Feminist AI lecture series

5. bis 10. September 2023 Kunstuniversität Linz, Hauptplatz 6 und FIFTITU%

In a technological landscape, where media discourse on AI is dominated by long-termism and hegemonic male, cis-gendered voices, discussions on the current power dynamics within the global AI ecosystem, and the subsequent impact on society is a main concern. Looking into AI through the perspective of gender and feminist thought, has allowed artists and scholars to interrogate the technology and its surrounding infrastructure through a critical lens, to rethink current structures and processes that define AI technology, but also to speculate on possible AI futures.

The Feminist AI lecture series will present inspiring lectures on gender and AI. Throughout this autumn, the series will bring together a diverse range of lectures by artists and scholars working at the intersection of technology, art and gender, who will present how feminist thinking and intersectional experience has influenced their work. The programme commences in September 2023 at Kunstunicampus during Ars Electronica Festival, with a keynote lecture by Dr. Elena Knox (AU) and a workshop by Jelena Mönch (DE/AT) & Miguel Rangil (ES/AT).

The Feminist AI lecture series is initiated by Critical Data and the akg (working group for equal opportunities) of University of Arts Linz.

Critical Data
The Critical Data course is part of the Interface Cultures Master programme / Institute of Media at University of Arts Linz. Critical Data examines the relationship between artists, critical mediation and use of data, data processing systems and related knowledge. Not only can artists make visible how systems of digitisation work, but also how they do not. We critically investigate the place that society and its environment can take in relation to the latest technological developments. Critical Data questions the handling of technology and explores artistic worlds in the digital cosmos, operating between promise, manipulation and conspiracy. Critical Data is headed by Univ. Prof. Mag.art Manuela Naveau, PhD.

Timetable

Thursday September 7th 2023
Keylecture by Elena Knox (AU)
6-8pm, Kunstuni Linz, Hauptplatz 6, 5th floor
Incl. discussion and workshop presentations by Jelena Mönch (DE) and Miguel Rangil (ES); Hosted and moderated by Fiftitu% Oona Valarie Serbest (AT) and Manuela Naveau (AT);
In collaboration with FIFTITU% Vernetzungsstelle für Frauen* in Kunst und Kultur in OÖ (Network for Women* in Art and Culture in Upper Austria).

September 5th to 10th 2023
Exhibition of Elena Knox “The Masters” 
at FIFTITU%, Domgasse 14, 4020 Linz
Opening hours of the exhibition September 5th – September 8th 11am-8pm; Septemper 9th and 10tht 2pm – 8pm
Party at Fiftitu% on Saturday 9th 8pm-00pm: Feel invited!

Wednesday, September 6th 2023, 1pm – 5pm
Workshop “Unlearning Gender”
Kunstuniversität Linz, Hauptplatz 6, 5th Floor
(free workshop, up to 15-20 participants limited; if interested, please send a motivation letter to Miguel.Rangil@kunstuni-linz.at)

Elena Knox (AU/JP)
Elena Knox is a media and performance artist based in Tokyo. Her works stage enactments of gender, presence and persona in technoscience and communications media, often using frontier research robots to audition roles of identity and belief in machine-augmented futures. Recent exhibitions include Yokohama Triennale, Bangkok Art Biennale, Beijing Media Art Biennale, Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale, ‘Future and the Arts’ at Mori Art Museum and ‘AS-Helix’ at the National Museum of China.

Jelena Mönch (DE)
Jelena Mönch is a media artist who specializes in creating visually generative artworks that prioritize real-time interaction. Her work explores a range of themes, including digital artificial life, psychological disorders, and social constructs and phenomena. Jelena Mönch is currently a master student at Interface Cultures department at University of Arts Linz.

Miguel Rangil (ES)
Miguel Rangil (Spain, 1998) is a digital artist who focuses both his research and his artistic production on a critical exploration of the visualities inherent to artificial intelligence and the consequences of its presence and operability in various spheres of human experience. His works have been exhibited in various cultural spaces and institutions since 2019, including Ars Electronica, MediaLab Matadero-Madrid, Etopia Centro de Arte y Tecnología and the Austrian National Library. Miguel Rangil was an Erasmus student at Interface Cultures department at University of Arts Linz.

Oona Valarie Serbest (AT)
Oona Valarie Serbest is a Linz-based artist, cultural activist, and executive director of FIFTITU%, a networking agency dedicated to networking and supporting women* in art and culture. She is the founder of newsbase.at, a database that promotes art and culture in Austria and the initiator of Feminismus und Krawall, a queer-feminist alliance that advocates for women* rights through performative actions in public spaces. As chair of the Cultural Advisory Board of the City of Linz, Serbest works to incorporate intersectional perspectives into the agendas of the board.

Manuela Naveau (AT)
Manuela Naveau is an independent curator, art-based researcher and formerly co-developed and directed Ars Electronica Export. Since October 2020, Manuela Naveau has been University Professor for Critical Data at University of Arts Linz / Interface Cultures Department, which she is heading since February 2023.