School
for
Poetic
Computation
What is the difference between being ,seen, and being ,watched?, As geotagged devices with cameras and microphones become as ubiquitous as doorknobs, society’s sousveillers are tasked with imagining what an affirmative lens looks and feels like. In this workshop, participants will engage their memories of surveillance and anti-surveillance across their lives. Following an artist talk and lecture, participants will work with American Artist to create tools and practices they can use to approach ,veillance, critically in their daily lives.
Images courtesy of teachers.
This workshop is offered in conjunction with LOVER LOVE, an interactive video installation by Shu Lea Cheang that explores themes of agency, survival, and intimacy in a time of escalating political precarity. The exhibition will be on view at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art from April 3 through January 3, 2027. Learn more about the exhibition.
No prior technical experience required.
This class may be for you if you:
Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, the venue where the workshop takes place, is committed to welcoming all visitors. The entrance at 26 Wooster Street has five exterior steps with a wheelchair lift available, and all galleries are wheelchair-accessible. A single-occupancy, gender-neutral accessible restroom is located behind the visitor services desk. Wheelchairs are available upon request, and staff are happy to accommodate accessibility needs with prior notice.
All students, teachers, and staff are expected to wear a high quality KN95 or N95 mask at all times inside the venue to protect each other from airborne viruses. Masks will be provided. We expect you to test regularly leading up until the workshop. If you test positive or have any symptoms, we ask that you refrain from attending the workshop.
American Artist makes thought experiments that mine the history of technology, race, and knowledge production, beginning with their legal name change in 2013. Their work engages anti-Black state violence, surveillance, and criminalization, such as predictive policing. Artist is a 2022 Creative Capital and United States Artists grantee, and a recipient of the 2021 LACMA Art & Tech Lab Grant. They have exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art; MoMA PS1; Studio Museum in Harlem; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; Kunsthalle Basel, CH; and Nam June Paik Center, Seoul. They have had solo museum exhibitions at The Queens Museum, New York and The Museum of African Diaspora, California. Their work has been featured in The New York Times, Artforum, and Huffington Post. Artist is a part-time faculty at Parsons, NYU and UCLA and a co-director of the School for Poetic Computation.
they/him
· website
· twitter
· instagram
Applications are not required for workshops. Signups will remain open as long as seats remain. A limited number of scholarship tickets will be released via the SFPC email list two weeks before the date of the intensive.
For 1 classes, it costs $300 + processing fees, for a one-time payment. We also offer payment plans. Participants can schedule monthly payments of the same amount. First and last payments must be made before the start and end of class. *Processing fees apply for each payment.
SFPC processes all payments via Withfriends and Stripe. Please email admissions@sfpc.study if these payment options don't work for you.
For more information about what we look for in applicants, scholarships, and other frequently asked questions, please visit our applicant FAQ.
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