Co-organized by Swissnex in China and Duke Kunshan University, in partnership with the Montreux Jazz Festival China, this event sets the stage for a captivating discourse. As a precursor to the Montreux Jazz Festival from September 27 to October 2 at the stunning Fairmont Yangcheng Lake in Kunshan, “Transcending Waves” is also seamlessly integrated into the LASER Talks series.
During the event, Benjamin Bacon will share his research and artistic practices in new media art, computational sound design, Marcel Zaes Sagesser will give a presentation on “Dirty Mediations:” A Sonic Practice Between Low and High Tech, he’ll introduce his artistic practice in computational sound-making for the concert stage and for multimedia installations with a particular focus on the artwork “Dirty Mediations” that he developed in 2023. Kent Poon, as a recording producer and engineer, will share his experience in sound recording and immersive audio as well as creative projects at Montreaux Jazz Festival.
Don’t miss the opportunity to join the dialogue on September 26, 2023, at the Community Center East-Wing Performance Café, Duke Kunshan University. Let us come together to transcend waves, explore the limitless possibilities of sound and technology, and celebrate the boundless realm of human creativity.
Program
- 6:00pm – Registration for onsite guests
- 6:30pm – Welcome remark by Philippe Roesle, Swissnex in China
- 6:35pm – Presentation by Benjamin Bacon, Associate Professor of Media and Arts at Duke Kunshan University
- 6:50pm – Presentation by Marcel Zaes Sagesser, Assistant Professor of the School of Design, Southern University of Science and Technology
- 7:05pm – Presentation by Kent Poon, CTO of Montreux Jazz Festival China
- 7:20pm – Discussion, Q&A
- 7:50pm – Introduction Montreux Jazz Festival China & Lucky Draw, by Joyce Peng Peng, CEO of Montreux Jazz Festival China
- 8:00pm – Networking reception
ZOOM Meeting ID: 982 5430 0804
iCal / Outlook
Event start time
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China
6:30PM -
Boston and New York
6:30AM -
Brazil
7:30AM -
India
4:00PM -
San Francisco
3:30AM -
Switzerland
12:30PM
Speakers
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Bio
Benjamin Bacon
Associate Professor of Media and Arts at Duke Kunshan UniversityBenjamin Bacon is an interdisciplinary artist, designer, and musician who works at the intersection of computational design, networked systems, data, sound, installation, and mechanical sculpture. He is a tenured Associate Professor of Media and Art, Associate Professor in the Data Science Research Center, and the Director of Signature Work at Duke Kunshan University. He is also a lifetime fellow at V2_ Lab for the Unstable Media in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
He has held positions in several universities. These include Assistant Professor of Computational and Media Design at Parsons School of Design, Director of BFA Design & Technology at Parsons School of Design, Director of Technology at the Parsons Institute for Information Mapping, Assistant Professor of Art at New York University Shanghai, Foreign expert and Professor of Computational and Media Design at Shanghai Institute of Visual Art (SIVA), Adjunct Professor and Thesis Advisor at Roy Ascott Technoetic Art Program at Detao (SIVA). Additionally, he has held a two-year research position at the Nokia Research Center Asia – Growth Economies Lab between Beijing and Shenzhen. He is currently the research lead of the XResearch Cluster at V2_Lab for the Unstable Media.
He has exhibited, performed, and presented his work in the USA, Europe, Iran, and China at venues such as the National Art Museum of China (Beijing), Gallery Ho (NYC), Wave Gotik Treffen (Germany), Chelsea Museum (NYC), Millennium Museum (Beijing), Plug-In Gallery (Switzerland), Beijing Design Week, Shenzhen Bay Science Technology and Arts Festival, the Shanghai Symphony Hall, and Art Laboratory Berlin. Most recently, his mechanical life and AI sculpture PROBE – AVERSO SPECILLO DI DUCENDUM was commissioned and collected by the UNArt Center in Shanghai, China.
He is co-founder of the Design, Technology, and Radical Media Labs (DTRM) with Prof. and artist Vivian Xu, research lead of the XResearch Cluster at V2_Lab for the Unstable Media (Netherlands), and research associate at the Institute of Applied Physical Science and Engineering (IAPSE) at Duke Kunshan University. He is also the co-founder of DOGMA Lab, a trans-disciplinary design lab based in Shanghai, China. In 2012, he co-founded RAWR! Lab with industrial designer Naihan Li, a design incubator based in Caochangdi, Beijing. RAWR! Was the event and production partner of Beijing Design Week Caochangdi in 2012.
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Bio
Marcel Zaes Sagesser
Assistant Professor of the School of Design at Southern University of Science and TechnologyMarcel Zaes Sagesser (also known under his artist name ‘Marcel Zaes’), Assistant Professor of the School of Design at Southern University of Science and Technology, is an artist and researcher working at the intersection of digital media, sound art, technology, and human listening. He holds a PhD in Computer Music and Multimedia from Brown University, and MA degrees in media arts and in music composition from Bern Academy of the Arts and Zurich University of the Arts, respectively. Both his research and his artistic practice focus on the manifold ways in which humans craft their relationships with sounding media technologies. He is the co-director of the Sound Studies Group at SUSTech School of Design. His publications include research on sonic materiality, advanced online user interfaces, human-computer interaction; and his research has been published in prestigious venues such as the Designing Interactive Systems Conference, the Tangible Embedded Interactions Conference, the International Conference on Design, User Experience and Usability, or at the International Computer Music Conference. His artwork, mostly digital media installations and multimedia performances have been showcased at Shanghai Jiaotong University, at the UABB Hong Kong Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism and Architecture, at the Hong Kong Arts Center, the Shunde Food Museum, Sandford University, Columbia University, Rhode Island School of Design, University of Chicago, at Fridman Gallery New York, at Gray Area San Francisco, at the Biennial of Contemporary Arts Lisbon, at ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, or at the House of Electronic Arts Basel. Marcel received a number of international prizes and acknowledgments for his artwork and his research, among others the Fulbright Fellowship by the United States of America.
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Bio
Kent Poon
CTO of Montreux Jazz Festival ChinaKent Poon is a recording producer, engineer and entrepreneur. He is one of the speakers for the Hong Kong DELF2023 (Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum). His company “Square Wave” group distributes more than 15 top consumer and pro audio brands in Asia region with multiple direct retail offices. He is involved in Hi-Res Immersive audio technologies, including the new streaming platform “Artist Connection”. Kent is CTO of “Montreux Jazz Festival China” (MJFC). He is the co-founder of the records label “Jazz World Records”.
About Art x Science Dialogues
Art x Science Dialogues is an event series that looks at new interdisciplinary initiatives and trends and presents artistic projects in which scientists and research engineers are deeply involved. Swissnex in China acts as the multidisciplinary focal point that connects people and institutions while curating trend-setting topics. The goal is to build a global community of artists, scientists and innovators who are interested in the exchange of novel ideas and opportunities, thereby establishing a sustainable framework that fosters long-term art-science collaboration.
About LASER Talks
Leonardo/ISAST LASER Talks is a program of international gatherings that bring artists, scientists, humanists, and technologists together for informal presentations, performances, and conversations with the wider public. The mission of LASER is to encourage contribution to the cultural environment of a region by fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and opportunities for community building to over 50 cities and 5 continents worldwide.