Another highlight of BIO 26—Common Knowledge: The focus on data

A cluster of events focused on Data, one of the central topics of BIO 26—Common Knowledge, the 26th biennial of design in Ljubljana, is coming up. In an attempt to pin down the comprehensive theme, BIO 26 adopted the data–information–knowledge–wisdom (DIKW) Knowledge Hierarchy diagram. The DIKW system has been used as a base to structure the central exhibition, commissions, catalogue and public programs of the biennial.

On January 15, visitors are invited to attend the lecture TransparenzCafe, a project of the Open Knowledge Lab Karlsruhe which aims to improve civic participation in the contemporary digital urban environment. TransparenzCafe consists of different workshop formats, held in a relaxed environment. A micro-TransparenzCafe will be held as an associated project at BIO 26 by dr. Andreas Kugel, reasearcher and teacher in Computer Engineering and member of OK Lab Karlsruhe. The lecture will be held in English at the BIO 26 donwntown info point, the Ajdovščina Underpass.

On January 16, the opening of the exhibition The Data and the Sovereign, a co-production of ZKM | Centre for Art and Media, BIO 26| Common Knowledge and Goethe-Institut Ljubljana, takes place in Kresija Gallery in downtown Ljubljana. Data’s increasing ubiquity is dependent on the planetary scale of computation, and vice versa. Digitisation and the ongoing development of data storage techniques increase its presence, use, and as a direct consequence, its abuse. How shall we defend our online sovereignty in these times? The featured artworks selected by curator Livia Nolasco-Rózsás offer various strategies and pose further related questions every Internet user faces. Participating artists are Kim Albrecht, DISNOVATION.ORG, Hasan Elahi, Geraldine Juárez, Maral Pourkazemi and Kate Crawford (in cooperation with Deep Lab). Guided tour with the curator will take place on January 18 at 11am.

On January 17, BIO 26 curator Thomas Geisler and assistant curator Aline Lara Rezende will take visitors on a guided tour of the BIO 26 Common Knowledge exhibition at MAO. Later in the afternoon at Ajdovščina Underpass, they will host BIO 26 TALK #3: Data. This third event in the BIO 26 Talks series aims to address several key questions surrounding data. In a time when society is producing and gathering more data than it is able to process, and is blindingly relying on algorithms to take important decisions, ranging from access to loans or universities, to healthcare, criminal justice or job market, it is high time to stop and think how data is impacting our lives now and in the future. We are just beginning to understand the power, dangers and benefits of Big Data and how its use, misuse and abuse is creating a very toxic environment for democracy and our social and economic ecosystems. On the other hand, its benefits are also incalculable, and felt in every aspect of our lives and creative production. The question remains: is data the beauty or the beast of the digital era?

The first session of the talk will focus on data, power, control and sovereignty. How to create a balance on the current trade-offs between: Safety x Autonomy, Free online services x Personal Data Protection, Data Privacy x Open Code in a data-driven world? The second session, we will discuss the future possibilities and alternative perspectives to the ubiquitous and indispensable presence of algorithms and data in our lives. How artists, designers and writers, in close collaboration with scientists, are speculating and offering critical insights and guidance on how to deal with, and think of data. Guests: Livia Nolasco-Rozsas, Kim Albrecht, Johnny Golding, Sara Božanić, Ivica Mitrović.

On the morning of January 18, the BIO 26 Open Knowledge Tour will take visitors to the commissioned projects at the partner institutions of the biennial and provide a detailed presentation of the multidisciplinary groups and the commissioned projects, as well as their solutions to problems that trouble the aforementioned institutions of knowledge. Starting point is at the entry of Ajdovščina Underpass. 

At the same time, the children's workshop gnidoced-decoding will take place at Kresija Gallery. First, the group of participants will see the exhibition The Data and the Sovereign, then walk to the nearby Ajdovščina Underpass and learn about different forms of hidden alphabet codes. They will decipher the encrypted records from the past and ask themselves what purpose do they serve, talk about the current topic of protecting personal information online and in everyday life, and by using simple geometric shapes, they also try to make their own cryptic alphabet.