I.N.S.E.C.T. Summer camp

Interspecies exploration by biodigital manufacturing technologies

We are starting off the I.N.S.E.C.T. Summercamp by inviting 9 practitioners to design and 3d-print an experimental sculpture: a living material prototype for the OME. The OME is an experimental building that belongs to the Hub for Biotechnology in the Built Environment (HBBE) in Newcastle upon Tyne. In this workshop we will explore clay, living mycelium and textiles in regard to inviting the colonization of insects and microorganisms. Therefore we will share our expertise in additive manufacturing, parametric design, textile design, and with designing for and with bees, plants, amphibia, and fungi. Our interest is in the complexity of multispecies habitats introduced into our common built environments, with a focus on insect and microbial life. We will develop a material observation system to track the mycelium's response to environmental changes as well as its living environments, particularly the response of local insects to large mycelium bodies in their ecosystems. 

The Facebook Part 1 event: https://fb.me/e/1YXLYJLU6 

Towards Multispecies Worldings as an Everyday Design Practice

The second part of the I.N.S.E.C.T. Summercamp focuses on co-creative processes which means that we organize, decide, create, and bring into life everything together. Integrating post-anthropocentric and multispecies perspectives into our works and everyday lives is one of the biggest challenges we are facing today. There is lots of theory available, but how can we transform our strategies and practices, and how do they feel like in our bodies? How do they look, sound, smell, and taste? We are of the opinion that in order to address complex and wide ranging dynamics such as the decline of insect population and the destructive ways we relate to ourselves, each other, and the milieu we live with, we need to reconfigure our ways of thinking, doing, and knowing, and harvest the gifts of everyone to access the intelligence of the collective. Furthermore, as the metadesign manifesto argues: “a(A)dapting to change must include re-inventing our practices AND ourselves.” 

Registration closes June 15!!!

Form to fill: https://forms.gle/8rGPTyyhrU1dDFXQ6 

Facebook event: https://fb.me/e/1yAvWVuHd