OPEN CALL:Hackers & Designers Summer Academy 2017

Hackers & Designers (H&D) is a non-profit cross-disciplinary community of programmers, engineers, designers, and artists. H&D has been experimenting, researching and developing new and controversial technology and learning processes with artists, designers, (software) developers and hackers in Amsterdam and abroad since its founding in 2013.

Are you a designer, artist or developer? Are you not afraid to open, break or rethink software and hardware concepts and like to reflect and research the ethical consequences that arise in our contemporary information society? Sign up for the third edition of the Hackers & Designers Summer Academy. During the summer of 2017 Hackers & Designers invites an international group of ambitious participants to learn by creating, researching, and discussing. The program of the Hackers & Designers Summer Academy in 2017 includes a ten-day hands-on workshop program, talks and lectures lead by well versed talented educators and professionals skilled at teaching and sharing information of their own research and practice to groups of individuals who are self-initiators, curious and innovative in their fields.

The 2-week workshop program concludes with an exhibition in which the participants will be able to present the results created during the Summer Academy, next to works of curated artist, designers and makers. The Summer Academy will be accompanied by a public lecture program with:Things Network, Gottfried Haider, Sarah Garcin, Bongani Ricky Masuku, Center for Genomic Gastronomy & Sjef van Gaalen. The HDSA2017 program focuses on the thematic thread and the process of going “on and off-the grid”-a crucial societal topic and ongoing discussion at stake in both design/art and developer practices.By developing an elaborate hands-on program H&D invites participants to reflect and question dependence and obedience of our daily work and living environments. How can we, as modern nomadic workers, look critically at infrastructure, networks and systems we rely on? Are we as steadily connected networkers capable of disconnecting from existing grids? Can we rethink and build self-sustaining environments that shape our future practices in unexpected ways? The program shall challenge and activate the participants to use and push the boundaries of existing technology and programming platforms (web, hardware, software), networks online/offline (internet, deep web, darknet, peer to peer, blockchain), and user experience, all in a practical manner while incorporating content matters and ethical consequences of the proposed technologies and processes.
In order to develop a deeper understanding of the qualities and disadvantages of technology we need to look inside the black boxes of the technology that we heavily rely on in our daily physical and digital, and our private and professional lives. Therefore a hands-on approach and the challenges that come with making stays central throughout the whole program. We urge the participants of the summer academy to collaborate in opening the box, look inside it, rummage through it or even make their own boxes.

–Spoken languageEnglish
–All workshops are accessible for both the tech-savvy and the newbie nerds.
–Full program, welcome dinner, daily lunch, free access to the public programs: 350 EUR (excl. VAT)*

Application deadline: 30/5/17
Sign up for the 2017 edition at H&D Summer Academy here.