From left to right: Stephen Hurley, Carole Epp, Raphael van Lierop, Michael Peterson, and Kathleen Morris.
The lineup for the #10digittech conference is looking pretty sharp. Particularly during our one-day public symposium, set for March 7th at Saskatoon’s Remai Modern.
With a bold mixture of craft—and non-craft—speakers on the itinerary, we are breaking the mould to bring you new ideas and perspectives from the many interlocking sectors of culture. With an itinerary that boasts our keynote speaker, three themed panels, four object-story sessions, and an open question period with the Canada Council for the Arts, there is much to learn throughout the day. Let us introduce you to just a few of our great contributors:
Keynote speaker, Raphael Van Lierop, is our first ever non-craft keynote in the CCF/FCMA’s 14-year conference history. The Founder, CEO and Studio Creative Director of Hinterland Games, he is the writer and director of The Long Dark – Hinterland’s multi-chapter exploration-survival game. With an Honours in Literature, Van Lierop brings his history of storytelling to the continuously expanding mode of cultural engagement – gaming. Find out what can craft learn from the gaming experience in digital community development and ask yourself – can game development be considered a craft?
Our “Developing Digital Communities” panel will explore three different streams of community development. Artist, designer and community builder, Michael Peterson, will speak to the University of Saskatchewan’s current research in cultural development across the province. Fans of the Citizens of Craft Podcast will be happy to hear that one of the movers and shakers behind the program – the Founder and Chief Catalyst of VoicEd Radio, Stephen Hurley – will share his experience in digital storytelling. And last, but certainly not least, the renowned ceramic artist who calls Saskatchewan home, Carole Epp, will speak about her role in the popular online ceramics community, Make and Do.
With two more panels in the afternoon, we will keep you well-caffeinated for further discussion. Kicking off the “Digital Fluence and Influence” theme, researchers and craft instructors Kathleen Morris from OCADU and Hélène Day Fraser from Emily Carr University will speak on their collaborative research project, “Craft and the Digital Turn”. Three individual artists will discuss the impact of technology on their experimental craft-based work, including Jamie Bergen from the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design, Nancy Price , textile artists and NSCADU instructor, and new media artist and sculptor, Jean-Sebastien Gauthier.
The “Mindfullness, Craft and Health” panel will dig into the lived experience of luthier and educator David Freeman from Timeless Instruments in Saskatchewan, multi-disciplinary and performance artist Clayton Windatt from Northern Ontario, and Ruth Cuthand who brings their self-described “anti-aesthetic principles” to a diverse arts practice.
Join your peers in craft administration and arts practice, and be exposed to new ideas, approaches, research and projects on the material and digital realities in craft. Collaborations, bonds and new ideas are formed when you network with an open mind… and that, is the basis for this conference. See you in Saskatoon!