Urban environments today face complex challenges, from balancing the natural and built worlds to navigating the impacts of rapidly advancing technologies like AI. Additionally, the transition to more sustainable and equitable systems, such as in food production, is critical for the future of cities. The triangle of science, technology and art has emerged as a catalyst for addressing the multiscalar crisis, offering creative solutions and alternative visions for both our present and future. Why? Because it—and art above all—produces the disruptive innovations towards social and environmental justice. But how can we contribute to fostering a culture where the arts, science and technology thrive as interconnected, mutually enriching disciplines of exploration and transformation?
Over the course of fall 2024, GLUON presents a public program centered around the research and recent creations of artists David Claerbout, Futurefarmers, Roel Heremans and Adrien Lucca. These works are the outcome of the STARTS in the City residencies program initiated by GLUON with the support of Innoviris, National Lotery, Proximus, IMEC and the Flemish Insitute for Biotechnology. The program brought together artists and expert stakeholders from various fields and sectors to explore and address pressing challenges faced by the Brussels-Capital Region – challenges that impact all of us. How might we transition to a more sustainable and equitable local food systems? How might we we create more symbiosis between the natural and the built environment?
The STARTS in the Cities – Brussels public program becomes a place for exchange and collective learning. Each activity is conceived differently and will convene a diverse group of artists, activists, thinkers, academics, policymakers, and citizens to engage with critical questions such as: What role does art play in envisioning more inclusive public spaces? What role can artists play in shaping the cities of tomorrow? How can artistic practices help reimagine our collective future?
DISCOVER THE PROGRAM
In the Belly of the City
11 – 13 October, Akenkaai 1, Brussels
The program will kick-off with the launch of In the Belly of the City by Futurefarmers during the I Love Science Festival in Brussels. In The Belly of the City, a project by the artist collective Futurefarmers, is a floating platform that moves along the Brussels–Charleroi Canal between Halle and Brussels. It transports organic food produced (by a network of farmers in the Pajottenland) and hosts a constellation of artists on board. The platform is both an artwork and a tool – a call to action to reconsider our food systems, reimagine food production and activate pathways between farmers and consumers; it is literally and figuratively a platform for bringing this conversation into the public sphere.
EPIC: book launch Koen Kas
How can we live an epic, delightful life – one that’s filled with purpose, potential and vibrancy? This timeless question lies at the heart of EPIC, the new book by health futurologist Koen Kas. Humanity has always sought to extend not just lifespan, but healthspan—the years we live well. In EPIC, Kas explores how cutting-edge technologies like AI, brain reading tech, biology to halt aging, and new approaches to personal data on a next-generation internet are empowering us to take unprecedented control of our wellbeing and life goals. A new way to leave legacy.
Symposium: AI, Humanity & Arts
19 November at Wiels Center for Contemporary Art
In 2023 generative models such as ChatGPT and DALL-E brought about a true revolution.These groundbreaking tools proved capable of creating coherent texts and even generating visual images based purely on textual cues. Building upon the work of artist David Claerbout, this symposium delves deeper into the complex relationship between the brain, creativity and language. We will gather a cohort of artists, neuroscientists, AI experts and philosophers to help us understand this technological revolution in a more nuanced way and assess whether they are really reasons for fear and concern.
