Aarhus Universitets segl

Fermenting Data: sharing food sharing data

Workshop 3 - A series of three workshops invites you to explore fermentation and digitization together. Working with microbes, vegetables, minerals, jars, sensors and other technologies, we will experiment with these two processing techniques to play and discover how fermenting can infuse data and how data can become part of fermentation. The workshops are participatory and open to all.

Oplysninger om arrangementet

Tidspunkt

Lørdag 31. oktober 2020,  kl. 12:00 - 17:00

Sted

Sigrids Stue, Dortesvej 3, , Karen Blixens Boulevard, 8220 Brabrand

Fermenting Data is a three-part workshop where we ferment seasonal veggies from Sigrids Garden in Gellerup, and explore data practices. While preparing our ferments we will explore fermentation* and digitization* together. Working with microbes, vegetables, minerals, jars, sensors and other technologies, we will experiment with these two processing techniques to play and discover how fermenting can infuse data and how data can become part of fermentation.

We will produce ferments of different kinds, so bring your cabbages, carrots and other vegetables as they will be our companions in fermenting. Bring cameras, audio recorders and other sensing devices to start process of collecting your data.

It is highly encouraged to participate in all three workshops to continue with the process, but everyone is invited and welcome at any stage of fermentation/data processing. There is however limited number of participants we can accommodate during the workshop so make sure to register by sending email to  info[at]fermentingdata.net with ‘Fermenting Data workshops’ in the title.

 

You might then ask, why do it? What is this fermenting data about?
Our answers: we want to do it because we are curious and because we don’t know what fermenting data could be! There are so many ways to ferment data that need to be discovered still. We want to include as many of them as there are us fermenting data! Join us in this adventure and have some fun together as we invent fermenting data practices. 

* Fermentation is an ancient technique of preserving food that has been used in many cultures for hundreds of years. More scientific definition describes it as a metabolic process during which microorganism or enzyms change composition of complex organic compounds into simple ones such as sugar into alcohol C2 H6 O or carbo dioxide CO2. 

* Digitization is the process of conversion of analogue data into digital format.

* Data is a formal representation of relations and things that exist in the world. Data is necessary for computers to carry out calculations.

 

You might then ask further, why is this important?
Our answers: You probably heard about digitisation, digitalization, digital transformation, Artificial Intelligence and big data. These are all processes where data, also known as the new oil, is the main element. In fact these processes cannot exist without data which is produced everyday by things and people. However, those (us and others) who are source of this data have little or limited access to data. It might be because we don’t know how to access it, or simply because we don’t know what data we produce. But we believe that as generating data is a common practice, processing data should also be common and accessible to all. This project is our way to reclaim data by producing, collecting, categorising and visualising data.

During the workshop we will agitate data processing to explore and re-process data while chopping cabbages and massaging them with salt before they are carefully left to effervescence. And as we do it we will ask what metabolism of data looks like, what kind of energy is released, and how unrest is part of data fermentations revealing the entangled nature of data that while being captured engages practices of deep observation and sensing that take time and take over bodies.

Fermenting Data is a series of workshops that takes cultural and natural processes as guiding principle and combines data and fermentation to explore datafication together with microbes, vegetables, minerals and jars. And with each other.

For more information see https://fermentingdata.net

To register for the workshop send email to info@fermentingdata.net