Session Four: Zen, robotics, and consciousness

Saturday 25 May
16:30 – 17:30

Te Kura Hoahoa – School of Design Innovation, Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington, 139 Vivian Street, Te Aro

Facilitated by Sophie Jerram, the final session of the day takes the form of a performance panel discussion joining an exploration into Zen Buddhist practice led by Ollie Hutton, with a dialogue led by Adam Ben-Dror about the potential for robots to be affected by collective or animal consciousness.

Panellists:

Adam Ben-Dror is a multidisciplinary artist, designer and inventor based in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. With Xin Cheng he co-runs Local Making, a neighbourhood-scaled laboratory for living and making together amongst the more-than-human Anthropocene.

Ollie Hutton is a polymath designer of social relations and a co-creator of Mouthfull. Having journeyed overseas on the Dharma path through 2023 Ollie’s heart is set on sharing seeds of compassion, wisdom and conversational creative practice.

Sophie Jerram has been a curator of non-material art practices through Letting Space, Urban Dream Brokerage and Vogelmorn Community and others, and following a PhD on spatial commoning is pursuing her interest in space consciousness.