Irma Mastenbroek [DE/NL]

Exploring public perceptions of artificial intelligence (AI), mathematician and tech activist, Irma Mastenbroek provides a whistle-stop tour of the complexities involved in building AI algorithms for fairness.

Axel Meuier [FR]

Drawing on the Twitter image cropping algorithm, design engineer and researcher, Axel Meuier addresses the troubles and bias in AI, when it is already out in the world and what it means for how we design AI.

Wassim Alsindi [UK/DE]

Sharing insights on digital currencies and AI governance, technologist, writer and editor Wassim Alsindi shares views on the role that ‘digital translators’ play in bridging expert and lay perspectives.

Stephan Lewandowsky [AU/UK/DE]

Cognitive psychologist and Chair of Psychology at Bristol University, Stephan Lewandowsky specialises in understanding the persistence of misinformation in society. Pointing to how our minds build such views, Stephan shares how misinformation can impact democratic discourse and policy making.

Danja Vasiliev [RU/DE]

Emphasising the role that artistic practice plays is exposing and articulating the ways in which technological systems can manipulate our viewpoints, artist and educator, Danja Vasiliev shares the methods that underpin key works from his practice as a critical engineer.

Theresa Züger [DE]

Focusing on the role that artificial intelligence (AI) can potentially play in civil disobedience and its relation to public service, Head of the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, Public Interest AI programme and AI & Society Lab, shares views and insights.

I am an Echborg [UK]

In advance of their performance ‘I am an Echoborg’ at HAU we host a special conversation with interactive dramatist Rik Lander and actress Marie-Helene Boyd about their work with echoborgs – hybrid agents, with the body of a human person but the ‘mind’—or more precisely, the words—of a digital conversational agent.

Rik Lander [UK]

Addressing the process behind the creation of I Am an Echoborg, Rik Lander shares the inspiration behind the work and his role as the performance host.

Marie-Helene Boyd [UK/CI]

Actor actress Marie-Helene Boyd, reflects on eight years of performing in the production I Am an Echoborg and the implication of AI on performers bodies.

Simone Abram [UK]

How do we collectively imagine, equitable and adaptive energy futures? Academic and Director of Durham University, Energy Institute,  Simone Abram shares key perspectives on energy governance and markets.

David Tudgey [UK]

Bristol’s Ambition Community Energy C.I.C, created the UK’s largest onshore community-owned and community-led wind turbine. Providing income for the community of Lawrence Weston, energy practitioner and project manager, David Tudgey shares insights and learnings. 

Eleonora Nicoletti [IT/UK]

Architect and designer, Eleonora Nicoletti from the School of Architecture and Environment at UWE, Bristol discusses her work on solar facades, photovoltaics and public art and how it can help rethinking the retrofit of buildings in Bristol.

Eve Aston-Davies [UK]

Renewable energy specialist, Eve Aston-Davies from Bath and West Community Energy, shares how insights on how communities can kick-off their own rooftop solar projects.

Julia Costa Carneiro [DE/UK]

Research Lead at Knowle West Media Centre, Julia Costa Carneiro outlines the process behind setting up digitally augmented, public observatories in Bristol that aim to support local authorities and communities to reach net zero targets.

Claudia Firth [UK]

How do we collectively negotiate doing things differently? Senior Research Associate in the Business School at the University of Bristol, Claudia Firth discusses her work on the Fair Creative Economies project (FaCE) and work in the Bristol Commons Network. 

Celia Philips [UK]

Action Greater Bedminister is the community partnership for Bedminster and Southville. Chair of the organisation and previous Labour Councillor for Bedminster Ward, Celia Philips shares learnings from the groups experience in hosting community conversations on climate transitions.

Claire Mellier [UK]

Designer, facilitator and researcher at SWE Foundation, Claire Mellier discusses the strengths and limitations of citizens’ assemblies as participatory, deliberative strategies for climate action.

Angie Bual [UK]

Creative Director and co-founder of Trigger, Angie Bual shares the companies approach to community engagement and how its informed their large-scale public art works.

Marek Tuszynski [DE/PL]

Film maker, activist and co-founder of Tactical Tech reflects on over two decades of creating critical interventions about technology and its impact on society.

International Repair Day Get Together Co-hosted

In collaboration with No Small Thing, Disrepair Cafe and Repair Acts as part of full-day programme of demos, discussions, workshops and activates from 11-18.00 at Sparks, Bristol.

Workshops and Activities

Contribute to Bristol’s Repair Declaration; learn how to turn junk into amplified instruments with Disrepair Cafe; repair jewellery with Jenny Ford, founder of No Small Thing and Materials in Mind; create fun patches from scrap material with Dawn Giles and help map of Bristol’s repair activates.

Talks and Discussions

From researcher and organiser of Fishponds Repair Cafe, Kate Brooks; buildings consultant, architectural technician and founder of No Small Thing and Materials in Mind Jenny Ford and Katt Strike, co-organiser of Disrepair Cafe. Moderator, Teresa Dillon.

Markus Bader [DE]

Co-founder of the architecture group raumlabor‘s Markus Bader, connects thinking on contemporary urban praxis with learnings from the groups role in co-designing large-scale civic projects.

Marcus Smith [UK]

Bridging location based storytelling, with more inclusive urban visions, broadcaster and media producer Marcus Smith, discusses representation, listening and community histories.

George Lovesmith [UK]

Reimagining buildings use, architect and educator, George Lovesmith shares insights from processes  developed through his working practice.

Closing Exhibition

As part of the 10th anniversary programme in Bristol, we connected the key locations in which Urban Hosts takes place, Bristol and Berlin through a mini residency programme.

Inviting practitioners whose work sits across design, art and media practice, scholarship, public discourse and education. From the 16-20th Oct, film maker, broadcaster and co-founder of Tactical Technology, Marek Tuszynski joined us. Showcasing the outcomes of Marek Tuszynski and Teresa Dillon’s workshop with third year, BA Graphic Design Students at UWE.

Outcomes of this two-day workshop took the form of a series of posters depicting impressions of digital awareness, social struggles, society and the city.

Sandy Kaltenborn [DE]

What role does the visual arts and communication design play in social and urban struggles? Sharing his impressions and views, designer, studio director (image-shift) and founding member of the grassroots tenants initiative Kotti & Co, Sandy Kaltenborn opens the floor for the 10th year anniversary of Urban Hosts.

Ana Filipovic [RS/DE]

Architect and spatial designer Ana Filipovic, discusses the outcomes of their research on the relationship between Berlin’s new build housing schemes and the hyper-commodification of our universal right, to have a place to live.

Magnus Bjerk [NO/DE]

Reflecting on their latest collaborations on the topic of eviction, photographer and artist, Magnus Bjerk shares how the work emerges from the experience of working in Kottbusser Tor, Berlin since 2007.

Fett Burger [NO/DE]

At the heart of producer, DJ and visual artist, Fett Burger (Peter Mitterer) practice is a mode of free-style drawing, that has its roots in graffiti, cartoon and comic forms. For this event, Fett Burger will be creating a bespoke poster, which will be available on the night with accompanying pre-conservation, warm up tunes.

How Do You Feel? Exhibition

A fitting opening to our 10th anniversary year “How Do You Feel?” (digital and silk screen prints) explores eviction and real estate speculation in cities. Initially exhibited at the print studio Trykkeriet in Bergen, as part of Fett Burger’s ‘ONE’ collaboration series, in which he invites one other artist to work together on a project. “How Do You Feel?” is part of an ongoing programme of work in collaboration with photographer and artist, Magnus Bjerk. “How Do Your Feel?” will be showing: Every Tuesday (15-19.00 only) from the 14th Feb – 28th March at 34a Weichsel St, 10247.

Guerilla Architects [DE]

Continuing our conversations on the topic “House and Home, Speculation in the City” and specifically what role does the visual arts play in such struggles? Multi-disciplinary artist collective, Guerilla Architects, film “The Language of Speculation” (collaboration with Philine Schneider), opens the programme, followed by an overview of two-related works, ‘Hidden Borough’ (2012) and its associated Berlin sister project, “This is Not a House” (2022), which forms part of the collectives ongoing work on housing speculation in Berlin.

Kenton Card [US/DE]

Teacher, filmmaker and researcher, Kenton Card, shares an overview of his recent publication on how grass-root tenant movements affect housing policy in Berlin.

Sophie Bandarkar [US]

Researcher and tenant activist, Sophie Bandarkar draws on her experiences of using film, as a medium for housing activism.

How Do You Feel? Exhibition Finnisage

Closing off “How Do You Feel?” (digital and silk screen prints) exploring the topic of eviction and real estate speculation in cities by artists Fett Burger and Magnus Bjerk.

Monaí de Paula Antunes [BR/DE]

Calling attention to the colonial mind-sets embedded within Western design praxis, researcher and transmission artist, Monaí de Paula Antunes‘s shares her thinking on ‘Wild Design’. 

Regina Sipos [HU/DE]

What is the relation between top-down, policies and place-based, community design and maker movements? Contextualising such practices, researcher, social designer and consultant Regina Sipos, gives her perspective.

Essi Johanna Glomb [DE]

Co-founder of the Berlin Textile CoCop, textile and material designer Essi Johanna Glomb shares her vision behind this recently established, community maker space in Friedrichshain.

Saad Chinoy [SG]

The concept of frugal innovation is central to the work of engineer and technologist Saad Chinoy of SpudnikLab, Singapore, relating this to up-cycling and eWaste, Saad’s provides an overview of recent projects and work.

Fri- 29 Sept: *full details here

18.00-: Exhibition Opening WE WORK HERE. Photography exhibition by Lydia Goolia and Urban Hosts. Weichselstr 34a, plus other venues.

19.00: Dirk Moldt, Head of Collections, Lichtenberg Museum, Weichselstr 34a.

20.00: Kelly James Wyse. Modellbahn Piano Concert, 34a WeichselStr.

+++ 20.00-22.00, Elsdeer at Herman Schulzt, Finowstr 33 and Singer/Songwriter Night Bar BoBuMüggelstraße 9.

Sat-30 Sept *full details here

11.00 WE WORK HERE. Locations: WeichselStr 36, 35, 34a, 32, 27, 26a, 23, 13, 14. Free/drop-in.

11.00-18.00 Turkish Tea & Games, Kiosk, Weichselstr 23.

11-13.00 Selbstgebaute Musik, Workshop for Children, Weichselstr 34a.

11-12.30 Start With A Friend, Meet Up, Peggy Bee, Weichselstr 13.

11-12.00 QiGong at Traveplatz, Weichselstr *meet by the statue.

12-17.00 Stadtteilbüro Friedrichshain at Traveplatz, Weichselstr *corner of Oderstr.

12-18.00 Fett Burger, Live Graffiti, Weichselstr 34a.

14-17.00 Berlin Textile CoOp, Weichselstr 33.

13-17.00 Kiez für Alle, Weichselstr 34a.

15-17.00 Radio Activities with Danja Vasiliev and Oleg Lutohin, Hackspace Finowstr 33.

15-16.30 Radio Spatkauf, Live Podcast Conversation, Weichselstr 34a.

17.30-19.00 Tea and Cake, Weichselstr 34a.

18:00-19.00 Orbit Studio, Pole Dancing Taster Workshop & Performance, Weichselstr 33.

19.30-20.00 Orbit Studio, Pole Dancing Performance, Weichselstr 33.

20.15 Natura Urbana/The Brachen of Berlin, Screening & Conversation with Sandra Jasper, Weichselstr 34a.

21.30-22.30 Audio BBQ, DJ, Weichselstr 34a.

++ 20.00-22.00, Herman Schulzt, Finowstr 33 with jazz duo Sebastian and Nora.

TALES OF CARE AND REPAIR, Publication Launch

TALES OF CARE & REPAIR was a year long project (Feb 2021-Feb 2022) in which stories of everyday care and repair were gathered with a focus on the cities of Bristol (UK in collaboration with DCRC and UWE), India (New Delhi with collaborators Toxics Link) and Brazil (Belo Horizonte in collaboration with Gambiologia).

Kicking off the Urban Hosts 2022 programme this publication is fitting for the years focus on repair, care, maintenance and healing cultures.

1:1: Conversation with Felipe Schmidt Fonseca

. Join us for an relaxed evening and conversation with Felipe Schmidt Fonseca, who worked on the Brazilian arm of the TALES OF CARE AND REPAIR project.

An activist and free/open advocate turned researcher, Felipe currently lives and works in Berlin, where his work focuses on waste prevention and smart cities. As advisor on the TALES OF CARE & REPAIR project, Felipe worked with the programme co-lead Fred Paulino (Gambiologia) to support the Brazilian arm of the programme.

This evenings event marks the launch of the TALES OF CARE AND REPAIR publication and sharing in Berlin.

People’s Archive of Everyday Repair

Partnering with artist and lecturer, Cliona Harney who leads the Fine Art, ‘Tactical and Critical Media’ module at NCAD (National College of Art and Design), Dublin. This talk connects contemporary media art art practices relating to repair, broken world thinking, glitch and failure to current dialogues on art and the so-called anthropocene. Open to NCAD students only their stores will form part of the online “People’s Archive of Everyday Repair”.

Closing event and seasonal get together, cancelled due to transport strikes in the UK. See you in the Year of the Cat-Rabbitt.

Liminal Routes

Collaboration with Rhys Ostler-Watts, Liminal Routes is a series of mixtapes for Bristol city. Inviting DJ’s whose work contributes to generating the ‘scene’ by running club nights, record labels, contributing to radio stations or producing music – each artist created a mixtape for a walking route of their choice in the city, with an accompanying text that reflected their selection at this particular period of COVID-19 lockdown. Over June 2021 a number of collective listening walks, were also carried out during which small groups, adhering to the restrictions, gathered and listened to the mixes collectively while walking each route. Liminal Routes was made possible by the support Bristol and Bath, Creative R+D.

Calling into the Now

Collaboration with Climate Care at the Floating University, Berlin. Calling the Now was a three-part programme that took the form of a workshop, ritual performance and panel discussion.

The workshop was carried out with members of the Floating University Association (on July 25th) and the form of a guided visual mediation through which the reproductive cycle of the reeds plants, which surround the Floating University site – a rain water retention pool at Berlin-Templehof, which since 2018 has been converted by Raumlabor and colleagues into a site for urban-nature practices.

Impressions and reflections gathered at the workshop were used to script a ritual that ‘asked’ the reeds how we can speak in their name. This was performed with the musician, drummer and artist Gordon W at the opening of the Climate Care programme (3rd Sept). Post the opening a public discussion that situates the work in relation to post-human legalities was hosted by Climate Care with Teresa Dillon, Caroline Frank and Jakob Walter.

Details regarding COVID restrictions and entry can be found via the above link >>> Book here <<<

Tales of Care and Repair

Working with undergraduate graphic design students at the University of the West of England. This two-day workshop focuses on sharing stories of repaired objects. Students will bring to the session three photographs – one of professionally repaired objects, the second a self/DIY repair and the third a failed repair. Submitting the images to the Tales of Care and Repair site the students will create from the information shared on each picture a series of graphics that analyse the data gathered, as well as their motivations of repairing objects. Students will work to create what they think local ‘Repair Declaration’ for Bristol should contain, working up their ideas into a visual poster.

Soft Agency

Collaborators and friends, Soft Agency have been loosely working together for a number of years. Over the first lockdown in 2020 the group formalised their practice and in partnership with Urban Hosts invite you to close the year and join them in a conversation that shares and reflects on their work and experiences to date.

In line with COVID 2G model guidelines this event will be restricted in numbers and open only to vaccinated or recovered persons. Given the time of year and that people are traveling to meet family, we ask for extra care and attention and that a PoC antigen test is taken before attending.

Manuel Beltrán [ES/NL]

Founder of the Data Workers Union addresses data exploitation and colonialism, through data cooperativism, tax, income and infrastructure.

Alina Wernick [DE]

Legal scholar discusses issues and concerns relating to the use of personal data and eHealth technologies.

Kasia Molga [UK]

Artist working with soil, pollution and biological data shares her approach to making immersive media, installation and performances.

Paris edition cancelled

Due to the global pandemic, COVID-19, the March edition of Urban Hosts, in Paris was cancelled. Conversations linked to this edition can found as part of the Face Unlock series on the online radio p-node, which operated from 12 March to 22 June, 2020. Full documentation of the radio programme can be found here. p-node is an project by the arts collective rybn.

New World Salon

Embracing the chaos of your time, from pandemic twists, to broken seams and regimes.

The New World Salon is an emerging feral alliance with architects Thom Charli and Irina Bogdan. This edition explored what it means to welcome and celebrate a stranger and friend, across the distances and restrictions that we hold during these particular times.

Adhering to pandemic rules and regulations, we worked in the margins, conjuring up new cleansing and meeting rituals, our work began to re-imagine what “gathering” may mean in a post-COVID city. To support this play, we invited tarot card reader, artist and life coach, Andreea Hriscu, to join us.

Laurence Rose [UK]

Sharing thoughts on landscape and species loss, writer, conservationist and composer, draws on his latest book “Framing Nature”.

Nadine Andrews [UK]

Psychosocial researcher and nature-based coach, provides a guided mediation to support group reflections and responses, to how we deal with extinction related trauma and grief.

Andreas Philippopoulos-Mihalopoulos [GR/UK]

Legal scholar, working at the intersection of spatial justice and the arts, connects perspectives from the fields of critical legal theory, post-humanist practices and environmental law.

** This edition of Urban Hosts took the form of an online conversation and workshop with an invited audience, in response to the paper “Liquid Loss, Learning to Mourn our Companion Species and Landscapes” (Dillon, 2019). The event was held in conjunction with “Remembrance Day for Lost Species“.

Nicolas Mairgret [FR]

Artist and co-founder of the art collective disnovation, discusses the groups work and approach to exposing practices that use data for online influence, persuasion, censorship and manipulation.

Alison Powell [UK/CA]

How do we understand the discourses, practices and governance structures that are part of our society’s orientation towards data? Technology and society scholar at the London School of Economics presents her work on technological citizenship and ethics.

Freyja Lockwood [UK]

Smart City & Innovation Team Manager at Bristol City Council addresses data inequalities and the responsibilities that local governments hold when collecting, using and storing citizens data.

Wael Eskander [EGY/DE]

Telling the story of released data, journalist, activist and member of Tactical Technology Collective speaks to the approaches adopted in their project, Exposing the Invisible.

Seb Bacon [UK]

Technologist at the Evidence-Based Medicine DataLab, University of Oxford, discusses issues of accessibility and transparency in relation to their work on large-scale healthcare data and clinical trials.

Pip Thornton [UK]

Exposing the exchange values embedded in Google AdWords databases, poet, researcher and artist describes how her creative practice critiques linguistic capitalism.

***In solidarity with our academic colleagues across the UK, who are on strike over university gender and ethnic pay gaps, precarious employment practices and unsafe workloads and who are fighting for a fair pension and pay. We are cancelling the planned 3rd Dec edition and moving it to 2020 – full programme details for the next year will be available soon.***

Rotraut Pape [DE]

In memory of the 30th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall and our friend, mentor and collaborator Rotraut Pape (1956-2019), we will screen Pape’s work, The Wall – The Vertical Horizon followed by a discussion of the work with colleagues and invited guests.

Ninon Liotet [FR/DE]

Artist, filmmaker and editor shares her insights on collaborating with Pape on The Wall, including the intention behind the work and it’s legacy.

Fiona Shipwright [DE/UK]

Exploring ideas of disappearance and the built environment, writer and editor specialising in architecture and urbanism, reflects on Pape’s work.

Vanina Saracino [IT]

Situating Pape’s work, within the broader canon of contemporary video art, curator and film programmer discusses moving image, memory and the city.

**

This event is a collaboration with artist and film maker Ninon Liotet and co-hosted with Daniela Arriado, founder and director of Screen City Biennial and Art Republic. We are grateful to Rodi’s family, Sigrid Pape and Charli Pape for their support in making this event happen.

Maximilian von Grafenstein [DE]

Corporate lawyer and head of the research programme ‘Governance of Data Driven Innovation’ at the Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, Berlin provides an overview of what data driven governance and ’smart’ privacy means for the citizen.

Harald Schoen [DE]

Transport lawyer at the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection of Germany discusses the impact autonomous cars and drones will have on established principles of law and city mobility.

Ravi Agarwal [IN]

Artist, writer, curator and founding director of Toxics Link the environmental NGO who work on chemical safety, toxics, waste and recycling in India, shares his experiences on waste and repair policy.

Benjamin Gaulon [FR]

Artist addressing consumerism and disposable society, summaries the techniques he uses within his art and workshop programmes on e-waste recycling and planned obsolescence.

Lara Houston [UK]

Sociologist and ethnographer discuss her work on mobile phone repair in Uganda and shares her views on how repair work becomes infrastructural and translocal.

Kaveri Gill [IN]

Academic and author of ‘Of Poverty and Plastic: Scavenging and Scrap Trading Entrepreneurs in India’s Urban Informal Economy‘ discusses the socio-economics of the informal waste collection and recycling sector in India.

Vimlendu Jha [IN]

Founder of Swechha a youth-run, youth-focused NGO and Green the Gap  a fair trade nonprofit company that deals in eco-fashion discusses how both organisations are linked and support sustainable urban livelihoods.

Prajeeth Sitherasenan [IN]

Growth Manager for Kabadiwalla Connect a waste management solutions provider based in Chennai, India illustrates how their company works with hundreds of self-employed rubbish collectors in the city.

Sharmila Samant [IN]

New Delhi based artist working with waste materials, activist groups and communities discuss the links between globalization, identity and consumer culture in India.

Bianca Elzenbaumer [IT]

Designer and co-founder of Brave New Alps presents work on ecologically and socially just economies.

Chiz Williams [UK]

Composer and decorator shares learning’s about the economic realities behind collaborative projects across the visual arts and music.

Ruth Catlow [UK]

Artist, co-founder and artistic director of Furtherfield discusses the groups approach to sustainable activity, including the potential of blockchain to promote an equitable transparent arts ecology.

Jane Stephenson [UK]

Pioneer in waste reduction, reuse and recycling and founder of Resource Futures discusses the companies’ work in the field of repair.

ginger coons [UK/CA]

Focusing on how individuals respond to and modify mass-produced goods, researcher and designer ginger coons, discusses the importance of technical standards in making goods “hackable”.

Martin Fodor [UK]

Bristol Green Party councillor discusses neighbourhood solutions to local repair and reuse initiatives, including how to help traders deal with food waste.

Colin Self [DE/US]

Composer and artist presents his work on group singing, queer family and community organisation in New York and Berlin.

Johannes Paul Raether [DE]

Artist and performer shares the stories of his SelfSisters, work in public space.

Jen Stein [UK/US]

Professor of design futures explores the promise of emerging reality technologies and design of experiences that lie beyond the visual.

Chris Price [UK]

Creative Director of Zubr VR discusses industry trends and the application of VR in urban settings.

Susan Ploetz [DE/US]

Artist, somatic practitioner and progressive larp designer considers the body and imagination in larp and game design.

We Are 5!

Join us in our Berlin studio to celebrate our 5th birthday.

Thanks! Danke! to the speakers, supporters, funders, producers and volunteers who have contributed their time and effort over the last 5 years.

RSVP via >>>book here<<<

Florian Alexander Schmidt [DE]

Independent researcher, journalist and designer speaks about the implications of crowd work and crowdfunding platforms within the design industry

André Gonçalves [PT]

Musician, artist, developer and co-founder of ADDAC system – Instruments for Sonic expression, presents on the realities of setting up your own craft based company and lessons learned from the past seven years

Kerem Halbrecht [IL/DE]

Founder and co-director of 72 Hr Urban Action, cultural planner and curator working on projects in the public realm, discusses the potentials and limitations of rapid forms of collective activism in the city

Keith Spiller [UK]

Discusses his research and practical experiences of Accessing CCTV data in London, state surveillance and our individual rights data

Heather Morgan [UK]

Presents on how sousveillance and self-monitoring, influence compliant and deviant behavior

Johannes Novy [DE/UK]

Academic focusing on the implications of city tourism as a powerful force of contemporary urban change, discussing examples from his latest publication Protest and resistance in the tourist city (with Claire Colomb)

Graeme Hogg [UK]

Artist and co-founder of the Cube Microplex reflects on the contributions that the venue has made over 18yrs to Bristol’s art scene and the transformations that have occurred in this period

Andrew Kelly [UK]

Director of Bristol Cultural Development Partnership and Bristol Festival of Ideas, presents his views on the impact and influence of the strategic planning of culture on Bristol, including and programmes he has delivered across the city

Doreen Toutikian [LB]

Designer, social entrepreneur and Director Beirut Design Week discusses project and links between urban exploration, sustainability and community development

Nana Rebhan [DE]

Film maker presents findings from her documentary “Welcome Goodbye” on the rapid growth of Berlin’s tourism industry

Katharina Beckmann [DE]

Co-founder of NICHE Berlin introduces the thinking and approach behind the company’s personalised art and architecture tours of Berlin

Kelly Wyse [DE/US]

Pianist, composer and teacher will open and close the programme, performing and premiereing four new piano pieces inspired by Berlin locations

Caleb Kelly [AU]

Curator and author discusses his approach to curating sound and noise in urban spaces

Zora Schärer Kalkandjiev [DE]

Researcher and model maker provides an overview of approaches to the acoustic mapping of the build environment

Daisuke Ishida [JP/DE]

Artist and educator, specialising in sound in urban contexts discusses his project “Crack in the City”

Tatu Rönkkö [performance] [FI/DE]

Percussionist, and co-founder of the new music group Liima and regular collaborator with the band Efterklang performs “I Play Your Kitchen”

Mami Yamasaki [chef] [JP/DE]

Macrobiotics chef and caterer provides a sample of her unique food

Alona Rodeh [IL/DE]

Artist presents her project “Safe and Sound“, which examines the interrelationship between personal and state safety regulation

Daniel Augustine [NL]

Lawyer and researcher discusses the legal complexities, which arise from the status of multinational companies and the implications this has on notions of trust and responsibility between governments, citizens and companies

Nils Zurawski [DE]

Journalist, researcher and co-editor of “The Anthropology of Security”, provides examples of how Europe, like many other parts of the world is now home to a vast and complex security industry

Kate Rich [AU/UK]

Merchant, Bar Manager and Cube-Cola maker presents her work as a Feral Trader

Seamus Nolan [IRL]

Artist discusses a selection of his work and how it investigates alternatives to existing economic and social power structures

Yara Pascale Fuessel [DE]

Environmental psychologist discusses her work on the Gängeviertel, an occupied social centre in Hamburg

Feral Trade [workshop]

Feral Trade is a grocery business and public experiment, trading goods over social networks. Hijacking our personal, travel routes trader and merchant Kate Rich re-uses such pathways to create closer links between producers and consumers. Join Kate and learn about processes behind Feral Trading and how you can become part of the network. No prior experience needed. All materials provided. Places limited: 20 persons. Workshop will take place prior to the Urban Knights talks at 16:00 – 18:00 Festivalzentrale, Marxergasse 1, 1030 Vienna. Cost: free

Something Fantastic [DE]

Architects who examine housing and the built environment within a global context, focusing on ideas of resistance and reliance

Fiona Hallinan [IRL]

Artist and chef presents presents her food and hospitality designs and interventions

Carolina García Cataño [ES/DE]

Founding member of Dabne and tech coordinator for tomalaplaza, takethesquare and the 15M movements in Spain speaks about her refugee support work in Berlin and Lage

Special Edition as part of Transmediale 2014

Jaromil [IT/NL]

Artist, hacker and activist discusses the philosophical underpinnings and values systems behind decentralised financial system, such as BitCoin

Jürgen Neumann [DE]

Co-founder of Freifunk.net and social entrepreneur examines how different network configurations can enable user empowerment and education

Emer Coleman [IRL/UK]

Former Deputy Director of UK Government Digital Service & architect of the London DataStore discusses her approach to switching local governments ‘on’ to open data and more transparent practices

Othernet [Workshop]

In partnership with Studio Weise7 and artist Danja Vasiliev we will be running the Othernet Workshop. Full details including registration can be found at: weise7.org/othernet

Theodore Ullrich [US]

Engineer, designer and founder of Tomorrow Lab, New York will present the work of the lab with a focus on city transit and transport systems

Valentia Karga [GR/DE]

Artist, architect and founder of the “Summer school for Applied Autonomy” presents projects and interventions aimed at developing an urban commons

Shriya Malhotra [IN/RU]

Civic collaborator and maker shares outcomes of projects from Moscow, Berlin and New York, which enage citizens in questions around the built environment

Bastian Lange [DE]

Urban and economic geographer discusses urban policy and socioeconomic transformation in relation to Berlin’s creative knowledge economy

Michelle Teran [CA/DE]

Canadian born artist, living and working in Berlin discusses the processes and interdisciplinary understandings which emerge from collaborative research into the current eviction crisis and right to housing movement in Spain

Rosario Talevi [AR/DE]

Architect who presents a selection of case studies from Berlin, which illustrate how community lead groups can give rise to ‘informal urbanism’ which is challenging how we manage and implement urban policy within our city

G Beaudin [US/DE]

Actor, director and producer discusses his current project WALK! an autobiographical documentary and investigation, which takes his indigenous Cherokee family history as a starting point to discuss wider issues of forced relocation, heritage and identity

Teresa Dillon [IRL/DE]

Urban Knights director Teresa Dillon will provide an overview of the programmes development to date with a focus on projects, which relate to the urban commons and collective civic governance.

Paradocks [AT]

Venue hosts and partners for Urban Knights, Vienna, Paradocks will provide a summary of their building experiment and co-working space, ‘Das Packhaus’.

Hans Bernhard [AT]

Rethinking our approach to governance, co-founder of the internationally renowned artist group UBERMORGEN discusses radical-self experiments, including media and legal hacks as strategies for rethinking how we organise our techno-civic lives.

Theresa Schütz [AT]

Architect, co-founder of the urban arts collective ‘Gehsteig-Guerrilleros’ and member of the CIT Collective illustrates how the group have been lobbying to turn Vienna’s ‘Gaswork Leopoldau’  into an open and democratically run area for cultural development and production.

Dmytri Kleiner [RU/CA/DE]

Programmer and author of The Telekommunist Manifesto discusses how we can create social and technical platforms which purposefully play on miscommunication and the unexpected

Marco Clausen [DE]

Co-founder of Prinzessinnengarten summarises the processes involved in cultivating and developing productive urban gardens

Adam Thomas [UK/DE]

Journalist and Director of Business Development at Storyful illustrates how radical shifts in journalism have changed how we report on civic conflict

Olga Maria Hungar [HU/DE]

Architect with Raumlaborberlin provides examples of how discarded materials can be used to create temporary urban structures

Martin Howse [UK/DE]

Programmer, writer, performer and explorer presents examples of his psychogeophysic studies, which focus on where and how the urban environment is literally encoded within human psyche

Stephen Kovats [CA/DE]

Cultural and media researcher discusses what it means to actively apply open source methodologies to support the development of new capital city infrastructures in South Sudan

Julia Kloiber [DE]

Project Leader for the Open Knowledge Foundation, Germany and developer of various city service apps, questions the future of open data, its availablity and accessibility in Germany

Ela Kagel [DE]

Independent curator and Director of SUPERMARKT, the creative resource center in Berlin-Wedding discusses what it takes to turn a disused building into a collaborative urban work space

Tom Hansing [DE]

Provides insights from the Werkstatt-Lastenrad cargo-building project and explains their approach to collective, design and prototyping

Fritz Schlüter [DE]

Cultural anthropologist and sound researcher examines the ‘sound’ of Berlins, Soldiner Kiez area and relates its tones to how we perceive so-called problem neighborhoods in the city

Tatiana Bazzichelli [IT/DE]

Writer, researcher and curator discusses her motivations for establishing reSource, the year-round programme of events and workshops, which is part of Berlin’s transmediale festival

Selena Savic [CH/SRB]

Artist & author of Unpleasant Design provide case studies of the ‘silent agents’ at work in cities, which take care of our behavior without the explicit presence of authorities

Julian Gröger [DE]

Environmental activist and campaigner for BürgerEnergie Berlin eG  discusses how Berlin is in a unique position to buy back its energy grid from its current commercial holders Vattenfall

Joel Dullroy [DE]

Founder of Freelancers Rights Movement & Deskwanted examines how the changing nature of how we work is reshaping the city and our work-life needs

Unpleasant Design [Workshop]

Unpleasant Design. refers to how cities can be designed to exclude or ‘silently’ modify our behavior and interactions. Join architect, designer and artist Selena Savic & Nikola Korac for this workshop and learn about the techniques behind ‘unpleasant design’. Places limited/book: weise7.org. Cost: 20€ per person. Unpleasant Design is a partnership with Studio Weise7.

Dominic Byrne [IE]

Assistant Head of I.T. at Fingal County Council provides practical examples of why open data is a necessity

Nicolas Henninger [FR]

Founding member of EXYZT presents the intentions behind their unique approach to temporary city structure

Niall Harbison [IRL/DE]

Founder of Simply Zesty makes the case for why Dublin could be the next Berlin

Sven Anderson [US/IRL]

Artist working between Ireland and the US outlines his role as an urban acoustic planner for Dublin City Council

Ré Dubhthaigh [IRL]

Principal Designer at The Civic Works discusses the messy realities of civic intervention

Richard Seabrooke [IRL]

Co-founder of OFFSET on nurturing Dublin’s indigenous design community

Dick Gleeson [IRL]

Dublin City Council planner at Dublin City Council looks at plans for how we could re-imagine the docklands

Mike Brennan [IRL]

Founder of FixMyArea and RateMyArea discusses the future of urban location-based services

Sebastian Muellauer [DE]

Founder of Autonomous Systems Laboratory and collaborator of Protei presents global examples of community generated solutions for environmental issues

++Muellauer will be running Hack-the-Ocean workshop at Recyclism, 12-14 May, 10-16.30. Places are limited. Book directly at Recyclism

Andrew Douglas [IRL]

Horticulturist discusses how we can turn Dublin’s rooftops into agricultural plots

Greg Keeffe [UK/IRL]

Professor of Architecture at Queen’s University and director behind Manchester’s working city farm illustrates how it can transform food production and lifestyles in the Salford area

John Lynch [IRL]

Interaction Designer with Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design (CIID) presents the novel work and urban tools developed by CIID

Roy O’Donnell [IRL]

Project Manager at dublin City Council presents his original designs which have transformed our city drainage systems

David Cuartielles [IT]

Founder of Arduino, and educator at Malmo FabLab discusses the role of fabrication labs within our cities

Carsten Stabenow [DE]

Designer and Curator of Tuned City on sound in the city and Tuned City festival highlights

George Boyle [IRL]

Social entrepreneur and Director of Fumbally Exchange on transforming derelict spaces into working creative spaces

Deirdre Ni Raghallaigh [IRL]

Senior Executive Officer of The Studio at Dublin City Council reflects on setting up a citizen and council innovation hub

Daniel Gray [IRL]

Editor of Totally Dublin on independent city publishing, reasons why Dublin rocks and what its future holds