Events
Material Beliefs is organising a number of public events - debates, exhibitions and workshops. In addition it links to partners and professional bodies, to contribute to and benefit from networks and activities.
Find out about these events here. Key events can be linked to above. Please note, some links may be under review and require a password - please check later when the content has been approved.
Collaboration Workshop
The Women's Library, London Metropolitan University, Old Castle Street, London E1 7NT
The workshop kicked off the project, by getting together a network of people from science and engineering, design, science communication and social science. This was a way of discussing views, scoping the project and thinking about how to set up collaborations.
Science Communication Conference
Institution of Engineering and Technology, Savoy Place, London
This was a networking event for Material Beliefs. The Science Communication Conference is a yearly event organised by the BA as part of its Science in Society programme.
Minds Bodies Machines
Birkbeck College, Malet Street, London
This was an opportunity for the designers working on Material Beliefs to all meet for the first time, and attend a conference that introduced some context for the project.
Our Cyborg Future
Discovery Museum, Blandford Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4JA
The exhibition was part of the DOTT festival in Newcastle. Material Beliefs exhibited existing work from the Biojewellery project, and offered new relationships and alliances with scientists, designers, and artists. Over 90,000 people visited this show over a 3 month period. Participation in this event lead to other events in Newcastle for Material Beliefs.
Public Attitudes to, and Perceptions of, Engineering and Engineers 2007
Institute of Physics, 76 Portland Place, London W1B 1NT
This event marked the publication of an attitudinal study into perceptions of engineering. It was a networking and awareness event for Material Beliefs, and most importantly provided some statistical data to reflect upon during the shaping of subsequent events.
Junior Scientifique
Thomas Hepburn School, Swards Road , Felling , Gateshead , Tyne and Wear, NE10 9UZ
An after school club in Gateshead invited members from Material Beliefs to present and discuss their work. Ten year 8 students attended. and provided thoughtful feedback on cyborg eyes and tissue engineering. This was a significant event as it introduced the potential of younger audiences to the project.
Café Culture / Café Scientifique - Our Future Human Body?
World Headquarters, Curtis Mayfield House, Carliol Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 6UF
An evening Café Scientifique in Newcastle, Material Beliefs appeared alongside other researchers working in the field of cybernetics. With an audience of about twenty five, this was an event that encouraged discussion on technology and body ability, and demonstrated how technology provokes controversy amongst particular groups of users when it becomes situated in society.
Ingenious - engaging citizens; engaging engineers
The Royal Academy of Engineering, 3 Carlton House Terrace ,London, SW1Y 5DG
This was a networking event and workshop to introduce the Ingenious grant scheme, offered by the RAE to support public engagement with engineering. This was an opportunity for Material Beliefs to learn more about the academic engineering community, and related public engagement projects.
Material beliefs Workshop - TU/e Industrial Design Masters course, Eindhoven, Netherlands
TU/e, Den Dolech 2, 5612 AZ Eindhoven
A two day workshop for masters students in the faculty of Industrial Design at Technische Universiteit Eindhoven. Methods that had evolved from the process of setting up collaboration between designers and engineers were deployed in this workshop, which encourages students to interview researchers in their university, and develop a debate, discussion of design scenario from unexpected findings. There were two groups of 12 students involved.
Techno Bodies; Hybrid Life?
The Dana Centre,165 Queen's Gate, South Kensington, London, SW7 5HD
An evening of debate at Science Museum's Dana Centre, focused on Material Beliefs emerging themes. Each of the four project clusters curated an area of discussion, and each area had it's own invited speakers. Over 100 people attended, and the event has recently been reported in the Observer.
EPSRC PPE Award workshop
The Dana Centre,165 Queen's Gate, South Kensington, London, SW7 5HD
An information day for scientists, engineers and project partners who are interested in applying for EPSRC Partnership for Public Engagement grants. Material Beliefs was invited to this event to present Biojewellery, as a PPE case study.
Swiss STS Meeting 2008 - ScienceFutures
Universität Zürich / ETH, Rämistrasse 64, CH-8001 Zürich
An academic event where Material Beliefs was presented as supporting studies by two PhD candidates. This was also a networking event for the project, within a broad and vibrant community of young European researchers from social sciences and history of science fields.
Mind the Loop
Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ
This was a small meeting at the IBE which brought together an engineer, a patient and a doctor, to discuss emerging technologies for the treatment of diabetes. This was an experimental format to encourage discussion across different experiences, with an aim for building new public engagement formats.
ISDN3 - Material Beliefs; Technology for People
School of Design, City Campus East, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST
An academic event where Material Beliefs was presented to a community of researchers. Presentations focused on the design of services for a range of user groups, and the forty attendees were from design and public service backgrounds.
Ignite - My Space, My City, My World
The Stephen Lawrence Centre, 39 Brookmill Road, London, United Kingdom, SE8 4HU
Material Beliefs was invited to lead workshops on two days of this three day conference for year 10 students. This was held at the new Steven Lawrence Centre in Deptford. The conference was designed to "build young people's confidence in making their voices heard in the places where decisions are made about design, engineering, economics and the future." Over 30 students were involved with the Material Beliefs workshops.
Science teachers inset day - MoMA
Museum of Modern Art, 11 W 53rd St New York, NY 10019, USA
Presentation and discussion with teachers from science and art disciplines.
"Free Speech 19"
Pedrita studio, Lisbon, Portugal
Organized by Frederico Duarte and Pedrita. A presentation with discussion for students, academics, practitioners and general public.
Material beliefs Workshop - IBE & Design Interactions, RCA London
Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ
Design Interactions, Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2EU
Students and staff at the Design Interactions course at the Royal College of Art took part in a two day workshop at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering. The aim of the workshop was to provide those from the RCA with an embedded view upon biomedical technologies, and for those based at IBE to have a refreshed set of responses to their research. More anout the workshop in this diary post.
Material Beliefs - evening Lecture
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London, UK
A presentation followed by discussion with undergraduate design students.
Disruptive design
General Electrics Healthcare, Waukesha, Chicago, USA
The workshop explored the premise that by demonstrating that a research proposal could successfully identify and consult with a range of stakeholders, the quality of the proposal would be improved, and more likely to secure funding. What tolls can design offer this process of public consultation?In this workshop, it was established that using design as a tool to engage general public about the objectives of the research, went only half way. It is the nature of the format in which design is used, where plausible proposals, offer a basis for better understanding of the research, rather than ddesigns which are merely speculative. A presentation followed by a discussion with designers, engineers, researchers, scientists and project managers.
Design Blast Conference
Karlsruhe University of Art and Design, Karlsruhe, Germany
A presentation and discussion with design students, academics, practitioners and the public.
Science & Sciety - IBE & Design Interactions, RCA London
Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ
Design Interactions, Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2EU
A a four week project for Design Interactions students, with researchers at IBE and Reading taking up visiting tutor roles at the RCA through tutorial sessions, providing feedback on the projects.
Selfridges & Co - Wonder Wall
Ground floor, Selfridges London, 400 Oxford St, London, W1A 1AB
Biojewellery is part of "Natural History" at the Wonder Wall, a temporary exhibition in the Wonder Room on the ground floor of Selfridges, London.
Secret Garden Party Festival
Guerilla Science tent, Secret Garden Party, Huntingdon near Cambridge
Part of a programme of tented science demonstrations, our session explores how bodies and products become connected through new technologies. Some initial slides showed images of everyday hybrids - including gamers and karaoke singers - enveloped within the tools of their pursuit.More about the festival and Material Beliefs role
Bioengineering public interviews - Selfridges Wonder Room
Ground floor, Selfridges London, 400 Oxford St, London, W1A 1AB
A series of filmed conversations with shoppers at Selfridges about the value of collaborations between speculative design and biomedical engineering, based at the "Natural History" exhibition.