Régine Debatty

What's been good, exciting, spooky and challenging in art and science/technology over this past year. With a short incursion into the ugly because even artists have the right to be awful.

Global warming, the threat of another economic crisis, the rise of far right discourses across Europe or the mass extinction of natural species, it might seem futile to invest time and attention to contemporary art. And yet, with their inquisitive mind, their skills in (ab)using new media and their provocative attitude, artists and critical designers can play a valuable role in creating richer narratives around issues that tend to polarize and/or dismay. The talk will look at the good, the strange and the exciting in art and science/technology over this past year. With a short incursion into the ugly because even artists have the right to be awful. Some of the topics explored might include the environmental and human cost of AI, hormones hacking, 'racism' behind innocent looking devices and other prospects of a post-human world.