Santiago Ortiz - Network Storytelling: in search of a new cultural medium

When: 2021-09-27 14:00-16:00 (Tallinn time)
Where: CUDAN Open Lab (hybrid)

Website: http://moebio.com
Video of the seminar: https://youtu.be/YUfQL-JSgHU

Abstract – Reality is presented to us as an incommensurable network of entities that inhabit multiple scales and that are connected by relations of flows, interactions, similarities and patterns. And yet, and even if our brains are themselves networks, when it come to stories and explanations, it seems that we like them lineal. Through my career I’ve been exploring ways to use networks to tell stories and to represent complex realities. Although I’ve found (or help create) some successful techniques, the challenge is still huge and big questions continue appearing. In this lecture I’ll introduce the idea of network storytelling (by no means new), why it has the potential to become a new cultural medium, some approaches I’ve taken through my research, some new approaches I’m starting to experiment with, and the very difficult challenges brought by cognitive limitations and preferences, cultural constraints and technology.