Our ambition is to redirect the history of ideas, restoring the Leonardo-like close linkage between art/design and science/engineering. We believe that internet-enabled collaborations can make more people more creative more of the time.

50 years ago in an era of political turmoil, the artistic response was captured in a famed exhibit on Cybernetic Serendipity that celebrated how individual artists could creatively transform computers into art machines. The rock star artists entranced 40,000 viewers with never-before seen images, films, music and sculpture. The goals were to delight, surprise, and sometimes annoy audiences with their creations. 50 years later in another time of political turmoil, the capacity to make images, films, music and sculpture has been dramatically expanded to billions of users who create and publish their work online to their mega-million audiences.

This colloquium will use the historical framework of Cybernetic Serendipity to look at how the context has changed. This will form the foundation for asking questions of how collaboration and creativity is impacting practice and research today. How should we re-envision research policy and educational structures to maximize the impact of partnerships with design, art, and humanities? How can we productively engage business, government, and non-governmental organizations as research and educational partners?

For more information, including how to register, see this website.