The exhibitions The Objectivist Drug Party and Genomic Intimacy pose some challenging questions. What makes us who we are, for instance, and who defines our identities? When companies and states have the computing power and algorithms to handle information of billions of people; when artificial intelligence predicts our buying behaviour as well as our potential threat to society – where does that leave us? Well… at least we can call for regulation, we can quit Facebook, and some of us, like Zach Blas and Heather Dewey-Hagborg, can make incredible art. 



Get to know more about these incredible artworks during the Thursday Special program at MU. Join workshops, meet the artists, and get to know everything you always wanted to know about tech biases, Contra-Internet, DNA phenotyping, and more.


‘I Hear a New World’: Outside Silicon Valley
Workshop by Zach Blas

This workshop will take the format of a discussion-driven theoretical seminar. ‘The outside is always an opening on to a future,’ wrote philosopher Gilles Deleuze, ‘[it] is a thought of resistance.’ Oriented around such theories of ‘the outside’ in media theory and queer theory, the workshop will introduce ways to think, imagine, and act beyond the dominant discourses of Silicon Valley today. Can technological innovation happen outside of a neoliberal agenda? Is another internet possible? Can we imagine connecting beyond networks? Participants will be introduced to a variety of ideas and concepts, including antiwebs, paranodes, utopian plagiarism, contra-internet, and dildotectonics. All readings will be circulated in advance. 


Envisioning Strangers
Workshop by Heather Dewey-Hagborg

How much can you learn about a stranger from a single hair? In this workshop artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg will lead you on the journey she took in an attempt to find out. Our DNA can reveal stories about us—including our ancestry, physical traits, and predispositions. Through a discussion of current events and emerging genomic technologies, coupled with hands-on analysis of strangers’ DNA data we find online, participants will confront some of the most contentious issues facing society today.


Program 5 July
15.00-18.30 Intro & workshops
18.30-20.00 Dinner
20.00-21.30 Lectures Zach & Heather + interview Rosa Wevers

Thursday ticket All Day  I  € 15,- (incl. dinner)
Thursday ticket All Day  I  Students € 10,- (incl. dinner)
Thursday ticket Evening  I  € 5,- (evening program 20.00 - 21.30)
We Are Public members  I  Free entrance (incl. dinner) Please sign up first if you will participate in the workshops (limited spots available)!

Limited spots available! Please sign up via Evenbrite.

The evening program will be moderated by Rosa Wevers in collaboration with students from the Design Academy Eindhoven.