Student Report: The Bird Collision Prevention Project
Reported by Shuyuan Zhou
Studies have shown that bird strikes on buildings are considered to be the second leading cause of bird deaths caused by humans. Birds may perish during the day without realizing the glass is there due to its reflectivity and permeability; at night, they may be attracted to the light and thus hit the glass. At Duke Kunshan University, most of the buildings have fully transparent glass structures, and many birds die as a result of collisions with the glass.
The Bird Collision Prevention Project, an interdisciplinary art and research project aims to have a comprehensive look at the bird collision problem at DKU, starting with its landmark, the Water Pavilion. 
We use artistic intervention on the glass architecture itself to create a colorful and warm barrier. In Spring 2021, we’ve “turn the cage into a bird” by hanging a mixture of twines and yarns to divide the outer area of the Water Pavilion into 5x10cm intervals, which could effectively create a friendly alert to the avian visitation. 
The latent fluidity of the drooping yarns echoes the near-water position of the Water Pavilion, which might make the architecture and its natural surrounding a unity not by transparency but interference.
Continue reading “Student Report: The Bird Collision Prevention Project”
Artist in Residence at DKU
_ao_ao_ing（老妖精）is a performance ensemble that is continuously morphing and finding its shape. Founded in 2018 and based in Shanghai, it has six core members from different disciplines and backgrounds. It is a non-hierarchical group that believes in art through collaboration. _ao_ao_ing makes performances that flirt with the line between theatre and everyday life; and create real-life happenings that cannot be replicated. They have been making works in and out of theatre – on public bus, in open streets, rural villages, sex shops, cafes, art museums, online and so on.
To The Fleeting Water Say
The Humanities Research Center is pleased to announce the launch of a musical research project, To the Fleeting Water Say, under the direction of global fellow Maximiliano Amici. Continue reading “To The Fleeting Water Say”
Media and Arts Speaker Series | Lab as Methodology. Giving Hybrid Arts a Space for Experimentation and Research
The Media & Arts Speaker Series at Duke Kunshan University is a bi-weekly event that invites leading practitioners in media and arts to speak about their work and practice and engage with our DKU community.
The forth miniseries of talks looks at the concept of the lab, both as a philosophy and a methodology to see how these innovative approaches have impacted and transformed the production of culture, art and society.
The lecture scheduled on Friday April 23th, 2021 at 6pm China Central time features art historian and curator Regine Rapp and curator Christian de Lutz. They will dissect for us some of the cultural production and experimentation they have conducted within the context of their Berlin-based gallery and community space, Art Laboratory Berlin. This series is organized and hosted by Prof. Benjamin Bacon and Prof. Vivian and supported by Arts and Humanities and the Humanities Research Center at Duke Kunshan University. This event is open to the public.
Time and Date: Friday April 23th, 6pm China
Location: Duke Kunshan Innovation Building 1042
Zoom: 262-835-7204
Lab as Methodology.
Giving Hybrid Arts a Space for Experimentation and Research
Through sustained curating programs, Art Laboratory Berlin offers a laboratory for embodied experience supporting new forms of art and cultural exchange in the 21st century with exhibitions, workshops, performances, conferences and publications. In addition to supporting artists working at the intersection of art and the life sciences, we also seek to create a space for encounters between artists and scientists, and for hybrid arts and the public. To this end, Art Laboratory Berlin has organized and supported artists-in-residence programs in partnership with institutions such as the TU Berlin Institute of Biotechnology and the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science. The space also presents pop up lab events bringing together artist with local DIY communities. Art Laboratory Berlin takes a hands-on approach to cultural and knowledge production, building communities around new ways of thinking and doing, reaching diverse audiences in the process. The laboratory is an Entre-Lieu, a hybrid space for human and nonhuman collaboration. In this talk, we will illustrate our philosophy and approach through a series of recent projects and programs.
https://artlaboratory-berlin.org/html/eng-Camille-Diaries.htm
https://artlaboratory-berlin.org/html/eng-Mind-the-Fungi.htm
Media and Arts Speaker Series | Capturing Reality
The Media & Arts Speaker Series at Duke Kunshan University is a bi-weekly event that invites leading practitioners in media and arts to speak about their work and practice and engage with our DKU community.
The fourth miniseries of talks looks at the concept of the lab, both as a philosophy and a methodology to see how these innovative approaches have impacted and transformed the production of culture, art and society.
The lecture scheduled on Friday April 9th, 2021 at 6pm China Central time features artist, photojournalist and co-founder of Sensorium Matthew Niederhauser. He will share with us his insights in the emerging area of XR technology and its creative potential and introduce some of his works in this area. This series is organized and hosted by Prof. Benjamin Bacon and Prof. Vivian and supported by Arts and Humanities and the Humanities Research Center at Duke Kunshan University. This event is open to the public.
Location: Duke Kunshan Innovation Building 1042
Zoom: 262-835-7204
Capturing Reality
Matthew Niederhauser will introduce and break down emerging creative possibilities of emerging XR technologies and how they shaped projects from Sensorium, an experiential studio he cofounded in New York. Matthew’s artistic practice draws from a diverse range of influences, including journalism, cinema, theater, and game design, all of which pushed his expanded sense of experimentation and how he integrates concepts across both digital and physical spaces. He believes that such an interdisciplinary focus is now needed to take immersive storytelling to new imaginative and communicative potentials. Continue reading “Media and Arts Speaker Series | Capturing Reality”
