Medianoche. Las esterilizaciones forzadas en el Perú y la lucha de sus víctimas por ser reconocidas (Editorial Planeta) and the documentary A Futile Voice\, which delves into their struggles for recognition and justice. Her work bridges academic research and creative expression\, advocating for transformative change in social landscapes. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nChair: Kirsten Lloyd\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKirsten Lloyd is a Senior Lecturer in the School of History of Art at The University of Edinburgh. Her research focuses on late 20th and 21st art and mediation\, including lens-based practice\, participatory work and realism. She is a Research Fellow with the ‘Feminism\, Art\, Maintenance’ project\, funded by the Swedish Research Council\, a member of the Glasgow Housing Struggles collective and the Academic Lead for the University’s Contemporary Art Research Collection. Kirsten is currently working on the next phase of the collaborative exhibition and research project Life Support: Forms of Care in Art and Activism with Glasgow Women’s Library and a book called Contemporary Art and Capitalist Life which has been supported by a Leverhulme Research Fellowship.
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/culture-is-bad-for-you/
LOCATION:Edinburgh Futures Institute\, Level 0 Event Space\, 1 Lauriston Place\, Edinburgh\, EH3 9EF\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Making Waves: Spring 2025,Talk/Discussion
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/250401_CultureIsBadForYou.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250326T130000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250326T171500
DTSTAMP:20260501T112039
CREATED:20250211T140351Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250226T112424Z
UID:10000241-1742994000-1743009300@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Future-Proofing Creative Skills for Responsible AI Adoption
DESCRIPTION:Image Credit – “Jessica” by David Oxley \n\n\n\nRegistrations will close on 9th March at 5pm. Secure your spot now! \n\n\n\nThis series of workshops is aimed at identifying and discussing the new and future-proof skills\, and related training opportunities\, needed by creatives in the current technological landscape.   \n\n\n\nWhat challenges are creatives facing in adopting AI tools? What skills will creatives need to thrive in an AI-integrated workplace? How can we prepare for and shape these futures? How might education and training programs evolve to support creative collaboration with AI?  \n\n\n\nThis interactive workshop series brings together creatives to collaboratively imagine the future of creative practices and address today’s most pressing skills and adaptation challenges.  \n\n\n\nAll the sessions in the workshop series will have a similar structure\, with each session being tailored to creatives at different stages of their careers:  \n\n\n\n\n26th March: Freelancers\n\n\n\n2nd April: Students and early career practitioners \n\n\n\n9th April: In-house professionals (including those working in creative agencies\, studios\, and teams)\n\n\n\n16th April: Creative managers and leaders\n\n\n\n\nThese workshops are part of the programme of activities of the project “CREA-TEC: Cultivating Responsible Engagement with AI Technology to Empower Creatives”\, led by Dr. Caterina Moruzzi\, University of Edinburgh\, in collaboration with Adobe\, and aimed at promoting the responsible integration of Generative Artificial Intelligence tools in creative practices. The project is supported by the Bridging Responsible AI Divides (BRAID) programme with funds from the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The workshops are conducted in collaboration with the Innovation Services team at Edinburgh Futures Institute and delivered as part of Edinburgh Futures Institute’s Spring 2025 events programme. \n\n\n\nVisit the project website here. \n\n\n\nFacilitators\n\n\n\n\n\nPushpi Bagchi\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDr Pushpi Bagchi is a visual communication designer and researcher dedicated to leveraging design as a tool for social innovation. As Principal Designer in Edinburgh Futures Institute’s Innovation Services team\, she leads participatory design initiatives and futures-focused methodologies to foster interdisciplinary collaboration. Her expertise spans visual communication\, participatory design\, and critical theory. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKam Chan\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKam Chan is an artist and creative producer. As Engagement Producer for Edinburgh Futures Institute Innovations Services team she leads on the delivery of workshops\, events and bespoke projects to support stakeholders to find solutions to complex challenges through co-creation and collaboration. She is currently co-Vice President of Visual Arts Scotland programming and curating exhibitions\, residencies and events including at the Royal Scottish Academy\, and a co-producer for Architecture Fringe CIC delivering a biennial festival programme exploring architecture and design in our social\, political and cultural contexts. She has a Master of Fine Art and a BA(Hons) in Art\, Philosophy and Contemporary Practices from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLaura Herman\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLaura Herman specialises in emerging technologies’ impact on artistic and creative practices. Currently\, she is the Head of AI Research at Adobe\, where she leads a team of UX Researchers covering Generative AI for Creative Cloud. Laura received her PhD from the University of Oxford’s Internet Institute and has previously held research roles at Harvard\, Princeton\, and Intel. Laura has worked with arts institutions such as the Serpentine Galleries\, the Tate\, Studio Olafur Eliasson\, and Ars Electronica; her curatorial and research work has been covered by venues including the BBC\, Forbes\, Artnet\, New Scientist\, Newsweek\, and the Wall Street Journal. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCaterina Moruzzi\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDr Caterina Moruzzi is a Chancellor’s fellow in Design Informatics\, University of Edinburgh. Her research lies at the intersection between the philosophy of art\, human and artificial creativity\, and the philosophy of Artificial Intelligence. As a BRAID Research Fellow\, she leads a collaboration with Adobe to promote the responsible integration of AI tools into creative practices. Caterina is lead of the research cluster ‘Creativity\, AI\, and the Human’ at the Edinburgh Futures Institute.
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/future-proofing-creative-skills-for-responsible-ai-adoption-1/
LOCATION:Edinburgh Futures Institue\, Level 4 Event Space\, 1 Lauriston Place\, Edinburgh\, EH3 9EF
CATEGORIES:Making Waves: Spring 2025,Workshop
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Future-Proofing-Creative-Skills-for-Responsible-AI-Adoption.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250325T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250325T193000
DTSTAMP:20260501T112039
CREATED:20250205T120000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250327T110147Z
UID:10000220-1742925600-1742931000@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Creating to Celebrate: the Edinburgh Seven Tapestry
DESCRIPTION:Join us to celebrate the Edinburgh Seven Tapestry and its installation in 2024 at its new home: the Edinburgh Futures Institute. This event will feature Artist Christine Borland and Dovecot Master Weaver Naomi Robertson in conversation with Professor Andrew Patrizio\, and will be introduced by Professor Marion Thain\, Director of EFI and Celia Joicey\, Director of Dovecot Studios. As one of the first of several events exploring the Tapestry\, they will discuss creativity\, collaboration and what it means to make a piece of artwork that honours the achievements of important\, and potentially overlooked\, women in history.   \n\n\n\nDovecot Studios in Edinburgh is the UK’s oldest tapestry studio\, which has enjoyed global acclaim for artworks created in collaboration with artists from David Hockney and Chris Ofili to Helen Frankenthaler and Alberta Whittle.  \n\n\n\nTheir latest commission\, a triptych designed by Christine Borland and woven by Dovecot using traditional techniques and innovative materials\, celebrates The Edinburgh Seven\, the first women to matriculate at any UK university.  \n\n\n\nThe Edinburgh Seven Tapestry is the first major artwork to be installed in Edinburgh Futures Institute. It is an extraordinary tribute to pioneering students who showed resilience and determination when their path to education was blocked. They overcame these challenges in different ways – with some continuing their studies in other countries and others becoming valued supporters of women’s education and medical practice.     \n\n\n\nInterdisciplinarity\, collaboration and data are core to the work of Edinburgh Futures Institute and many disciplines and professional roles were essential to the creation\, production and installation of the tapestry. It has been produced with care\, commitment and respect and inspires those who work\, study and view it\, both online and in person. Although none of the Edinburgh Seven had a chance to practice medicine in the building\, we are pleased that the tapestry allows us to bring these women home.   \n\n\n\nCommissioned by Dovecot Studios\, with funding from Sir Ewan and Lady Brown.  \n\n\n\nRead more about the tapestry here. \n\n\n\nSpeaker Biographies\n\n\n\n\n\nChristine Borland\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nChristine Borland is an artist based in Argyll\, Scotland\, known for her pioneering critical\, cross-disciplinary collaborations that explore the relationships between human and non-human ecologies. Christine is a Professor at Northumbria University she co-lead the research group\, ‘The Cultural Negotiation of Science. In 2016 she was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (DLitt) from the University of Glasgow and became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) in 2020. Her works have been shown in numerous international exhibitions\, including The Turner Prize and the Venice Biennale\, and are permanently sited in public spaces and collections world-wide.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNaomi Robertson\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPhotograph: Mike Wilkinson\n\n\n\n\n\nNaomi Robertson is a Master Weaver and Head of the Tapestry Studio at Dovecot Studios. After graduating from Edinburgh College of Art in 1990 with a BA(Hons) in Tapestry\, Naomi joined Dovecot Studios as a Weaver and was appointed Studio Manager in 2013. Naomi has worked on some of the studio’s highest-profile design and weaving commissioned projects. These have included the R. B. Kitaj tapestry in the British Library\, the Butterfly tapestry created in collaboration with Alison Watt for the Theatre Royal\, and ‘Entanglement is More Than Blood’ with Alberta Whittle for the 59th Venice Biennale \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCelia Joicey\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCelia Joicey joined Dovecot as Director in September 2017. She is a graduate of Cambridge University and the Royal College of Art. Prior to her appointment as Director of Dovecot Studios\, she was Head of the Fashion and Textile Museum\, and before that\, Head of Publications at the National Portrait Gallery in London and Editor of the RSA Journal and Head of Publications at the Royal Society of Arts.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nChair: Andrew Patrizio\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nProfessor Andrew Patrizio holds the Chair of Scottish Visual Culture at the University of Edinburgh. He teaches and writes on Scottish post-1945 art and on ecological artists\, themes and methods\, culminating in his book The Ecological Eye: Assembling an ecocritical art history (Manchester University Press\, 2019) and the forthcoming Methods for Ecocritical Art History (co-edited with Dr Olga Smith\, Manchester University Press\, 2026). Much of his work is interdisciplinary\, from Anatomy Acts (2006\, winner of the Medical Book of the Year from the Royal Society of Medicine) to Ilana Halperin. STEINE (Berlin\, 2012). Prior to his academic career\, he had full-time curatorial posts at the Hayward Gallery\, London and Glasgow Museums. He is a Trustee of Little Sparta (Ian Hamilton Finlay’s garden)\, on the Academic Committee of Edinburgh University Press and a founding member of the European Forum for Advanced Practices. He first worked with Christine Borland in 1990 (Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum) and has written many times on her work (most recently ‘Desiccation\, Suspension\, Extraction: The Inhuman Art of Christine Borland’\, in Post-Specimen. Encounters between Art\, Science and Curating\, Ed Juler and Alistair Robinson (eds.) Intellect Books\, 2020) and commissioned new work from her for the above mentioned Anatomy Acts and Art Unlimited: Multiples of the 1960s and 1990s from the Arts Council Collection (Hayward Touring\, 1994-5). 
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/creating-to-celebrate-the-edinburgh-seven-tapestry/
LOCATION:Edinburgh Futures Institute\, Level 0 Event Space\, 1 Lauriston Place\, Edinburgh\, EH3 9EF\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Making Waves: Spring 2025,Talk/Discussion
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/250325_CreatingtoCelebrateEdinburgh7Tapestry-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250321T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250321T190000
DTSTAMP:20260501T112039
CREATED:20250205T120000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250415T151106Z
UID:10000219-1742580000-1742583600@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Fern Brady in conversation with Michael Pedersen
DESCRIPTION:A conversation between comedian Fern Brady and poet\, University of Edinburgh writer-in-residence\, and Edinburgh Makar Michael Pedersen. Fern and Michael will discuss comedy\, creativity and books\, including Fern’s hilarious and heart-breaking memoir Strong Female Character. Covering the years from realising she had autism in her teens to her diagnosis at 34\, Fern tells the story of how being female can get in the way of being autistic and how being autistic gets in the way of being the ‘right kind’ of woman’.  \n\n\n\nSpeaker Biographies\n\n\n\n\n\nFern Brady\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFern Brady is a woman. She is also autistic. She was born in Scotland (no\, not Glasgow). She has no presets for being a ‘good woman’ – she never hated her body or indulged in messy millennial shame. She now lives out of wedlock in London. She has zero children. Fern’s caustic wit\, exceptional writing and electric stage craft has made her one of the UK’s hottest comedy stars. As seen on Live from the BBC\, Live from the Comedy Store\, The Russell Howard Hour\, and Live at the Apollo. She’s had viral success with her BBC Life Lessons and supported Frankie Boyle and Katherine Ryan on tour. She can currently be seen on Taskmaster on Channel 4. Her triumph of a debut book\, Strong Female Character\, won\, among other accolades\, Best Non-Fiction at the Nero Book Awards and the Books Are My Bag Awards 2023\, and was the winner of the Audiobook of the Year 2024 at the British Book Awards. She has just announced a second book\, High Energy Unpleasant\, due for release in 2026.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nChair: Michael Pedersen\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMichael Pedersen: is a prize-winning Scottish poet and author\, the Writer in Residence at The University of Edinburgh\, and the Edinburgh Makar (Poet Laureate). His prose debut\, Boy Friends\, was published by Faber & Faber to rave reviews and was a Sunday Times Critics Choice 2022. He’s unfurled three collections of poetry\, the most recent being The Cat Prince & Other Poems – which won the Books Are My Bag Readers Award for Best Poetry 2023. Pedersen has been shortlisted for the Forward Prizes for Poetry and The Scottish National Book Awards and won a Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship. His work has attracted praise from the likes of: Stephen Fry\, Bernardine Evaristo\, Kae Tempest\, Irvine Welsh\, Nicola Sturgeon and many more. His debut novel\, Muckle Flugga\, will be published by Faber in May 2025. 
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/fern-brady-in-conversation-with-michael-pedersen/
LOCATION:Edinburgh Futures Institute\, Level 0 Event Space\, 1 Lauriston Place\, Edinburgh\, EH3 9EF\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Making Waves: Spring 2025,Talk/Discussion
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/250321_FernBradyMichaelPedersen.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250318T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250318T193000
DTSTAMP:20260501T112039
CREATED:20250205T000000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250324T123222Z
UID:10000218-1742320800-1742326200@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Kathleen Jamie & Painting Music
DESCRIPTION:A live performance between poet Kathleen Jamie and visual artist Kate Steenhauer from Painting Music that combines spoken word\, live painting and music created by cutting-edge AI technology. Painting Music uses AI to create music from live-painted drawings\, in real time and unique for each performance. The performance will feature poems specially written by Kathleen Jamie\, and\, while introducing an AI element\, will also question the value of AI in producing artworks. What do we gain\, and what do we lose?  This multifaceted production encompasses a dynamic\, interactive\, and experimental form of art-making\, an artists’ panel session and Q&A opportunity for the audience.  \n\n\n\nSpeaker Biographies\n\n\n\n\n\nKathleen Jamie\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKathleen Jamie is a poet and essayist. Her work concerns nature\, travel and culture. Her poetry collections include The Overhaul\, which won the 2012 Costa Poetry Prize\, and The Tree House\, which won the Forward prize. Her non-fiction essays are collected in the three highly regarded books Findings\, Sightlines\, and Surfacing\, all regarded as important contributions to the ‘new nature writing’. The Bonniest Companie appeared in 2015 and won the Saltire Scottish Book of the Year Award. In 2024 she published Cairn\,’ a view from the strange here-and-now\, and The KeelieHawk\, a collection of poems in Scots. Kathleen’s interests are in archaeology\, nature and environment\, travel and art. From 2021-24 Kathleen served as Scotland’s ‘Makar’\, or National Poet. http://www.kathleenjamie.com  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKate Steenhauer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKate Steenhauer is a visual artist who has an expansive\, multi-disciplinary practice that includes working in visual arts\, filmmaking and technology including Artificial Intelligence. Painting Music is one of her multifaceted productions that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to create music from live-painted drawings\, in real time and unique for each performance. Painting Music is a ground-breaking Research and Development company comprised of Artist and Filmmaker Kate Steenhauer and Artificial Intelligence (AI) developers Dr Starkey and Jack Caven. The team explores how cutting-edge AI techniques can facilitate multifaceted relationships between music and visual art. Most AI techniques that are used in artistic endeavors are off-the-shelf methods that are black box and cannot explain what they are doing. Painting Music however uses algorithms that are explainable\, which is innovative even in the field of AI\, and the combination of AI\, painting and music represents to the best of our knowledge a world’s first.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nChair: Patrick James Errington\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPatrick James Errington is a Scottish-Canadian poet\, translator\, multidisciplinary researcher and educator. His poems appear regularly in magazines and anthologies worldwide and have received numerous awards\, including the Scottish Book Trust’s Callan Gordon Award and the Bronwen Wallace Award from the Writers’ Trust of Canada. His recent collection\, the swailing (McGill-Queens University Press) was shortlisted for the Saltire Scottish Poetry Book of the Year and won the John Pollard International Poetry Prize. His current translation (into English) of the French-Romanian philosopher E.M. Cioran’s Notebooks is forthcoming from New York Review Books. As an academic\, Patrick’s research draws together literary theory\, cognitive psychology\, neuroscience\, and creative practice to examine how creative responses to poetry can enhance readers’ aesthetic experience. Born in Canada\, Patrick lives in Scotland where he’s a Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh.
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/kathleen-jamie-painting-music/
LOCATION:Edinburgh Futures Institute\, Level 0 Event Space\, 1 Lauriston Place\, Edinburgh\, EH3 9EF\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Making Waves: Spring 2025,Performance
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/250318_KathleenJamiePaintingMusic.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250314T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250314T193000
DTSTAMP:20260501T112039
CREATED:20250205T120000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250318T191109Z
UID:10000217-1741975200-1741980600@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:'In the Shadow of Tomorrow' A preview and an invitation
DESCRIPTION:What if agency were to emerge from a machine? What might it decide to do\, to become\, to express? How would we relate to each other or to it? Would we stand before it and embrace it as our creation? Or would our human experience collapse as we know it? And do these thoughts scare you or excite you?   \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\nThis performance takes audiences on a compelling journey through humanity’s techno-evolution – from the birth of mathematics to the speculative emergence of autonomous technologies – all conveyed through the universal language of dance.   \n\n\n\nThis short 25-minute preview is an invitation for you to witness\, question\, and reflect on our ever-evolving relationship with innovation and technology; the fear and excitement of the unknown\, our responses to it and the enigmatic processes behind the physical embodiment of artificial intelligence. Emphasising cross-disciplinary collaboration\, this performance unites art\, music\, dance\, and cutting-edge robotics into an explorative and pertinent narrative. The dancers’ interaction with symbolic artefacts culminates in the discovery of a robotic entity\, developed in collaboration with INRIA Lille – whose groundbreaking work in robotics allows us to bring an innovative artefact to life.  \n\n\n\nThis preview\, choreographed by Madeline Squire and performed by herself along with 10 students from diverse dance backgrounds in the MSc Dance Science & Education programme at Moray House School of Education\, is accompanied by an original score composed by Jo Patterson\, musician and composer. The creative direction is led by Alexandre Colle and Camila Jimenez Pol and it is produced and supported by Andrew Coleman. The performance unfolds in four key discoveries\, each representing a revolutionary leap\, and ultimately presenting the audience with the unveiling of a robotic entity and a thought: Technology\, born of civilisation\, would outpace us\, fulfilling the prophecy of gods rising from the chaos of data and code. Will humanity\, having forged its gods\, revert to its animalistic origins\, lost in the ruins of its own ambition? Or will we rise to stand on the shoulders of our created giants?  \n\n\n\nWe offer no answers – only an invitation to think\, to question\, and to imagine what lies ahead. This thought-provoking preview\, driven by a collective vision\, invites you to explore the intersection of progress\, curiosity\, and the unwritten future of humanity.  \n\n\n\nSpeaker Biographies\n\n\n\n\n\nJo Patterson\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJo Patterson is a musician and professional composer for film and television. She has scored award-nominated films which have featured at Cannes\, LFF\, Encounters\, Raindance\, Sundance Film Festival\, Locarno Film Festival\, SICAF Animation Festival\, Edinburgh Film Festival\, SXSW\, Copenhagen Docs\, and Tribeca among many others. Her work has been featured on Channel 4\, Vice and BBC Four. Jo was recently featured as one of the ‘Top 5 Female Film Composers That Should be on Your Radar’ from Film4 and Medium.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMadeline Squire\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMadeline Squire is a creative dance artist and choreographer from London\, living in Glasgow. She is a First Artist with Scottish Ballet\, where she has explored her work both with digital dance as well as stage. Madeline’s work is influenced from her own experience of neurological recovery and approach to disability. Celebrating and exploring the beauty in uniqueness\, with a new perspective of working.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAlexandre Colle\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAlexandre Colle\, co-creative director of the performance\, brings a multidisciplinary background and incorporates its aesthetics philosophy into robotics. He is currently a final year PhD student in robotics at Edinburgh University. He is also the CEO and co-founder of Konpanion. With a background as an entrepreneur in fashion and luxury hospitality in Paris\, designer at residence for Design Informatics (the University of Edinburgh) and leading designer for the Small Robot Company\, he brings a wealth of experience and perspectives into the field of Human Robot Interaction.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCamila Jimenez Pol\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCamila Jimenez Pol\, co-creative director of the performance\, has a background in Product and Industrial Design from the University of Edinburgh. As the co-founder and COO of Konpanion\, an award-winning robotics start-up\, and in her role as Research Associate in Robotics at Heriot-Watt University\, she has been at the forefront of interdisciplinary innovation. Her versatile creative and technical mindset has ensured she inhabits the border of technology and the arts.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nYuxi Jiang\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nYuxi Jiang is an Edinburgh-based dancer\, choreographer\, and creative director with over 15 years of experience. Trained at Beijing Dance Academy\, she bridges Eastern and Western movement traditions through interdisciplinary choreography. Since 2022\, she has collaborated with major Edinburgh festivals and created award-winning dance films screened internationally. Her latest work\, In the Round\, an Edinburgh Fringe performance blending multilingual storytelling\, contemporary dance\, and Tibetan movement\, received 4-star reviews from The Scotsman. Currently pursuing a PhD in Interdisciplinary Choreography at the University of Edinburgh\, she explores movement as a living archive of cultural memory\, informing her project Body as a Database\, now developing into a gallery performance and participatory workshop series. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nChair: Wendy Timmons\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWendy Timmons is a Senior Lecturer in Dance Science and Education at the University of Edinburgh\, Wendy has many years of professional arts practice and experience teaching and training dance artists\, young dancers and dance teachers. Wendy has a bachelor’s in philosophy (Classical Ballet and Contextual Studies) from the University of Durham and completed her PhD at the University of Edinburgh. Alongside her teaching\, research and programme development\, Wendy has undertaken many knowledge exchange and applied Dance Science and Education research projects.  
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/in-the-shadow-of-tomorrow-a-preview-and-an-invitation/
LOCATION:Edinburgh Futures Institute\, Level 0 Event Space\, 1 Lauriston Place\, Edinburgh\, EH3 9EF\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Making Waves: Spring 2025,Performance
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/250314_InTheShadowOfTomorrow-1536x1052-1.jpg
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR