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We had a full house for the talk "THE IMAGINATION RENAISSANCE: Digital Artists & the Age of New Ideas,” which took place on May 14th at Poolside Hub. What an inspiring conversation! We had the pleasure of having Ana Margarida Abrantes, Professor of Language and Culture Studies, and Dimitri De Jonghe, Co-Founder of studio 204.ai, as guests.
The panel discussion commenced with a thought-provoking question posed by the mediator, journalist Julia Flamingo: Can machines imagine? When explored, this query leads us to delve into the realms of memory, desires, dreams, taste, and intuition. In this context, can we assert the existence of artificial imagination? What is the balance between using technology to drive innovation and preserving human creativity? The guests gave very different and complementary insights during the compelling conversation. Ana Margarida Abrantes holds a PhD in German Language and Literature, and her areas of interest are Culture and Cognition, Language, and Cognitive Poetics. She discusses imagination and AI from a theoretical and philosophical point of view. Dimitri De Jonghe, on the other hand, is a cross-domain protocol researcher. After finishing his PhD in micro-electronics and machine learning, he co-founded a series of blockchain startups and has a hands-on approach to AI, as he has been developing artworks that use machines to create new realities.
The arts are very powerful in enhancing collective imagination. Language is also another: through communication and interaction, we are able to create new stories, news narratives, new desires, and new dreams for a group of people, for a community. Social movements are very much driven by collective imagination as well. Therefore, they were asked: How can digital technologies enhance new ways of imagining together?
Apart from the panel discussion, we also launched a digital art collection showcased at Poolside Hub. This time, we invited German artist Chris Hoffmann - AKA UglyStupidHonest, who created six works especially for this event. He imagines peculiar inhabitants of his surreal world, a fantastical kingdom of insects.
This is the third edition of D-Art Encounters, a series of seven talks happening at Poolside Hub in Lisbon, to discuss digital art and new Blockchain technologies not from a technical perspective but from the point of view of society, economics, and culture. The aim is to bring these new technologies closer to our lives and to our understanding. Click here and save the date for the next ones!
