SFPC Summer 2019 in Yamaguchi

The School for Poetic Computation, a school in New York that teaches creative technology, pedagogy, and theory, is bringing its curriculum to YCAM in the form of an intensive workshop.

In SFPC’s 10-week curriculum, which has drawn attention from creators and educational institutions around the world, students are familiarized with various forms of artistic expression highlighting the poetry of technology. Held for the first time outside the USA, this workshop couples a unique YCAM version of the SFPC curriculum with contents of educational programs that have been developed at YCAM in the past. The resulting 1-week program combines a discussion on creative expression through code, pedagogy, teaching teachers, games, and lessons from inside SFPC’s 5 years in New York City.

Exploring further possibilities between creating and computing

SFPC is a school dedicated to exploring artistic and poetic possibilities through computation. Artists Zachary Lieberman, Taeyoon Choi, Amit Pitaru, and Jen Lowe co-founded SFPC in New York in 2013. The school isn’t just a technology bootcamp, rather students are asked to reflect on technology from a creative and social perspective. In addition to technical know-how, the school places importance on understanding the history and social implications using technology, and exploring its possible futures.

For example, inside SFPC’s 10-week program in New York, the class “Poetics And Politics of Computation” focuses on cultural backgrounds of expressive/creative work using computers, along with ethical/social issues. The curriculum includes concepts like calculation and electronics that are essential for working with computers as well as specific languages and frameworks useful for creative purposes. This original curriculum has been attracting the attention of creators and educational institutions worldwide, and up to this day, more than 200 students (including about ten from Japan) have graduated from the school.

In an age when “computational thinking” is becoming increasingly important for defining problems and working out appropriate solutions, this 1-week intensive workshop combining elements from the SFPC curriculum and YCAM’s own educational programs to offer ”a new form of learning.”