Interrogative Design Symposium

The Interrogative Design Symposium is organized as a celebration of the artistic and intellectual legacy of Krzysztof Wodiczko, ACT’s Professor Emeritus, with the launch of the book Interrogative Design, edited by ACT alumnus Ian Wojtowicz (SMACT ’12) and published by the MIT Press.

The Symposium examines the role of art and design in activating the public sphere and enriching public discourse through the production of critical questions.

These events are free and open to the public. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged.
Register here.

Thursday, December 5
6pm
Book Launch of Interrogative Design with the MIT Press and the MIT Press Bookstore
Introductory remarks by Dean Hashim Sarkis of the MIT School of Architecture + Planning
Book presentation by the editor, Ian Wojtowicz (SMACT ’12)
A keynote conversation with Krzysztof Wodiczko, an audience Q+A, and a book signing

Friday, December 6
12:30pm
Panel 1: Body Scale
Focusing on themes such as Cultural Prosthetics, Ethics of Technology, Realism, and Interrogation. The panel will feature Kelly Dobson (SMVisS ’00), Sohin Hwang, Zenovia Toloudi, and Marisa Morán Jahn (SMVisS ’07), along with Sara Hendren and Warren Sack serving as moderators.

2:30pm
Panel 2: Civic Scale
Focusing on themes such as Trauma, Memory, Monuments, Public Space, and Participation. This panel will feature Ian Wojtowicz (SMACT ’12), Doris Sommer, Pelin Tan, Gediminas Urbonas, Caroline Jones, and Malkit Shoshan, along with Dora Apel and Mark Jarzombek serving as moderators.

About Interrogative Design:
A timely collection that shows how design can animate public space and catalyze democratic processes through vital discussion and public engagement.

“Design thinking” emphasizes the production of solutions after a period of research. By contrast, interrogative design focuses on activating the public sphere and enriching public discourse through the production of questions. A notable contribution to the fields of critical design and media art, interrogative design traces its development to Krzysztof Wodiczko and his 1990s public art projects, documented in the book Critical Vehicles.

In Interrogative Design, Ian Wojtowicz showcases this lineage with new writing from Wodiczko and a host of contributions from diverse and influential practitioners, including Rosalyn Deutsche and Antoni Muntadas. This book highlights the dynamism of interrogative design as it is practiced today.

Never has the need for work that provokes thoughtful discourse been more necessary, and this volume catalogs both the need and potential viable techniques. A consolidated collection on the legacy and the vital currency of interrogative design, this volume will delight practitioners with new material and serve students as a practical handbook.

Contributors also include: Dora Apel, Dan Borelli, Harrell Fletcher, Pete Ho Ching Fung, Dana Gordon, Sara Hendren, Garnet Hertz, Sohin Hwang, Ekene Ijeoma, Marisa Morán Jahn, Mark Jarzombek, Jaekyung Jung, Sung Ho Kim, Jean-Baptiste Labrune, Pia Lindman, Ani Liu, Andrew Todd Marcus, Matthew Mazzotta, Alex Milton, Max Mollon, Mariana Morais, Antoni Muntadas, Gauri Nagpal, Maria Niro, Ginger Nolan, Robert Ochshorn, Adam Ostolski, Sofia Ponte, Gustavo Romeiro, Natalia Romik, Warren Sack, Kirk Savage, Nitin Sawhney, Sanjit Sethi, Samein Shamsher, James Shen, Carl Solander, Richard Streitmatter-Tran, Orkan Telhan, Bruce M. Tharp, Stephanie M. Tharp, Zenovia Toloudi, Marek Wasilewski, Lani Watson, Sampson Wong, and Ben Wood.

The Interrogative Design Symposium is partnered with and supported in part by the Polish Cultural Institute New York.