In the conversation festival Open Space, artists and researchers come together to think innovatively on current issues. Can humans be optimised? How has the handling of facts in regard to COVID-19 become a tool for political interests? Can and should we measure the benefits of art and research? And how does a crisis help us to think innovatively?

Programme

11.30: Accelerator opens.

12.15: The Number-drunk Animal: A Healthy Soul in an Optimised Body Micael Dahlen, writer and Professor at Stockholm School of Economics in conversation with artist Fathia Mohidin on decisions and methods that lead to mental well-being. Where should the line be drawn between a healthy lifestyle and obsession? Moderator: Mårten Snickare, Professor of Art History at Stockholm University.

13.15: After COVID: The Same Face Mask Here as There? Science writer Emma Frans in conversation with Åsa Wikforss, Professor of Theoretical Philosophy on how COVID-19 was not only a crisis for public health but also an information crisis that set research and science against political interests. Moderator: Ester Pollak, Professor of Journalism at Stockholm University.

14.15: Break.

15.00: Creative Friction: Why Does Resistance Make us Think Innovatively? Culture journalist Jan Gradvall brings together Carolina Frände, theatre director and doctoral student at Stockholm Business School and Staffan Bergwik, Professor of History of Science and Ideas at Stockholm University, in a discussion on how knowledge is created.

16.00: Art and Research: The Renaissance of the Immeasurable? Writer and Professor of Philosophy at Södertörn University Jonna Bornemark in conversation with artist Hanni Kamaly on dealing with and valuing the irrational in art and research. Moderator: Naima Chahboun, poet and PhD student of Political Science at Stockholm University.

Tickets

A pre-booked ticket guarantees seating but there will also be plenty of space for entries on the door. There are no more tickets available for pre-booking.

The event starts at 12.15 noon and ends at 5 pm. The event will be broadcasted live via Facebook. View a full documentation of the event on Accelerator’s YouTube-channel or listen to the podcast via iTunes.

The event will be held in Swedish.

Open Space is a collaboration between Accelerator and publisher Volante. A day dedicated to open discussions in which students and the general public meet professors and artists in a dialogue about our societal challenges and possibilities. A creative environment open for new perspectives and ideas.