Producing data: practices, materialities, values

Posted on August 9, 2014 by DigiSTIS

An interdisciplinary symposium

3rd – 4th September 2014, Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation, University of Edinburgh

Hosted by: Design Informatics, Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh

Organisers: Chris Speed, Gian Marco Campagnolo, Siobhan Magee and New Media Scotland

Keynotes: Sian Lindley (Microsoft Research), Sophie Woodward (University of Manchester), Hermann Zschiegner (TWO-N)

Confirmed speakers and artists: Bea Alex, Chris Barker, Mina Braun, Jamie Cross, Ewan Klein, Craig Martin, Hadi Mehrpouya, Mitch Miller, Wendy Moncur, Larissa Pschetz, Mark Selby, Duncan Shingleton, Alice Street, Arno Verhoeven.

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The term ‘data’ is ubiquitous across our homes and workplaces, academic and mainstream media, political discourses and ethical disputes. Sometimes its presence can take the form of representations of various facets of our lives, such as statistics or visualisations of figures. Data is a part of the contracts that we make with each other, companies that we deal with, and the fallout of the devices that we use. Our positions within these relationships change our competences based upon whether we are a professional producer of data or an amateur. In other instances, ‘data’ appears not as information in its own right, but as a lens through which to discuss, and often critique, governments and corporations. The reverberations of Big Data controversies for example, suggest that data is developing to be one of the key political issues of our time: a point of convergence for politics and economics, technology, and statecraft.

Despite, or perhaps because of, this ubiquity, the meaning of data is blurred. However, rather than calling for the creation of a rigid definition of data, this context suggests the need for comparison and discussion.

The majority of the symposium will be made up of keynote presentations and shorter presentations from invited speakers. On the second day, attendees will participate in a workshop and later a discussion session about ideas that have emerged over the course of the event. The symposium will include opportunities for attendees to discuss their own work with speakers. An exhibition of visual/ sensory works that question what data is and how it is produced will run in tandem with the talks and presentations.

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The symposium will be held at the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation.
3rd September: 1pm – 6pm.
4th September 9am – 4pm.

All attendees are invited to Jelly and Gin’s ‘data dinner’ at the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation at 8pm on 3rd September. www.jellyandgin.com

This event is free but ticketed. To register, please visit http://producingdata.eventbrite.com

Tags: Data, workshop

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