Culture and Technology Conference

Leslie Chan (chan@LAKE.SCAR.UTORONTO.CA)
Mon, 11 Apr 1994 22:53:57 -0400

MCLUHAN PROGRAM, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO, HOSTS CONFERENCE ON CULTURE AND
TECHNOLOGY - MAY 25 TO 28 IN TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA

FOR REGISTRATION AND INFORMATION CALL KATHRYN AT 416-978-7026
(Fax 416-979-5324, E-mail derrick@epas.utoronto.ca)

Technology's impact on culture is no longer a matter of chance but an
issue of choice. Culture is a result of the technologies we choose to
implement. We are at a point where the available technologies now
present infinite possibilities. The question is no longer What can we
do? but What do we want?

Technology is forging in a new alliance between business and culture.
Today's entrepreneur is frequently a combination of technology
specialist, cultural analyst and artist. This new generation of business
people identifies and capitalizes on business opportunities that arise
where culture and technology converge.

CULTURE TECHNOLOGIES CONVERGENCE CONFERENCE OF ONTARIO AND THE FOUR
MOTORS OF EUROPE brings together some of the best and brightest
innovators from business, the arts, museums, design, and creators and
developers of new technologies from Europe and Ontario. Delegates from
related but separate areas of expertise will join to bring new
perspective to issues of current importance in culture and technology
from their own unique vantage points. Internationally renowned in their
fields, many of the speakers are owners or directors of businesses that
involve the successful merging of culture and technology - people who
have taken the critical leap to turn what they have imagined into a
business reality.

CONFERENCE PACKAGE: $300 CDN Students $175 (+ GST)
Including: sessions noted PLUS: opening reception at the Design
Exchange, May 25; dinner and performances using new technologies at the
Art Gallery of Ontario, May 26; free 3-day admission to the MULTIMEDIA
'94 Trade show, Metro Convention Centre.

OPENING KEYNOTE:
May 25 - 6 pm reception, 7:15 pm keynote, Design Exchange
Phillippe Queau - founder of IMAGINA, a major European new
technology exposition


PUTTING CULTURE INTO BUSINESS: DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY
May 26 - 9 am to 12:30 pm Metro Convention Centre (co-ordinating with
the opening of MULTIMEDIA '94) 2 to 6:15, Design Exchange, 7:30 pm,
dinner, Art Gallery of Ontario
Design interprets and provides access to technology and facilitates its
adoption. The designer's vision often is the quickest avenue to
understanding how things work. How are designers from various
disciplines working with and interpreting multimedia, interactivity and
other technologies?
13 speakers/panelists including
Mai Felip - Director of the Barcelona Design Centre
Thomas J. Jermoluk - President of Silicon Graphics, opening speaker
for MULTIMEDIA '94
John Tyson - Vice President, Corporate Design Group Bell - Northern
Research, multinational designers and producers of
telecommunications equipment and systems
Gaetano Pesce - one of Italy's most renowned architects and
industrial designers


CULTURE IS OUR BUSINESS: INTERACTIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND CULTURAL
INSTITUTIONS
May 27 - 9 am to 4:00 pm, Art Gallery of Ontario
Cultural institutions are competing for audiences in an open market of
education and entertainment. How can they harness new technologies for
greater relevance?
14 speakers/panelists including:
Robert Fulford - Journalist, cultural observer and analyst, Toronto
Xavier Berenguer - Director, AudioVisual Institute, Pompeu Fabra
University Barcelona
Thomas Haegele - Film Academy, Ludwigsburg
Gail Dexter Lord - President, Lord Cultural Resources - planning and
management for cultural institutions and attractions,

Canada, U.K., Asia-Pacific, U.S.
George MacDonald - Director, Canadian Museum of Civilization


BUSINESS IS OUT CULTURE: OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE FUTURE
May 28 - 9 am to 4:30 pm, Design Exchange
Technology is changing culture via business. What are the opportunities
arising now and in the near future for businesses in which culture and
technology converge?
8 speakers/panelists including:
Montxo Algora -Director Art Futura, Barcelona
Derrick de Kerckhove - Director, McLuhan Program in Culture and
Technology, Toronto.
Ezio Manzini - Director of Design, Domus Academy, Milan
Jeffrey Shaw - Director of Media Arts Research Section, ZKM Karisuhe