Blockchain. Fact. Fiction. Future

Symposium, Showcase & Hacklab

Digital culture constantly generates new paradigms, mediums and technologies. Blockchain is one of those. Blockchain is the revolutionary system that underlies cryptocurrencies such as BitCoin, the first decentralised digital currency for which it was created. But the potential uses of blockchain extend far beyond its initial purpose, turning upside-down numerous fields, from finance to collaborative economics, from medias to creative industries, not to mention education, health or politics. Blockchain – this very technical and still unfamiliar word – covers different realities and a large array of usages, technologies and players.

Part utopia, part anarcho-capitalism, blockchain is the unexpected ally of digital finance investors, as well as artists, geeks and hackers. Encrypted virtual currencies, transactions certificates, artworks, protection of personal data, e-democracy, collaborative peer-to-peer practices : the expectations are high. Will blockchain reinvent the internet of things, decentralise our civilisation and replace states ?

Science-fiction or social reality, the BLOCKCHAIN. FACT. FICTION. FUTURE event will bring together artists, activists, hackers, designers, scientists, sociologists and political scientists to analyse, question, and discuss the disruptive, cultural and creative potential of this technology.

The event will include an INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM, a SHOWCASE EVENING of artists projects and a HACKLAB.

Watch it 

Programme

Friday 4 November

SYMPOSIUM (14:00 – 18:00)

A unique panel of international experts will discuss the disruptive, cultural and creative potential of the blockchain technology. Registration recommended through this form.

SHOWCASE (20:00 – 22:00)

Artists, geeks and hackers are invited to present in 15 minutes their projects, imagining tools, systems, practices and counter-practices that either challenge or take advantage of the blockchain technology. Registration recommended through this form.

Saturday 5 November

HACKLAB (10:00 – 17:30)

An introduction to programmable blockchain (smart contracts, traceability, collaborative economics...). A hands-on discovery of the creative and artistic uses of this technology. An exploration of new forms of synergies allowed by technology between humans, code and objects.
Lead by Les Usines Louise, Bricodeurs & Cellabz. Registration mandatory!

Participants

Alex Pazaitis (P2P Foundation, P2P Lab), Michel Bauwens by Skype (BE/TH, theorist, founder of the P2P Foundation, Ars Electronica Golden Nica 2016), Yves Moreau (BE, KU Leuven), Jean-Jacques Quisquater (UCL Crypto Group), Chris Speed (UK, University of Edinburgh), Jelle Gerbrandy (IT, Backfeed), Nicolas Loubet (FR, Cellabz), Enric Duran (ES, anarchist, activist, FairCoop), Roland Alton (AT, Faircoin), Jaromil, (IT/NL, activist, artist-developer, D-CENT), David Guez (FR, artist), LarbitsSisters (BE, media artists, LARbitsLAB), Max Dovey (UK, artist), Rieul Techer (FR, co-founder Paillasse Saône, project DAISEE), Xavier Lavayssière (FR, entrepreneur, lawyer, developer, Les Bricodeurs), Isabelle Humbert-Radtke (FR, sculptor & engineer, Les Usines Louise)

About the organisers

iMAL (interactive Media Art Laboratory) aims to create and promote contemporary art based on new media and technologies. More about iMAL.

LARbitsLAB (Research LAboratory in Digital Visualisations) was founded in 2011 by the LarbitsSisters. LARbitsLAB brings together artists and scientists around the societal challenges of networked societies. What makes the lab so unique is the study of political, ethical and legal consequences, exploring the aesthetic modalities and mechanisms of socio-technical devices and infrastructures.

Praktische Info

PROGRAMME

Symposium
Friday 4 November, 14:00 - 18:00
(doors: 13:30)
Registration recommended!
Free

Showcase
Friday 4 November, 20:00 - 22:00
Registration recommended!
Free

Hacklab
Saturday 5 November, 10:00 - 17:30
Registration mandatory!
Fee: 30€

Location : iMAL

Friday's lectures will be streamed on Youtube.

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Credits

An event produced by iMAL, in collaboration with LarbitsLab, based on a proposal by LARbitsLAB. With the support of Saison des Cultures Numériques 2016 and Rachid Madrane (Minister for the Promotion of Brussels, Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles).