WEB3EXPRESSÃO – a recap

Web3expressão

Goethe Institut Lisboa | Jan-Dec 2024 Full Program WEB3EXPRESSÃO 2024 – A RECAP What it means to step into unchartered territory, by combining education, art & new technologies for a new audience, within institutional structures. 18 workshops, 3 side events, over 500 participants – and a whole lot of creative tech. MISSION   Lisbon is being an active tech hub and many creatives want to learn more about practical ways of using new technologies and want to enter the closed circle of tech. The direction of the Goethe Institute in Lisbon has acknowledged this development and I have been invited to create an educational program for artists to learn about new creative technologies and to put the institute on the map as a forward thinking institution that is open for new technologies. Combining this with my personal values of accessibility & gender equality, wanting to highlight local talent and seeing knowledge as the most important factor to be able to form educated opinions, I kickstarted the program WEB3EXPRESSÃO.   I’ve led the project from its conception to the final report, including audience research and sustainability development, curation of the facilitators, budgeting, social media asset creation, community building and engagement as well as partnership outreach and representing the project abroad. CHALLENGES   Working with an institution that is being led by a forward thinking direction but which had not been exposed to the concepts of new technologies (neither had their current audience) before, showed the necessity of experimenting with a new approach – both in the actual program as well as in the marketing aspect of it.   This includes choosing the right language to communicate the program, finding internal structures to improve onboarding flow, finding a new visual way to market the events and considering topics that work both for the old as well as the new audience that had to be built.   OUTCOME   I wanted the program to be accessible, with an equal representation of female and local talents, content that would spark interest to learn more in very practical terms as well as showcasing the up-and downsides of technology.   As a result, the program included 18 workshops (16 of them in-person) and 3 side events which showcased local and international talent, with a speaker gender distribution of 50/50 and overall more than 500 participants.   It also offered a local NFT showcase throughout the year with digital artworks from participants, a talk about AI and it’s ethical and political impact on the creative process as well as an immersive concert for which a new audio-visual collaboration of two local artists had been brought to life.   After the first run of the project and through the thorough work done, the institute is now able to continue the program under the new name Art meets Tech in an online format, with plenty of new connections in the creative tech world and a good base to continue the programming in house.   It was a great pleasure to create this project, with all its details and challenges as I’ve seen the positive impact that this kind of programs can have for artists. I also met amazing people throughout the year, from recurring participants to speakers and new partners, and it has definitely confirmed to not easily give up if there is a bigger vision on one’s head.   In order to disrupt an unjust system (which in this scenario in my opinion is the unbalanced representation of women in the tech space and a closed circle that does now share knowledge, being focussed on a rather individualistic development), one needs to invest time, continuity and patience – as well as some creative problem solving at times.   Forward is the way, off to the next adventure! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31h3usJiHc0 CAMCAT.PT

WEB3EXPRESSÃO

Web3Expressão

Location: Goethe Institut Lisboa, Campo dos Mártires da Pátria, 37 Bi-weekly from 7-9pm Website incl. sign-up: here Telegram Group: here Art meets Tech at the Goethe Institut in Lisbon TLDR: Lisbon has a new educational program for artists and creative minds about web3 and new technologies, combining Art & Tech!    Free bi-weekly workshops for artists and creatives, led by experts in English. Topics include NFTs, AI, music, DAOs, and web2 to web3 transition. Build connections, explore new technologies, and expand your artistic horizons. Join as a participant or expert workshop leader. Embrace knowledge and learn to navigate the digital future! Lisbon’s image as a tech and web3 hub has been built up throughout the last years. Plenty of companies, start-ups, and techy minds have moved to Portugal’s capital to develop their projects and connect with like-minded entrepreneurs. Meet-ups, conferences, and the next best web3 platform are popping up almost every week.    The digital future is here and it is promising a better one, in many aspects of life and for a range of professions. Supporting artists, disrupting traditional systems, and shifting the power structures are only a few of the buzzwords that are floating around.     But the web3 and tech circle is still a closed one and not seen as accessible by the common folks. Especially for artists who are curious to learn more about the new tools, the way to this world is paved with obstacles – be it through missing guides, technical hurdles, or the image that the digital and web3 currently have – often painted as a negative one (for various reasons, and sometimes not without reasoning).     The only way to tackle both of those points – providing access and getting to the core of what the digital is and brings – is education.     In January I was invited to create the educational program Web3Expressão for the Goethe Institut Lisbon. It serves to educate artists and creatives about not only the world of web3 but also new technologies in the broader spectrum. Through bi-weekly workshops held by experts, the participants get to know not only theoretical concepts but also digital tools that they can experiment with and incorporate into their work if they’d like. But above everything, they get to ask all the questions and clear the doubts that they have regarding new technologies and the new platforms.     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31h3usJiHc0 ©camcat.pt Why it matters   Rugs have been pulled, hype has been gone, NFTs from Portuguese institutions have failed – so why should we still be talking about NFTs, AI and web3? Because scientia potentia est (knowledge is power) and to be able to have an opinion, we need to understand the matter first. The big mass adoption that blockchain enthusiasts always talk about, will only happen if the actual masses understand what the technology brings. AI is a perfect example of how important education and knowledge are when working with new digital inventions. Being used by governments as one of the deadliest weapons of mass destruction whilst simultaneously creating incredible visual artworks using databases, it shows the dangers when used by the wrong hands. Not to mention the discussion about copyrights and its possible violations through the technology.   The Program As an institution that promotes intercultural exchange and creative forward-thinking, the Goethe Institut under the direction of Dr. Jana Binder has decided to provide this necessary access to knowledge to artists who want to learn more about the intersection of Art x Tech. The program offers free bi-weekly workshops from 19-21:00 at the Goethe Institut in Lisbon (Campo Mártires da Patria 37 in Lisbon), held in English by Portuguese and international experts.The monthly themes cover topics such as NFTs, creative tech and the transition from web2 to web3, music, AI and DAOs. The program is geared to artists and professional creatives in Lisbon that want to learn more and don’t have much or little technical knowledge yet.   If you are an artist or creative and would like to join feel free to sign up through the links on the website. For experts who would like to give a workshop, please reach out to me via e-mail.