About us
Mission
As Emergence, art and tech students collaborate on the research and development of new artistic media using the expertise of both the TUDelft and nearby art schools. Our artworks aim to facilitate an understanding of complex technology that has been "blackboxed", where its intricate inner workings and large scale are difficult to comprehend and cause us to lose touch with it.
We dream of a space at the TUDelft for playful tinkering, experimentation and collaboration between all kinds of different disciplines.
Where we facilitate curiosity-driven research and invent new media and new artistic languages. Through which art can create new worlds of experience.
A team that develops artworks that offer a different perspective upon the impact of technology on society, creating opportunities to discuss and reflect.
Vision
Why?
Artists dare to dream big and limitless resulting in science fiction often coming before science fact. However, to make it science fact, we need scientists and engineers to research and develop these technologies.
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As technology advances, its inner workings and scale become increasingly difficult to comprehend, even for its experts. This is especially true for technological advancements such as AI, which increasingly impact society. With our interdisciplinary team, we aim to shed light on this so-called black-boxing of technology.
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Through the projects of Emergence, we will reflect on the potential opportunities and issues arising from this process of becoming an ever-more digital society.
We will bring artists and engineers together in Emergence, a curiosity-driven interdisciplinary research and development team of students from the TUDelft and nearby art schools like the Royal Academy of Art and the Royal Conservatoire in the Hague.
We want to act as a platform for interdisciplinary creatives to connect with each other and the research done in all the different faculties and departments. Through this, we seek to explore the untapped potential in their intersections.
We take inspiration from the MIT Media Lab and the ArtScience Interfaculty, whose interdisciplinary work has pushed the boundaries, from the first touch-screen displays to multi-sensorial experiences merging music, visual arts, media art, humanities and the natural sciences.
What?
How?
As Emergence, art and tech students collaborate on the research and development of new artistic media using the expertise of both the TUDelft and nearby art schools.
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This is pursued via two different kinds of projects, the Platform- and the Main project.
The Platform Projects are based on curiosity-driven research and develop artworks that respond to open calls or are commissioned projects. They all span a single semester.
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On the other hand, the annual Main Project follows a more classic dream team approach with a mission-driven focus. It consists of both a research and development phase. The research phase aims to create a new artistic medium that builds upon TUDelft research. In the following development phase, this medium is used in an artwork that facilitates an understanding of complex technology that has been "blackboxed." We aim to exhibit our artworks at art festivals like Highlight Delft and present our new artistic media at technology conferences like SIGGRAPH. Ultimately, we seek to compete in the annual Prix Ars Electronica, the world's most well-known media arts competition.
Timeline
Half year cycle​
Emergence operates on a half-year cycle. Our platform projects complete a full cycle within six months, while the main project consists of two teams working throughout the year: research associates and project developers. To ensure smooth transitions and continuity, the management and operations members remain fulltime for the entire year. This ensures that development can continue further advancement based on the researchers' findings.
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Acyclic calender​
As the submission deadlines to our events and competition are at the end of January, our year runs acyclic to the academic calendar.
Each new Emergence Management and Operations team will start in February.
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The half a year from Februari to July will be centered around the research phase of the main project by the Research associates and a new round of Platform projects will start! Before the end of the semester, the Platform projects will present their results at the Platform presentations that we will hosted by Emergence.
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In September, the main project will dive into the development phase with the Project developers. At the end of January, the work will be submitted to Highlight, Siggraph and our application to Ars Electronica will also be fulfilled.The Platform projects will also exhibit their work at a new round of Platform presentations.
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After a take-over period, the new Emergence board will take over in February!