The ICC project is funding seven regional workshops that convene diverse, multidisciplinary groups of experts and stakeholders with backgrounds in STEM and/or in the production and study of culture, including the academic arts and humanities and the creative industries. For more information on the process for selecting these workshops, please see the Call for Workshop Proposals.
Descriptions of all concept outlines invited to submit a proposal can be found here.
Summaries of the workshops presented at the 2024 national convening are linked here.
Workshops are listed below in chronological order.
Integrating Indigenous Knowledge and Creative Computational Media: Building a Sustainable Innovation Ecosystem in the Pacific Rim
Kapolei, Hawaii, August 12-13, 2024
Principal Investigator (PI): Dr. Jason Leigh, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
Co-PIs: Kamuela Enos, Office of Indigenous Knowledge and Innovation; Christopher Lee, Academy for Creative Media System; Nurit Kirshenbaum, Hawaii Creativity and Technology Lab
Workshop Region: Pacific Rim
Event website
Proposal Abstract
This workshop will foster collaboration among Pacific Rim Indigenous communities, creative industries, and academia to promote Indigenous leadership in pre-commercial technology research. Focusing on Computational Media (CM), which encompasses cinematic animations, special effects, video games, virtual & augmented reality, and other interactive digital systems, the workshop will explore how Indigenous cultural knowledge, language, and practices can form the foundation of a CCM industry. By integrating these elements, the workshop will identify opportunities for equitable research pathways, businesses, and technological innovations. By envisioning innovation hubs centered on Indigenous Knowledge (IK) and practices, the workshop will promote sustainable and inclusive economic growth and foster cross-Pacific collaboration through Hawaiʻi’s strategic position. These efforts will influence NSF’s strategic investments and cultivate a new generation of culturally competent technologists and creators. Outcomes will include an outline for equitable and inclusive translational computational media research pathways, conceptual models of innovation spaces that integrate IK and CCM, and a report advising the National Science Foundation on research and development investments to empower Indigenous communities nationwide.
Organizers’ Summary
The workshop convened leading Indigenous practitioners, artists, and members of creative media industries-including film and video game companies as well as educators and researchers in creative computational media from Pacific Rim regions like Hawai’i, California, Washington, and New Zealand, or those conducting research involving the Pacific Rim.
The goal was to explore the challenges and opportunities in establishing an Indigenous Creative Computational Media Innovation Ecosystem (ICCMIE) and to provide recommendations to the National Science Foundation on substantively including Indigenous groups in future programs related to cultural creativity and innovation.
This workshop was timely because rapid globalization threatens the preservation of Indigenous cultural heritage, languages, and ancestral knowledge. Indigenous wisdom, which has sustained regenerative communities for millennia, offers valuable insights to counteract the anthropocentric and extractive practices driving crises such as climate change. While new economic models rooted in Indigenous values are essential for sustainability, integrating emerging technologies poses challenges as well as creates many opportunities.
Developing a creative computational media economy centered on Indigenous practices in regions like Hawai’i could mitigate brain drain and promote sustainable economic development. Digital media, being weightless and easily distributable, offers a viable alternative to physical manufacturing. The fact that recent films about Hawai’i are produced elsewhere due to better infrastructure and tax incentives highlights the detrimental effects of this gap.
The ICCMIE emerged as a framework to integrate Indigenous epistemology with creative media, fostering a symbiotic relationship between technology, culture, and environment. It aims to preserve Indigenous cultural contexts, generate high-quality local jobs, and authentically share Indigenous stories.
For further information, please reach out to Dr. Jason Leigh (leighj@hawaii.edu).
Inclusive Innovation: Engaging Creative Technologists for Advanced Technology Tools Research and Initiatives
Los Angeles, California, August 17-18, 2024
Principal Investigator (PI): Rashidi Jones, TEC Leimert
Co-PI: Dawn Comer, City of Los Angeles
Workshop Region: Los Angeles County, California
Proposal Abstract
TEC Leimert, a South Los Angeles-based non-profit, champions the global impact of the creative economy on innovation and culture. Recognizing the crucial role of skill building in driving workforce development within creative industries, TEC Leimert is hosting a workshop that will focus on identifying and promoting sustainable career pathways in various creative sectors, including design technology, game development, music technology, and digital marketing. Participants will explore how to leverage technological advancements and data analytics to enhance their careers and industry practices. The workshop aims to equip attendees with the knowledge and tools necessary to thrive in the evolving landscape of creative professions, fostering a deeper understanding of how to integrate cutting-edge technology into their work to achieve long-term success and sustainability.
Organizers’ Summary
This three-day workshop series with a second-day session for key regional stakeholders and a third-day virtual meeting brought together creative professionals, civic leaders, entertainment executives, STEM/STEAM practitioners, educators, artists, creative technologists, product developers, technologists, entrepreneurs, and researchers together to identify key components of the region’s unique innovation ecosystem and explore advanced creative technology applications at the intersection of the creative economy, workforce development, and research and development. It focused on strategies to create sustainable career pathways and drive economic growth in the technology and entertainment industries.
Through interactive breakaway sessions and interdisciplinary discussions, participants explored how the creative economy creates demand, workforce development meets that demand, and product innovation is the result.
The following main themes were explored:
- The Creative Economy: The workshop highlighted the creative economy as a driver of
economic demand. Discussions focused on the impact of cultural narratives in shaping innova-
tion and a key panel with Russell Westbrook and the Why Not Foundation emphasized the
importance of equitable education and skill-building programs in empowering underrepresented
creatives - Workforce Development: Hands-on breakout sessions demonstrated cutting-edge technolo-
gies such as AR/VR, motion capture, and AI-powered tools, illustrating how their potential
to transform creative processes and foster cross-disciplinary innovation can build pathways to
a diverse workforce that has the skillset to meet the challenges of disruptive technology. - Research and Development: Attendees engaged with tools like the Otis College Creative
Economy Dashboard, gaining insights to align workforce training with industry trends. Sessions
on AI and immersive technologies showcased their potential to transform creative workflows,
bridging the gap between cultural production and technological solutions.
Main takeaways from the workshop focused on how the creative economy serves as a powerful driver
of innovation, workforce development, and economic growth by integrating cultural production with
advanced technologies. Breakaway sessions emphasized the need for interdisciplinary collaboration,
inclusive policies, and targeted training programs to address the skills gaps and prepare a diverse
workforce for emerging industries. California’s leadership in creativity and technology provides a
model for leveraging regional strengths to shape sustainable, equitable innovation ecosystems both
regionally and nationally
For further information, please reach out to admin@tecleimert.org.
Integrating Arts and Culture into KC’s Critical Materials and Biologics
Kansas City, Missouri, August 20-21, 2024
Principal Investigator (PI): Aaron Deacon, KC Digital Drive
Co-PIs: Bob Bennett, Cities Today Institute; Brian Frehner, History Department, UMKC
Workshop Region: Kansas City Metro Region
Event Website
Proposal Abstract
Robust innovation ecosystems rely on the interaction of different sectors, each with their intrinsic motivations. Scientists produce research, experiments, and papers, while entrepreneurs produce products, services, and businesses. Both apply innovation and creativity, and there is a track record of how these two types of innovation pipelines interact with one another, with the outputs of research serving as the foundation for new enterprise. As federal place-based innovation funding has expanded over the past several years, programs like EDA’s Tech Hubs and NSF’s Regional Innovation Engines have emphasized the mutually beneficial relationship between fundamental scientific research and the growth of new businesses and local economies.
Artists and creative professionals have yet another type of creative process and output that may touch research and commerce, but often has meaning, expression, understanding, or persuasion as its own end. And the value proposition for creatives and artists to engage in the development of new innovation-led economic projects and sectors is not always clear. As the biologics and critical materials innovation clusters each have a footprint in the Kansas City region supported by the Tech Hubs and Engines programs, we will explore how artists, cultural institutions, and creative professionals might bring their expertise to bear on the development of these clusters and the projects, research, and startups that emerge from them.
Organizers’ Summary
This workshop’s goal was to identify specific recommendations for interventions and supporting funding models to include artists and creative professionals actively and intentionally in regional innovation ecosystems that are oriented towards economic development and commercial growth. While the lens was broad, the activities were organized around topic areas and federal innovation programs with a specific intersection in Kansas City. EDA’s Tech Hub program and NSF’s Regional Innovation Engines program are similar models aimed at catalyzing a regional innovation ecosystem. Kansas City has emergent cluster activities in both these programs, one focused on critical materials and the green energy supply chain, the other focused on biologics and biopharmaceuticals.
The workshop was held over two days, and included an hour-long virtual pre-workshop session. Attendees were a mix of academic and industry members specific to the cluster areas; civic, economic development and entrepreneur support professionals; and artists and creative professionals. Many people fell into more than one category.
The workshop activities mixed exposure and understanding of the artist’s creative process with explanation of the specialized R\&D development path for the industry cluster creators. Using the real projects, skills, and creations of those in attendance, workshop participants drafted and developed 15 different specific interventions and associated costs that the broader community of practice can evaluate for possible implementation.
Beyond this stated purpose, there was broader recognition among many science-based practitioners about how working with artists could be relevant to their work in new and surprising ways and an opportunity for common ground and interdisciplinary work among constituents who may not be natural allies.
For further information, please reach out to Aaron Deacon (adeacon@kcdigitaldrive.org).
Dreaming of Ethical Black Artificial Intelligence Ecosystems through Black Joy
Washington, D.C., September 13-14, 2024
Principal Investigator (PI): Dr. Fallon Wilson, #BlackTechFutures Research Institute
Co- PI: Isaac McCoy, Dean of the School of Business, Entrepreneurship, and Computer
Information Systems, Stillman College
Workshop Region: Southeast Sunbelt
Event website
Proposal Abstract
The focus of the Southeast Regional Workshop is to demonstrate Black Joy enshrined in Black Cultural Institutions can: (1) Translate the origin, meaning, and purpose of artificial intelligence to the larger Black community; (2) Use artificial intelligence to help create culturally relevant learning experiences for their members and the larger Black community; (3) Highlight opportunities where “fine-tuning” large language learning models can honor Black existence and culture; (4) Detail how to use artificial intelligence in ways that create agency for both technical and non-technical Black people; and (5) Create democratic infrastructure to support a social movement to develop techniques to mitigate against the unique threats experienced by Black people when policymakers, companies, and governments fail to build ethical and safe artificial intelligence systems. Additionally, there will be conversations on the need to develop a National Black Data Plan to better support Black people living freely in the AI world through Black-centered policy creation and regulation.
Organizers’ Summary
#Black TechFutures Research Institute (herein referred to as #BlackTechFutures) and Stillman College hosted a two-day Black Joy AI Summit, “Dreaming of an Ethical AI Tech Ecosystem Through Black Joy,” September 13-14, 2024. The objective of the Black Joy AI Summit was to bring together Black leaders, technologists, cultural artists, and scholars to reimagine the future of artificial intelligence through the lens of Black Joy. Specifically, it meant to build a community of visionaries and advocates who believe that technology, rooted in cultural understanding and ethical practices, can be a powerful tool for liberation and empowerment by building a network of Black leaders who use Black Joy to design, develop, and critique AI systems and foundational models, and creating a culturally-rich public interest tech higher education pathways for Black communities.
Two hundred seventy-seven people registered to attend the summit. In-person, 133 participants heard from Black tech and AI leaders via listening workshops and panels and had an opportunity to network with representatives from non- and for-profit organizations, foundations, government agencies, other Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), etc.
For further information, please reach out to Dr. Fallon Wilson (fallon@blacktechfutures.com).
Indigenous Pathways to Planning Sustainable Futures
Albuquerque, New Mexico, September 13-14, 2024
Principal Investigator (PI): Dr. Alice Loy, Creative Startups
Co-PI: Ted Jojola, University of New Mexico
Workshop Region: Communities across “Indian Country”, loosely: the Navajo Nation, the Eight Northern New Mexico Pueblos, Pueblos located along the Rio Grande, and also Laguna, Zuni, and Acoma Pueblos. Urban communities including Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and Gallup, New Mexico.
Proposal Abstract
Our overarching goal for the workshop is to increase our understanding of how urban communities can accelerate innovation, creativity, and the pro-social diffusion of technologies relating to the planning, policy, and development of smart, equitable, sustainable communities (SESC). Creative Startups, UNM, and the City of Albuquerque will host urban planners, smart city technologists, equity advocates for a 2-day workshop to explore how communities may more effectively engage Native American artists and creatives in SESC with the aim of increasing rates of scientific/technological discovery and diverse participation in STEM fields. Specifically, we will consider: 1. What potential pathways to innovation can our unique regional culture and norms envision and unlock in relation to SESC-related technologies (i.e. artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, IoT, advanced manufacturing, computational modeling, immersive technologies, and cyberinfrastructure)? 2. How might Native American cultural knowledge and norms spur innovation in city and regional planning? How might Native American engagement in urban planning generate more equity and diverse stakeholder engagement? 3. How might a cross-disciplinary approach involving artists, creatives, and equity advocates enable cities to become more responsive to the concerns and challenges of historically excluded communities affected by SESC technologies and initiatives?
Organizers’ Summary
On September 12th through 14th in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Creative Startups and the Indigenous Design and Planning Institute hosted the Indigenous Pathways to Planning Sustainable Futures event. The symposium gathered an eclectic array of Indigenous leaders, entrepreneurs, planners, artists, technologists, civil servants, economic development specialists, educators, students, and scientists to explore how Indigenous cultural heritage can drive forward-thinking solutions in urban planning and sustainable futures.
Over three days, 30+ participants engaged in 17 workshops, presentations, and field visits, including visits to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center Entrepreneurship Complex and Farm and the Valle de Oro Refuge. Luminary keynote speakers-including former Laguna Pueblo Governor Richard Luarkie and Indigenous Design & Planning Institute founder Dr. Ted Jojola-framed the event as an opportunity to explore how creativity, science, and innovation can help Indigenous communities reclaim sovereignty and operationalize “hidden powers” of Indigenous knowledge systems. This potential was crystallized by the contributions of younger creatives, such as Akilah Martinez-an award-winning artist, XR designer, and the inventor of “interactive oscillator shoes” displayed at the FATE Biennial in 2013-and Miriam Diddy, an architect, professional planner, and Secretary for the American Indian Council of Architects and Engineers, who coded a mobile app for the first-ever wide-scale community-led housing and demographic data collection project in Zuni Pueblo.
Discussions at the symposium were varied and passionate. They touched on fusing decentralized autonomous organization concepts with traditional Native community organization practices and integrating the insights of practicing creatives into urban planning. Presentations included demonstrations of Native-led augmented reality local history projects and sovereignty insights gleaned by regional Native high schoolers working on GIS projects. The wide range of activities and participants had a common goal: understanding how Indigenous knowledge systems and creativity can contribute to the challenges faced by urban communities, particularly in STEM and sustainable development. These sessions fostered a dialogue around the intersections of art, culture, and technology, highlighting both local Southwestern Native traditions and broader Indigenous perspectives from Southeastern, Northeastern, and First Nation representatives.
For further information, please reach out to Ted Jojola (tjojola@unm.edu).
Design Justice: Using Justice Principles to Shift Power in the Creation of Community Technology in Detroit
Detroit, Michigan, September 13-14, 2024
Principal Investigator (PI): Wesley Taylor, The Design Justice Network
Co-PIs: Nour Arafat, The Design Justice Network; John Marshall, University of Michigan and rootoftwo; Lauren Ruffin, Arizona State University and Michigan Central
Workshop Region: Detroit Metro Region
Proposal Abstract
Detroit is a deeply creative city which is often exploited through cultural appropriation, gentrification, and information technology. Detroit is also the place where the Design Justice principles were conceived and written. A Design Justice framework means that we envision futures where design is used to support care, healing, liberation, joy, and deep sustainability. This one and a half day Design Justice Futures workshop and DiscoTech for discovering design will provide an opportunity for community workers, local business leaders, artists, designers, researchers, and activists to imagine and develop plans to shift decision making power and resources in design to be held by the communities they serve. Rather than host a traditional workshop with panels and paper presentations, this workshop seeks to engage attendees with a design justice framework that encourages active participation and generative thinking.
We believe that the concept of an “innovation ecosystem” needs to evolve to reference community-led and controlled innovation processes that are too often exploited or overlooked. We plan to convene a group of people to talk about technology that is accountable to the community in Detroit and keeps value in the city. Using the Design Justice Principles and theoretical framework to develop power and resource maps for community-accountable technology will lead to the creation of technology that is fully held, owned, operated, and for the benefit of community members.
Organizers’ Summary
The workshop, Using Design Justice Principles to Shift Power in the Creation of Community Technology, was a two-day event bringing together community workers, local business leaders, artists, researchers, and activists together to re-imagine access, connectivity, gathering, design, and skill sharing.
The first day of the workshop included lighting talks, small group discussions, speculative visioning sessions, music, and facilitated creative flows. Our future casting activities asked participants to define and iterate upon the baseline conditions of access that we would need to be able to support a healthy, resilient creative innovation ecosystem.
The second day of the workshop was held as a public DiscoTech at Talking Dolls studio. DiscoTech’s are short for Discovering Technology, started at the Detroit Digital Justice Coalition by Diana Nucera and Nina Bianci. A DiscoTech is like a science fair, but held in a community space. It is a way to make technology more accessible in a multigenerational way to people on all ends of the spectrum of experience, familiarity, and comfort with technology.
15 creative workers were invited to skill share around the following topics: digital privacy, data rights, poetry, semiotics, digital vector design, setting up PA systems, spatial design, graphic design, programming lighting, long range mesh networks, critical social media analysis, audio recording, community thread models, digital operational security, somatics, woodworking, ceramics, tinctures, landscape design, AI, music production, and projection mapping. The workshops and DiscoTech all surfaced the core need to support meaningful work that has already been happening from the community-level for Detroit to hold such a creative, innovative ecosystem.
For further information, please reach out to Wesley Taylor (westiv@gmail.com).
Developing dramaturgical strategies for AI and XR alongside NYC’s contemporary performance scene
Brooklyn, New York, September 28-29, 2024
Principal Investigator (PI): Dr. Bertie Ferdman, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Co-PIs: Peter Eckersall, Theatre and Performance PhD Program, The Graduate Center, CUNY;
Julia Stoyanovich, Tandon School of Engineering and Center for Data Science, NYU;
Michael Byrne, Cornell Tech; Luke DuBois, NYU Tandon School of Engineering
Workshop Region: New York City Metro Region
Event website
Proposal Abstract
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Immersive Technologies (XR) are rapidly transforming live performance. Our workshop, Developing Dramaturgical Strategies for AI and XR, investigates how intermedial practices in NYC’s Contemporary Performance scene serve as incubators for new media ecologies. How can we optimize access, transparency and future world-building?
A unique partnership between Borough Manhattan Community College, The Graduate Center, CUNY, NYU’s Center for Responsible AI at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering and Cornell Tech, the workshop takes place over two days in September at NYU@The Yard.
Our four workshop strands focus on Storytelling and Immersive Technologies; Ethics, Outreach and Accessibility; Posthuman Dramaturgies; and Civic Activations. Together with keynotes and artist case-studies we take a multimodal approach to understanding this fast-moving field in order to address questions about the wider understanding and responsible uses of emerging technologies. The workshop will investigate the impact of algorithmic processes on everyday life, the applications of augmented reality and immersive storytelling in sectors such as healthcare and education, and pedagogical outreach.
With stakeholders from Performance, Computer Engineering, Data Science, and Experimental Media, our workshop will be a hands-on inquiry into this emerging superfield.
Organizers’ Summary
The workshop included experts from the performing arts, computer science, software engineering, and creative technology. Through artist demos, panel presentations, and breakout sessions, the event provided opportunities for cross-disciplinary engagement. The workshop showcased innovative creative practices that explored questions about ethics, transparency and access for AI/XR and the performing arts sectors. The opening panel asked how artists engage with AI, and applications across sectors including ethical questions and computational practices embedded in the use of AI/XR. The panel on Access, Disability and AI discussed the need to build co-operative technology platforms with algorithms orienting towards the “we,” inclusive of embodied practices and infrastructure accessibility. The closing panel on XR \& Immersion, demonstrated an array of applications in creative industries. We had three breakout sessions on Ethics and Accessibility, \textit{Dance Infinitudes}, and Storytelling and Immersive Technologies. Participants in each of these sessions were grouped together to brainstorm collaboratively on the two-way flow between AI/XR technologies and performance.
Overall, the workshop demonstrated how AI/XR are dramaturgical agents in the construction of performance and artists are responsive to developments in the field. Examples showed how cultural producers can repurpose technologies and create new applications that impact the artistic and cultural sectors. The workshop highlighted conversations between artists and computational science, towards showing innovative applications of technology and expanding human sense of ownership and control over said technologies. The dramaturgical interface between AI/XR and artistic applications has a positive impact on cultural industries, communities, and produces new forms of knowledge.
For further information, please reach out to Dr. Bertie Ferdman (bferdman@bmcc.cuny.edu) and Peter Eckersall (peckersall@gc.cuny.edu).