At the crossroads of art, technology and society - Public Lecture

A public lecture with speaker Horst Hörtner, Ars Electronica Futurelab.

Horst Hörtner is Senior Director and founding member of Futurelab, the research- and development-lab for Ars Electronica – a yearly festival exploring the intersection of art, technology and society. A media artist and researcher, Hörtner has expertise in design of Human-Computer Interaction and holds several patents in this field. Hörtner started to work in the field of media art in the 1980s and co-founded the media art group x-space in Graz/Austria in 1990.

Ars Electronica is now represented all year round by the Ars Electronica Center, which is conceptualized as a Museum of the Future, a place where ‘biotechnology and genetic engineering, neurology, robotics, prosthetics and media art are juxtaposed on equal terms’ and which explores how we might interact and communicate with our surroundings and other human beings in the near future. Futurelab is Ars Electronica’s think tank. Futurelab staff have expertise in a wide array of disciplines: media art, architecture, design, interactive exhibitions, virtual reality and real-time graphics where they ‘reconfigure available knowledge, build bridges to art, and come up with concepts designed to facilitate our interaction with the world of today and tomorrow.’

In this keynote public lecture, Hörtner will be exploring the following questions:

• How can scientific findings/products be made tangible in the context of artistic productions?
• How can outstanding technological and artistic productions be used everyday life?
• How can we address people’s needs and motivations by innovative and creative means, considering various scientific disciplines (technology, art, social sciences)?

The event is organised by the Centre for Critical Studies in Museums, Galleries and Heritage, the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies and the School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science, in association with the University of Leeds Cultural Institute.

A Curating Science Symposium, from 2pm to 5pm, precedes this public lecture. See here for more information.
This public lecture is particularly aimed at curators, interpreters, artists, researchers and students interested in the intersection between art and science and culture and technology.

It is free to attend. To book a place at the public lecture and/or the Curating Science Symposium, contact: ccsmghinfo@leeds.ac.uk.

Image: DRONE 100 – Spaxels over Linz, presented by Ars Electronica and Intel. Credit: Martin Hieslmair.

Location details

Nathan Bodington Chamber, Parkinson Building