S+T+ARTS Regional Centers | Repairing the Present

Improving Urban Sustainability | Challenge nº17

How might we re-shape the present by sowing the seeds for a more sustainable future?

Consortium Partner: SONY CSL & MAXXI

The New European Bauhaus:BH2 Sustainable living in Europe & beyond

Problem Statement

Explore the impact of new technologies in modern urban environments. Devise possible future scenarios to improve the quality of life and sustainability of cities, making people aware of the complexity of the bio-socio-economic challenges of our era.

Keywords

Sustainability/livability, Disruptive urban innovation, Awareness and engagement, AI, Data-driven modelling

Challenge Context

How can artistic, interactive, and engaging imagery connected with scientists through cutting-edge technology suggest a critical and theoretical perspective to re-shape the present and reach a sustainable future? Cities are at the core of modern-day societies since they are the centre of nations’ innovation processes and economic life in general. This centrality and importance are why we call artists to submit projects in order to work and improve digital technologies linked to the urban context. In this framework, modern technologies might be valuable tools to improve cities’ living standards. The challenge aims to look for new perspectives of contemporary life waiting to be disclosed, proposing new unforeseen scenarios to envision the sustainability of cities as well as the lifestyles of their citizens. The present challenge aims at promoting cross-fertilization between very different disciplines, testing and experimenting with radical new ideas and creative processes for innovative, sustainable and fulfilling urban experiences.

Fellowship Characteristics: network, opportunities, and expectations

The successful candidate/s will have the unique residency opportunity at MAXXI Museum in Rome, in tight interactions with local experts and researchers from Sony CSL at “Enrico Fermi” research centre. The candidate will exploit this knowledge network to better understand urban environments, identify risks and opportunities, and assess them through modern technologies. New disruptive ideas might come from the cross-fertilisation between technology and art, joining efforts to re-shape urban problems. We expect a continuous interaction in both the definition and development of the artwork/artistic prototype, trying to involve all the different actors at each stage of its development. The final artwork/artistic prototype is expected to investigate meaningful representations of current urban issues, using different data sources and state-of-the-art algorithms, helping design new scenarios for the solutions/analysis. During the process, the artist(s) will receive support and feedback from relevant local actors and stakeholders through a series of dedicated workshops. The final result will be disseminated through a series of meetings with the public and stakeholders. actors and stakeholders through a series of workshops. The final result will be disseminated through a series of meetings to the public and stakeholders.