LASER Talks in Tempe: Sensing Belonging: Art, Data, and the Stories of Our Cities

Creators of "Atmospheres of Belonging" and "MEDIAted Membranes" share how their projects use art and technology to interpret environmental data, fostering new conversations about climate, community, and the senses.

Moderated by: Jenny Strickland

EVENT INFO

When: Thursday, November 14, 3pm MST Timezone Converter

Where: MIX Center Screening Room - 50 N Centennial Way, Mesa, AZ 85201

Access Info: In Person, event will be recorded

What does home smell like? And how does smell create a sense of belonging? Join us for a “LASER Conversation” featuring the creators of “Atmospheres of Belonging” and “MEDIAted Membranes” — two creative projects exploring planetary health and our relationship with our environment. Blending art, technology, and community, these exhibits explore big questions about climate change and turn urban spaces into living entities. A guided tour of both exhibits will follow the panel discussion.

Christy Spackman is associate professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and the School of Arts, Media and Engineering. She studies the environmental and social impact of scientific and technological efforts to manipulate sensory experiences of smelling and tasting. Her book, The Taste of Water (2023, University of California Press) explores how tap water in the US and Europe got to taste the way it does. Hint: It used to taste really different! Spackman's research weaves together different methods from history, anthropology, and the arts to create experiential learning opportunities for policy makers and the public as they deliberate around what sort of sensory futures they'd like to bring about.

Ana Herruzo is an artist, researcher, and Associate Professor at Arizona State University, specializing in emerging and computational media. Her work integrates media with physical environments to create immersive spatial experiences, ranging from art installations to urban interventions. As Director of the MEDIAtedX research lab and Co-director of ASU’s MS in Design (Immersive Experience Design), her research explores extended realities and the ethics of emerging media. With over a decade of industry experience, including work with Obscura Digital and clients like NASA, Google, and Nike, Ana’s projects have earned international recognition, highlighting her expertise in blending creative vision with technical engineering.

Byron Lahey is an artist, educator, and engineer with a BFA in Sculpture from the University of Northern Iowa, an MFA in Sculpture from Arizona State University, and a Ph.D. in Media Arts and Science from ASU. Currently teaching in the Digital Culture program at ASU, Byron specializes in physical computing systems and directs both the Digital Culture Lounge and Digital Culture Incubator. With research interests in expressive robotics, his previous work includes collaborations at the Synthesis Center and the Human Media Lab. A versatile professional, he has worked as a sculptor, multimedia artist, programmer, and engineer, with support from the NSF, NASA, and the Ford Foundation.

Lauryn Mannigel is an artist-researcher living and working in Berlin (DE) and Tempe (US), where she is pursuing a Ph.D. in Media Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University. Mannigel challenges the Western dominance of visual epistemology by exploring non-visual modalities such as smell, hearing, touch, and taste, while addressing diverse manifestations of social and cultural inequalities. She creates experiential and discursive social spaces that explore the Aesthetic and Political Potential of People’s Smell. In this line of work, she has exhibited performative experiments such as Something in the Air (2022-), Smell Feel Match (2019), I Smell a Rat (2019), Eat Me (2018), and Love Sweat Love (2016) in several countries across the Western hemisphere and India. Mannigel has also presented at conferences such as EASST-4S (2024), Uncommon Senses IV (2023), EuroScience Open Forum (2022), ECRO2021, and Taboo-Transgression- & Transcendence (2020). You can view her work here: www.laurynmannigel.com.

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The Leonardo/ISAST LASERs are 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 the LASERs is to encourage contribution to the cultural environment of a region by fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and opportunities for community building to over 50 cities around the world. To learn more about how our LASER Hosts and to visit a LASER near you please visit our website. @lasertalks