C&C’s workshops span a spectrum from research-focused, to practitioner-focused, led by people working at the forefront of knowledge and practice. All aim to advance, extend, and share knowledge around creativity and cognition, explore new methods, techniques, and practices, and break new ground by fostering discussions, collaborations, and innovative experiences from different areas. Our venue this year—renowned for its development and retention of craft design skills and rich culture of creativity and design—also affords an especially rich opportunity to engage with both the history of creativity in craft, as well as existing and future practices. Research-focused workshops may request potential participants to submit position papers beforehand.
The following workshops have been announced. Most if not all are expected to take place on June 19th.
W1: C&C Festival of Hybrid Gifting
Jocelyn Spence1, Boriana Koleva1, Martin Flintham1, Emily Thorn1, Kevin Glover1, Rebecca Gibson1, Steven David Benford1, Hyosun Kwon2, Dimitrios Paris Darzentas3, Hanne Gesine Wagner3
University of Nottingham1, Kookmin University2, Edinburgh Napier University3
Contact: jocelyn.spence@nottingham.ac.uk
10 GMT to 16 GMT | Capacity: 16
This workshop uses the outputs of a two-year Research through Design project as a springboard for bringing together a community of researchers interested in Hybrid Gifting. We have discovered that the many creative and socio-psychological processes involved in choosing or making a gift inform a great deal about interactions with common digital technologies, especially when they are used to make a hybrid gift with both physical and digital components. This workshop will be a temporally extended opportunity to experience the full cycle of giving and receiving gifts, whether you use our outputs or prototypes or your own ideas, artworks, or design fictions. Let’s take this opportunity to use our research to celebrate and care for each other, and perhaps envision new ways of celebrating and caring for others.
W2: Explainable AI for the Arts: XAIxArts
Nick Bryan-Kinns1, Corey Ford1, Alan Chamberlain2, Steven David Benford2, Helen Kennedy2, Dr Sidney S Fels3, Zijin Li4, Wu Qiong5, Gus G. Zia6, Jeba Rezwana7
Queen Mary University of London1, University of Nottingham2, University of British Columbia3, Central Conservatory of Music4, Tsinghua University5, NYU Shanghai6, University of North Carolina at Charlotte7
Contact: n.bryan-kinns@qmul.ac.uk
8 GMT to 16 GMT | Capacity: Application Dependent
Application Deadline: May 2, 2023
This first workshop on explainable AI for the Arts (XAIxArts) brings together a community of researchers and creative practitioners in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Interaction Design, AI, explainable AI (XAI), and Digital Arts to explore the role of XAI for the Arts. XAI is a core concern of Human-Centred AI and relies heavily on HCI techniques to explore how complex and difficult to understand AI models such as deep learning techniques can be made more understandable to people. However, XAI research has primarily focused on work-oriented and task-oriented explanations of AI and there has been little research on XAI for creative domains such as the Arts. This workshop will: i) build an XAIxArts research community; ii) map out the current and future possible landscapes of XAIxArts; iii) critically reflect on the potential of XAI for the Arts, forming the basis for an edited book on XAIxArts and an international network of researchers. This first workshop on explainable AI for the Arts (XAIxArts) brings together a community of researchers and creative practitioners in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Interaction Design, AI, explainable AI (XAI), and Digital Arts to explore the role of XAI for the Arts. XAI is a core concern of Human-Centred AI and relies heavily on HCI techniques to explore how complex and difficult to understand AI models such as deep learning techniques can be made more understandable to people. However, XAI research has primarily focused on work-oriented and task-oriented explanations of AI and there has been little research on XAI for creative domains such as the Arts. This workshop will: i) build an XAIxArts research community; ii) map out the current and future possible landscapes of XAIxArts; iii) critically reflect on the potential of XAI for the Arts, forming the basis for an edited book on XAIxArts and an international network of researchers.
W3: Roar Your Creativity: An Exploration into VR Sketching for UX Design
Martijn van de Wiel
SketchForm
Contact: https://www.designsketchingcourses.com/contact/
12 GMT to 18 GMT | Capacity: 12
“Roar Your Creativity” is a one-day workshop designed to teach attendees the fundamentals of VR-sketching, as well as to explore the potential of this embodied design approach in creative collaboration. Hosted by Martijn van de Wiel, an independent Dutch designer and teacher with a background in industrial and spatial design, the workshop provides attendees with a unique opportunity to explore innovative ways of designing user experiences. The workshop is intended for designers, educators, researchers and anyone interested in crafting and investigating user experiences. Attendees are guided through the process of designing interactive elements for a Natural History Museum using Gravity Sketch, which is a virtual reality tool that enables users to create 3D sketches and scenes using intuitive hand gestures and movements. Hands-on activities and collaborative sessions will provide attendees with opportunities to practice various VR visualisation techniques and put their newly acquired skills directly to use in a creative challenge. Attendees work in teams to design, prototype and test interactive experiences for visitors of a dinosaur exhibition, using Gravity Sketch as a collaborative tool and a virtual workspace. By participating in this workshop, attendees will learn how to use VR-sketching for UX design as well as contribute to ongoing experiments intended to explore novel ways to fuel creativity and identify potential new use-cases. We will be testing the hypothesis that sketching with quick, lo-fi spatial methods triggers positive cognitive effects thus encouraging a more improvisational mindset. Attendees will leave the workshop with new skills and a fresh perspective on sketching in creative collaboration. Whether you are new to VR-sketching or an experienced professional, “Roar Your Creativity” promises to be an exciting, educational and inspirational experience.