Feelings Inc. Valentine’s Symposium
Thank You for Joining the Feelings Inc. Valentine's Symposium!
We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who joined us for the Feelings Inc. Valentine's Symposium, visited the exhibition, and attended the opening night. Your participation made this journey truly special! < 3
The Feelings Inc. Symposium thrived on 4 main themes, each exploring a specific focus within recent developments in technology and vulnerability: Dating Apps, AI Companions, Platform Blues, Human-Machine Intimacy. Over the course of two days, we hosted interdisciplinary discussions between artists, researchers, and policy experts who shared their insights and experiences.
Here are some Symposium Highlights:
🩷 What do we gain and what is at stake when we trust our hearts, minds, and data to platforms, and the corporate interests that govern them?
🩷 Reframing vulnerability as a strength and using it to an advantage in the (often) artificial world of online dating
🩷 Tensions between privacy and safety when it comes to auditing dating apps
🩷 Motivations of whether or not to leave these toxic platforms. What are the alternatives, and do they fulfil our platform desires? To what extent is this exodus purposeful?
🩷 What dating apps look like for heterosexual people, what this means for vulnerability and how this is different for men and women
🩷 The EU AI Act requires AI systems to disclose their synthetic nature, but the question remains: How do these interactions shape young minds and their expectations of real-world relationships?
A special thank you to our moderators and speakers for guiding these thought-provoking discussions with their expertise. Your contributions were invaluable!
Check out the full programme here!
Missed the Symposium?
Don't worry, You can still experience the symposium! The recordings 🎥 will be published soon. Stay tuned for the link!
Exhibition Highlights
Artistic practice has always reflected the times, and as technology advances, so does the art inspired by it. Throughout history, artists have used the latest technological innovations to create new ideas and push the boundaries of creative expression. In today's ever-changing digital landscape, the boundaries between technology, art, research and even laws and regulations continue to blur. This inspires innovative protagonists to explore the unknown territory where these domains intersect.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the talented artists whose exceptional works filled our exhibition and sparked countless conversations. Their art illustrated the symposium's themes and inspired critical reflection:
Artist list:
Marie Munk (DK)
Inès Sieulle (FR)
!Mediengruppe Bitnik (CH)
Arvida Byström (SE)
Olga Morano (FR/IT)
Lawrence Lek (DE)
Lynn Hershman Leeson (USA)
Ariane Loze (BE)
Vytas Jankauskas (CH)
Paul Van Hoeydonck (BE)
Curated by Thierry Vandenbussche & Ferre Vander Elst.