About this Event
Researchers in the sciences at the University of Glasgow are invited to take part in a sci-fi and fantasy worldbuilding creative workshop delivered by artist and quantum physicist Libby Heaney and organised by PhD researcher Bilyana Palankasova in partnership with NEoN Digital Arts.
Libby Heaney will deliver a speculative world-building workshop using storyboarding techniques and sci-fi and fantasy speculation. The artist will introduce participants to the themes of her art practice and engage them in creative exercises in imagining a quantum computing future.
Quantum computing is an emerging field of technology which strives to apply the laws of quantum mechanics to create very powerful computers which could solve problems too complex for classical computers. The artist describes it as scientists having learnt to build computers by using a “weird version of reality.”
Participants will get to speculate about the possible applications of quantum computing and consider future scenarios and the impact on society. Thinking about quantum technologies, timescale, plausibility and location, participants will respond to various prompts to collectively construct a world by working with techniques like storyboarding, sketching, text and collage. At the end of the workshop, participants’ worksheets will be assembled to form parallel narratives around the future impact of quantum computing. Participants do not need to be working in quantum science or have creative background or experience. We invite all researchers working in the sciences at the University to participate.
About the artist:
Libby Heaney is an artist and physicist who holds a PhD in Quantum Information Science from the University of Leeds and an MA in Art and Science from Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London. Her post-disciplinary art practice includes moving image works, performances and participatory & interactive experiences that span quantum computing, virtual reality, AI and installation to critically examine power hierarchies, pluralities and interdependencies through the lens of new technologies. She often uses humour and satire in her work to subvert common perceptions within society. She has exhibited widely in the UK and internationally and her work Ent- was recently longlisted for the 2022 Lumen Prize for Art and Technology. Heaney is a resident at Somerset House Studios in London.
About the project:
The workshop is part of a new work by Libby Heaney commissioned by NEoN Digital Arts and Bilyana Palankasova as part of a collaborative PhD project at the University of Glasgow.
As field research, the workshop will be audio and video documented for the purposes of data collection. In line with ethical research practice, all participants will have to give written consent to the collection of data. A Participant Information Sheet and a Consent form will be sent to you after signing up.
NEoN Digital Arts is committed to being as accessible as possible. We are looking to use spaces that are accessible to a wider community, are in a central location, and are on good bus routes. The Advanced Research Centre is fully accessible. Please let us know if you have any access requirements or questions related to accessibility at [email protected]. Places for this workshop are limited. If for any reason you cannot make it, please let us know by sending an email to [email protected] so we can fill your place.
This project is a partnership between the University of Glasgow and NEoN Digital arts and is delivered with support from The Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities and Digital Departures Lab at the University of Glasgow.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Advanced Research Centre , University of Glasgow, 11 Chapel Lane, Glasgow, United Kingdom
GBP 0.00