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Gift Interfaces

Teachers
Spencer Chang, Elan Ullendorff
Date
Section 1: January 15, 2025 to March 26, 2025
Section 2: January 15, 2025 to March 26, 2025

(10 classes)
Time
Section 1: Wednesdays, 1pm-3pm ET Section 2: Wednesdays, 7:30pm-9:30pm ET
Location
Online (Zoom)
Cost
$1200 Scholarships available learn more...
Deadline
Applications open until November 17, 2024

Apply Now

Description

“Gratitude and reciprocity are the currency of a gift economy, and they have the remarkable property of multiplying with every exchange, their energy concentrating as they pass from hand to hand, a truly renewable resource” —Robin Wall Kimmerer Conventional practices of design involve abstracting people into marketable personas and creating products for the idea of a person, rather than specific people. Product design makes bold claims about the abilities of designers to create things that so-called “users” need and want. Meanwhile, our own lives are abundant with clues for how we can care for people, treat ourselves to something nice, plan a special day for our loved ones, write thoughtful notes for friends, or volunteer for our communities. In our everyday gift-giving rituals, we are already designers. In this class, we’ll immerse ourselves in gift-giving cultures and practices to imagine design beyond scale. We’ll question the norms of what shape a gift can take, partake in existing folk gifting practices, design gifting rituals and interfaces, and explore how a gifting ecosystem begets interdependence. Most importantly, we will give and receive—to and from each other, our loved ones, and our communities. As the audience for our gifting grows, we’ll explore how personalized design might extend to a group of people and a network of communities. How can we defy the norms of “design” to attend to care at scale?

Holiday Schedule

No class on January 29th / Lunar New Year

Course of Study

  • Give a gift to yourself
  • Give a gift to a stranger
  • Give a gift to a loved one (generic gift objects vs. meaningful gifts, gift cultures)
  • Give a gift to a community or public (mutual aid, what can gifting learn from design / what can design learn from gifting)
  • Give a gift interface to the world (gift rituals, gift products, gift objects, gift infrastructure)

Expectations

  • Participants are expected to bring their full self and attention for the duration of each class. Full self and attention, as we will discuss, are the main currency of meaningful gifts.
  • The class itself will be modeled after gifting. We will all participate in an environment of reciprocity. This means that everyone should be prepared to both give and receive.
  • Most classes will include a short lecture, discussion, and a collaborative gifting exercise. You should expect to spend a lot of time sharing ideas, questioning assumptions, paying close attention, and riffing on each others’ ideas.
  • Participants are expected to spend time outside of class engaging with the practice of giving. It is up to you how much time you spend. Deeper engagement generates more rewards.
  • There are no required prerequisite skills or knowledge for this class. We expect that each participant has a unique set of skills and experiences, any of which can be channeled into meaningful giving. You may also choose to adopt a technique outside your comfort zone. Your instructors and peers will be there to support you along the journey.
  • Participants will give four gifts. At the end of the class, each participant will use what they learned to design a gift interface, a ritual or system that facilitates gifting, in any medium of their choice.

Is this class for me?

This class may be for you if:

  • Giving/receiving gifts makes you feel closer to others.
  • Receiving the perfect gift makes you feel deeply seen or uncomfortable.
  • You think anything can be a gift whether it’s a website, meal, ceremony, or absence.
  • You want to unpack what makes certain gifts feel generic and others special.
  • You love seeing or engaging with public community art like sidewalk libraries or chalk drawings and want more opportunities to connect with people in your neighborhood.
  • You want to translate something that you are or aren’t good at into an act of love.
  • You love sharing food, borrowing items from friends and neighbors, or going the extra mile for fun
  • You’re interested in learning about gift theory and cultural practices.

Meet the Teachers

teacher

Spencer Chang

Spencer Chang is an internet artist and engineer stewarding computer forms that embody and empower human connection and creativity. Their interdependent practice spans internet environments, open-source installations, and computing-infused sculptures that offer alternative forms of digital being and invite visitors to make their own technology. Focusing on the infrastructure of communal spaces, their work creates the conditions for solidarity by imagining, realizing, and maintaining technological patterns that enable us to take care of both our systems and each other. Ultimately, their dream is an internet that feels like a home made for, and tended by, all of us—a patchwork of neighborhood websites, apps, and servers that enable us to play, share, and steward together. Their work has been featured in and supported by the de Young Museum, Gray Area, CultureHub, the Ethereum Foundation, MIT Technology Review, APOSSIBLE, and Frieze. They are a NEW INC Y11 Art & Code member and have hosted exhibitions and workshops internationally in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Berlin, and Amsterdam.

he/they · website · twitter · instagram

teacher

Elan Ullendorff

Elan Ullendorff is a Philadelphia-based designer, writer, and educator currently serving as Director of Product at The Marshall Project and teaching design at Penn Engineering. He writes a newsletter called Escape the Algorithm (,escapethealgorithm.substack.com,) about reclaiming attention and finding a more human side of the internet.

they/he · website · twitter · instagram

How do I apply?

Apply Now

Applications open until Applications closed on November 17, 2024.

You can expect to hear back from us about the status of your application on . Please email us at admissions@sfpc.study with any questions you have.

How much does it cost to attend?

For 10 classes, it costs $1200 + processing fees, for a one-time payment. We also offer payment plans. Participants can schedule weekly or 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.

Applicant FAQ

For more information about what we look for in applicants, scholarships, and other frequently asked questions, please visit our applicant FAQ.

Interested in more learning opportunities at the School for Poetic Computation? Join our newsletter to stay up to date on future sessions and events, and follow us on Instagram and Twitter. Support our programming through scholarships. Get in touch over email.