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Art Thinking Lounge

Art & Business Platform

2024

Art Thinking is a future-oriented methodology designed to address societal challenges by encouraging diverse perspectives, creative questioning, and open dialogue. It transforms abstract ideas into practical solutions that drive innovation.

The Art Thinking Lounge, created by Hakuhodo Inc. and the Ars Electronica Futurelab, is a platform aimed at transforming economy through art. It provides a space where businesses can exhibit their processes next to artists, continuously reshaping prototypes into society-oriented innovations. Additionally, industries can engage in mind-expanding conversations through curated networking formats such as the Dialogue Breakfast, where they connect with experts from their fields, as well as artists, activists, and citizens

The Art Thinking Lounge also welcomes newcomers to the methodology, offering them opportunities to challenge their established beliefs through out-of-the-box thinking. The space provides innovative Future Thinking tools developed by Ars Electronica Futurelab and Hakuhodo Inc., grounded in Hakuhodo’s research on the Sei-katsu-sha (People Thinking) methodology.

The Art Thinking Lounge seeks to attract individuals from all backgrounds to experiment with creating a better future society. With growing interest in Japan, Hakuhodo Inc. and Ars Electronica Futurelab are considering hosting pop-up events across the country

Denise played a key role in conceptualizing and curating the Art Thinking Lounge. Under the Ars Electronica Futurelab umbrella, she co-designed the Art Thinking ABC and the Art Thinking Harvesting Kit. Moreover, the Re-Writing the Script methodology, which Denise developed as part of her graduation project and later expanded through her work at Ars Electronica Futurelab, was instrumental in the development of “Re-Writing the Script of AI SPEC”, a collaboration between Mitsubishi Electric and the Ars Electronica Futurelab.

AI SPEC, an initiative by Mitsubishi Electric, uses speculative fiction to explore ethical questions surrounding AI, focusing on Japan’s unique perspective. Through comics, AI SPEC presents thought-provoking future scenarios to inspire discussion on AI's societal impacts.

At the Ars Electronica Festival 2024, Mitsubishi Electric aimed to incorporate European perspectives, particularly in light of the newly introduced EU AI Act. The Re-Writing the Script of AI SPEC project invited festival visitors to reflect on the AI-related comics through the lens of these new regulations, encouraging them to rewrite the imagined futures presented.

The project featured an exhibition booth and a Dialogue Breakfast curated by Denise.

Credit:

Ars Electronica: Chiara Croci, Denise Hirtenfelder, Nicolas Naveau, Emiko Ogawa, Hideaki Ogawa

Hakuhodo Inc.

Mitsubishi Electric

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