What does it mean to change the fundamentals of our 20th century economic model? How do we make our supply chains more sustainable? How will the practices and politics of distribution be changed by new digital technologies? The arrival of the Blockchain promises to radically change the way we share, circulate and distribute the things that we value. Blockchain is a software technology which underpins alternative currencies. It is a distributed, secure and shared database of transactions which opens up the possibility of fundamental changes to our current use of fiat currencies as the primary method of value exchange, enabling new forms of social interaction, and different models of trust between people and institutions. However, the possible benefits for the not-for-profit sector has only begun to be understood, and much research and innovation is presently limited to the financial and tech industries. The EPSRC funded OxChain project set out to explore how Blockchain technologies can be used to reshape value in a much broader and diversified way.
OxChain is a major research project between the Universities of Edinburgh, Northumbria and Lancaster, and research partners Oxfam, Zero Waste Scotland, Volunteer Scotland and WHALE Arts, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. It brings together experts in digital design, cryptography, business and international development. Through collaborative research, we developed the If Then Give app with Oxfam Australia that allows public donors to enter a smart contract with an external event that Oxfam would typically support: For example: I will donate £100 to an earthquake response fund which will be released if there is a significant earthquake anywhere in the world in the next 12 months.
As the app continues to be deployed and tested across Australia, we invited three artist/researchers to develop artistic responses to the early data that emerged from peoples experience of using the app. The artists were selected on the track record for the use of new methods to represent data. What is particularly vital about their work is how they challenge the culturally narrow, straight, white, and ‘grammatically correct’ languages that that have become synonymous with data science.
The outcomes of their work are on show at Inspace City Screens on Potterrow is the exhibition Telling Tales of Engagement: Poetic Expressions of Smart Donations with Oxfam.
The gallery’s seven digital screens tell stories from the three artists – Martin Glynn (data verbalisation), Bakita Kasadha (poetic inquiry) and Nicky Melville (experimental lyric poetry).
Find out more: https://inspace.ed.ac.uk/telling-tales-of-engagement/
