Beyond Social is an ongoing international and collaborative research and publishing platform on social art and design. It connects professionals and students from different fields of expertise. It is a platform for trial and error, for sharing knowledge, projects, visions and opinions in order to find out what is needed to feed social practices and take them to the next stage.
Building on the possibilities of Wikimedia software Beyond Social explores ways to create a discourse on Social art and design and connect publishing to education.
You can find the online version of beyond social at beyond-social.org
You can read more about the development and hybrid publishing research behind beyond-social.org here.
Web development: Manetta Berends and André Castro (Publication Station)
Visual Design: Manetta Berends and Kimmy Spreeuwenberg
Past Events
Provoking Change #1, Claiming the Commons
Artists and designers show a growing interest in working for and with the commons. How do we ensure that working in the commons actually benefits the commons? For which commons should we fight? And what theoretical framework can guide us in protecting, promoting or facilitating the commons?
Provoking Change #2, Spaces for Diversity
How then can we, as designers or artists, create spaces for diversity? Can we use our imaginative strength to ensure such space? And whom should take that responsibility?
Since a few years, there has been a surge of political and social events making exclusion more prominent. Examples are the prohibitions on rainbows in Russia and the proposal for the exclusion of transgenders in the US military army. Furthermore, strong reactions against Sylvana Simons during the elections and Gloria Wekker and her book made apparent that inclusion isn't something that is reached without a struggle. Furthermore, this shows that even safety to openly discuss issues of exclusion cannot be guaranteed.
Provoking Change #3, Reclaiming Privacy by Design
Ever since kings and landowners have started to tax their citizens, people were giving away their personal data. As technology improved, so did the ways for not only governments but also for corporations to gather data about people. Now, even individuals possess the power to completely steal other people’s identities. How much private information are we willing to give away for a discount on a product or for a promise of being protected against terrorism? How are these systems affecting your life? What’s the price of your privacy? How can designers, artists and hackers subvert these systems through design?
Provoking Change # 4
An investigation on what artists and designers can – and can’t – do for social change.
