School
for
Poetic
Computation
“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?
No class on January 29th / Lunar New Year
This class may be for you if:
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
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
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.
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.
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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