SXSW Informational

Howdy! 

South by Southwest 2022 is right around the corner and we at DEPT®, for one, can’t wait to spend nine days celebrating innovation across music, culture, technology, and more. 

This year’s festival marks its in-person return after a two-year, online-only hiatus. Even better, though, is that SXSW 2022 marks the festival’s first HYBRID venture. That’s right, this year you can attend SXSW via URL or IRL!

We’re also thrilled to share that not one, but TWO Depsters will be presenting at SXSW! 

Anne Van Wijdeven’s talk, titled “Future proofing design for nuclear waste,” draws attention to a deeply important, desperately complex design conundrum. How can we, as humans, design a warning that takes future-proofing to the extreme? Anne’s talking about hazardous nuclear waste, which will decompose so slowly that millennia from now, our descendents will need to be forewarned or face extinction. Join her for a grim, but endlessly fascinating tour of the realm of possibilities for this design on March 11, 16.00-17.00 CT.

Richard Coates’s talk, titled “Generative Atmospheric Music: A.I.mprovization,” is an exploration of a form of music that detects changes in its environment in real time and adjusts accordingly. It represents the convergence of cutting edge tech and music. Richard will explain the possibilities that GA music has in gaming and film, and explain the language processing and analysis behind the AI at work. Even cooler: the presentation itself will feature its own AI-improvised backtrack! Join Richard for this musical exploration on March 16, 14.30-15.30 CT.

For more information on SXSW and how to register, head to sxsw.com.