VENUS RISING: MOBILE TECHNOLOGY IN THE 21ST CENTURY

VENUS RISING with SMARTlab @ THE DANA CENTRE

The Science Museum's Dana Centre, 165 Queen's Gate, South Kensington, London SW7 5HE <www.danacentre.org.uk>
Cost: This event is free but places must be booked in advance by emailing <bookings[AT]venusrising.org.uk>.
Members of the press interested in attending or for further information, please contact Lauren Gildersleve at the Science Museum <lauren.gildersleve[AT]nmsi.ac.uk>
Nearest tubes: South Kensington/Gloucester Road

MORE DETAILS HERE

Where is mobile technology taking us in the 21st century?...And do we want to go there?

Cybersalon continues its Venus Rising series of panels in collaboration with the SMARTlab Centre to discuss where mobile technology is taking us this century. With over 75% of the UK population owning a mobile phone, women are a crucial sector of the mobile market. However, most technology is developed by men, so is the feminine perspective being taken into account? Are we considering how mobile technology could help shape the future in positive ways, not just for play and leisure but for social and economic growth, particularly in the developing world?

Venus Rising is a forum that launched at the Science Museum’s Dana Centre in April and held a panel on techno-semantics at the Institute of Contemporary Art in July. With this series of panels we pose the question, can we shift the cultural image and language of technology towards the feminine?

Dr Lizbeth Goodman, Director of the SMARTLab Centre at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design will chair the event featuring Lev Manovich and Emma Westecott.

Lev Manovich <www.manovich.net> is recognized as one of the leading figures in the field of new media culture worldwide and is a Professor in the Department of Visual Arts, University of California, San Diego. Emma Westecott achieved international recognition for working closely with Douglas Adams as producer for the best-selling CD-ROM Starship Titanic (1998, Simon & Schuster) and is currently based at the IFSW, University of Wales, Newport. We are asking the speakers to look through the lens of the feminine to where mobile technologies are taking society in the future.

This public debate is held at the Science Museum’s Dana Centre - the UK’s only venue for adults to discuss contemporary science.

Venus Rising website: <www.venusrising.org.uk>

Venus Rising gratefully acknowledges funding support from the Arts Council of England and the Science Museum.