Short Report on the iGDN Conference and the Establishment of the iGDN at Parsons The New School for Design, 28 and 29 March 2013 *

Altogether it was a truly exciting, friendly, committed and well-organized event.
Our partner on behalf of Parsons, Simone Douglas (Director MFA Fine Arts program), and her team of absolutely fantastic Master students took care of everything: from the reception of the speakers and the audience, technical equipment, to answering any question and request as well as taking pictures, creating video and audio recordings and tweeting all the time about what was going on.
A big thanks to all of them!

The audience was engaged, awake and prepared to ask questions and to comment on the statements. However, not everybody was present at all times, hence on the average there were about 90-100 people present throughout the conference.

The design experts covered a broad range of topics and they came from many different countries – this was exactly as we intended.

I have to mention once more that all the speakers covered their own expenses: they had to pay for their travel, accommodation and everything else (and let's not even talk about getting a fee), apart from snacks and drinks during the conference as well as one dinner that was kindly sponsored by the Fine Arts department. This is something that is absolutely unique and it demonstrates the high commitment and interest in such a network.

The concept to give every speaker a maximum of 8 minutes turned out to be very fruitful (as several attendees also stated during the conference): this provided great variety, and many designers could present their ideas and research. More than 20 designers presented their findings and hypotheses from very different perspectives.

I cannot summarize the content here but I hope we soon will have lots of material (audio, video, photos…) on our blog, on YouTube, Twitter etc.

However, this needs editing, wo(man) power, time, organization…so please don’t be impatient, we all work on a voluntary basis.

In the afternoon of the second day we officially founded the iGDN. The attendees who wanted to establish the iGDN first had to agree on becoming a member and had to confirm their membership with their signature. The draft proposal of the statutes was discussed actively, several items were slightly changed; in particular the membership fees were reduced after a lively discussion. Afterwards the election for the board and the chair were carried out. Again, the atmosphere was so relaxed and friendly that it was suggested (and agreed on) to vote by a show of hands, instead of voting by ballot. Both the chair and the other board members were elected unanimously! All candidates were elected, no one was rejected!

And here comes the result:

Chair: Uta Brandes

Board Members: Lucia Cuba (Peru), Simone Douglas (USA), Maja Gunn (Sweden), Joung Youn Lee (Korea), Luisa Mok Sze Man (Singapore), Doreen Toutikian (Lebanon), Hanna Wirman (Hong Kong)

I think this is definitely a wonderful board because it reflects the international spirit we want to create and establish! I am very happy with this outcome, and I feel honoured to be part of such a great group of female design experts.

As it is quite complicated in legal terms to establish an international non-profit organization, we will have one umbrella organization (established according to the law of the country where the chair resides), and then every country or (bigger) region can found sub-organizations. For this and everything else (as far as formal regulations are concerned) please refer to the statutes.

The next (formal) step will be to have the iGDN officially recognized as a non-profit organization. This is what I will do ASAP.

The board members will present an action plan as soon as possible. Again, please take into consideration that we have to communicate predominantly via email, google.doc and skype which is a bit more demanding than to be together in one place where you can easily meet.


* This report only includes information about the DESIGN part of the conference

“international Gender Design Network (iGDN)” founded at Parsons The New School for Design in New York

More than 300 female design experts from all over the world came together on 28 and 29 March in New York to found the ‘international Gender Design Network’ (iGDN). Cologne-based design professor Dr. Uta Brandes (Köln International School of Design) created the initial concept and, together with Simone Douglas (Parsons /NY), developed the idea further and organised the inaugural ‘Gender Design & Art’ conference. The network’s statutes were formulated at the event and are now available. Female design experts from the areas of gender research, from institutions (universities, museums, research organisations etc.), from businesses, design studios and agencies can apply for membership. The iGDN is a non-profit organisation.

-->

Results from empirical social research, preoccupations regarding gender relations in the Arabic world and the difficulties arising in current public discussions on gender design: these were just some of the fundamental themes addressed at the two-day founding conference of the international Gender Design Network, which took place on 28 and 29 March 2013 at Parsons The New School of Design. The fact that men and women design, buy and use things differently often triggers doubtful responses or even downright rejection. The iGDN was founded with the aim to unravel prejudice-laden gender conventions and to introduce activities such as gender design research to a broader audience.

-->

iGDN Board Members

Prof. Dr. Uta Brandes was unanimously elected as chair. Lucia Cuba (fashion designer, sociologist and psychologist; Lima, Peru), Simone Douglas (associate professor of photography, School of Art, Media, and Technology and director, MFA Fine Arts, Parsons The New School for Design, New York/USA), Maja Gunn (fashion and costume designer, lecturer at the School of Textile in Boras, Sweden), Joung Youn Lee (assistant professor of new media and user experience at KGIT; Seoul, Korea), Luisa Szeman Mok (industrial designer and lecturer at the National University, Singapore), Doreen Toutikian (director of the MENA Design Research Center; Beirut, Lebanon) and Dr. Hanna Wirmann (designer and lecturer in game design at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Hong Kong) will join her as board members.

“It is especially the international orientation of our network, which is also reflected in the board, that enables us to discuss gender issues in design in an intensive and comprehensive way”, says Prof. Dr. Uta Brandes. “Just take, for example, the Bundestag vote on a quota of women on boards of DAX-listed companies and try to explain that to my colleagues. You will see that, in Germany, we are still stuck in stereotypical thinking when dealing with gender relations. Such debates are rarely neutral and factual, as I recently experienced myself when I had an article published in a German online broadsheet. There is an urgent need for action and that’s what we want to channel internationally via the iGDN.”

Short audio clips

Short audio clips introducing some of the speakers can be found here: audioboo.fm/MFAFineArts

iGDN conference: join in on Twitter

Join in on twitter at: #IGDN2013 and follow @MFAFineArts

iGDN Conference Program

iGDN Founding Conference "Gender Play"
28 & 29 March 2013
Location: Parsons The New School for Design, Theresa Lang Community and Student Center, 55 W. 13th Street, New York, NY 10011

Participation in the conference is FREE but please REGISTER at: igdnparsons.eventbrite.com

Day 1 – March 28^th

Gender Design: The Construction of Femininity and Masculinity

Host: Uta Brandes

Art & Design

Host: Simone Douglas

  9:30 am Soft Opening (registration, light refreshments)
10:30 am Welcome Address: Joel Towers, Executive Dean of Parsons

10:40 am Explanation of the Course of Events: Simone Douglas, Director MFA Fine Arts, Parsons

10:50 am Introduction to Gender Design: Uta Brandes, Professor Köln International School of Design   (Germany)

Session 1: WHY 

11:00 am Basic arguments for Gender Design: Verena Augustin/Jennifer Schubert/Katharina Seeger  (Germany), Laurene Boym (USA), Maja Gunn (Sweden), Carolin Höfler (Germany)

Session 2: PUBLIC MATTERS

12:00 pm How to communicate Gender Design to the public: Paola Antonelli (USA), Tulga Beyerle (Austria), Milena Mussi (Italy)

 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Lunch Break 

Session 3: ACADEMIA & RESEARCH 

 2:00 pm Gender and Design: Reports on Research Studies: Sabine Foraita (Germany), Elke Gaugele (Austria), Doreen Toutikian (Lebanon), Hanna Wirman (Hong Kong)

Session 4: INTERCULTURAL APPROACHES 

 3:00 pm Reports on the status of Gender Design in different cultures: Lena Berglin/Kajsa G Eriksson (Sweden), Lucia Cuba (Peru), Joung Youn Lee (Korea), Luisa Mok Sze Man (Singapore), Ming-Ying Yang (Taiwan)

Session 5: PROFESSIONALS

4:00 pm The professional reality of Gender Design: Lorraine Justice (USA), Isabell Schruf (Germany)

5:00 pm-5:30 pm: Coffee Break 

ART & POLITICS

Host: Simone Douglas

Artists, writers and theorists will address some of the major theoretical and political debates that have marked crucial issues, from second wave feminism to postcolonial influences and queer theory. They will discuss major works of art in painting, installation, sculpture and video and performance art, as well as international artists and collaborators associated with these debates. 

5:30 pm: Introduction: Simone Douglas, Director MFA Fine Arts, Parsons

5:40 pm Question for Revolution and Universal Brotherhood (QRUB): Lauren Denitzio (USA), Isaac Pool (USA), Jessica Posner (USA)

6:40 pm The Landscape of Waiting: Performance Art & Gender Design in the West: Ernesto Pujol (USA)

7:30 pm end of day 1

 

Day 2 – March 29^th

Art & Politics

Host: Simone Douglas

  9:30 am Soft Opening (registration, light refreshments) 

10:00 am Welcome Address: Ann Snitow. Director, Gender Studies, Lang College The New School

10:15 am Introduction: Simone Douglas, Director MFA Fine Arts

10:30 am With fiction, we wanted to win back the future or We Will Open a New Front – lecture by Lee H.

        practice a structural redistribution of access to financial resources, space and time within the art scene.

                Malin Arnell (Sweden)

10:45 am For Crying Out Loud: Nancy Spero, Lauren O´Neill-Butler (USA)

11:15 am What’s scarier: a male or a female bear?: Jeanine Oleson (USA/ Canada)

11:45 am Working with and beyond assumptions and expectations of gender in the Arab World: Leila  Buck (Arab/ USA) & Adam Abel (USA) 

12:45 pm The Pop-Up Museum of Queer History: Hugh Ryan (USA)

1.15 - 1:45 pm Panel Discussion
Malin Arnell (Sweden), Adam Abel (USA), Leila Buck (Arab/ USA), Lauren O´Neill-Butler (USA), Jeanine Oleson (USA/ Canada), Hugh Ryan (USA), Lauren Denitzio (USA), Isaac Pool (USA), Jessica Posner (USA)

1:45 pm Lunch 

iGDN: Foundation

Host: Uta Brandes

2:30 pm Official Foundation of the iGDN

about 5:00 pm Pink Champagne Reception (open end)

Participation in the conference is FREE but please REGISTER at: igdnparsons.eventbrite.com

For short CVs of all speakers, see igdn.blogspot.de/p/speakers-cvs.html

***We thank our sponsors for their kind support: the Parsons, DO, AMT, Fine Arts and Gender studies, claudia neumann communications.***

Speakers' CVs Day 1, Session 2 "INTERCULTURAL APPROACHES"

iGDN Founding Conference at Parsons, New York 28 and 29 March 2013  

Day 1, Session 2 "INTERCULTURAL APPROACHES"

Reports on the status of  Gender Design in different cultures by Lena Berglin/Kajssa Eriksson (Gothenburg), Lucia Cuba (Peru), Joung Youn Lee (Seoul), Luisa Mok and Sze Man (Singapore).    

Lena Berglin (Sweden)

is a senior lecturer at the Swedish School of Textiles in Borå and founder of the Gothenburg Independent Art Based Research Institute. She has a BA in Fine Arts (Textile) and an MA in Interaction Design. Her PhD thesis focused on ‘Interactive Textile Structures’. Lena also worked as a software designer at Ericsson, Philips Electronics and Saab Marine Electronics.

www.hb.se

Lucia Cuba (Peru)

is a Fashion Designer and Social Scientist. She holds a MSc in Educational Psychology and a PhD in Public Health, as well as a MFA in “Fashion Design and Society” from Parsons, the New School for Design. Lucia is interested in the relationship between fashion, activism and social science research. Her latest project “Articulo 6: Narratives of gender strength and politics” (articulo6.pe), is a design and activism project based in the case of forced sterilizations that took place in Peru between 1996-2000. She is currently an Artist in Residence at the Textile Arts Center and a Visiting Associate Professor at Pratt Institute.
www.luciacuba.com

Kajsa Eriksson (Sweden)

is a fashion designer and artist. She holds an MA in Fine Arts and her PhD focused on Concrete Fashion: Dress, Art, and Engagement in Public Space.

www.dagensdatum.com/

Joung Youn Lee (Korea)

is an assistant professor at the New Media Department of the Korea German Institute of Technology (KGIT) and a PhD. candidate in Film & Digital Media Studies at Hongik University. Earlier posts included Digital Media UI design part leader at LG Electronics. She holds a B.F.A. in Fine Art and an M.S. in Media Technology.

www.kgit.ac.kr

Luisa Mok (Singapore)     

is a visiting senior fellow at the Division of Industrial Design, School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore. She holds an MA in Anthropology and a BA in Industrial Design. With a background in both industrial design and anthropology, in her work and teaching Luisa aims to link up ethnographic research findings and real applications for social wellbeing.

www.sde.nus.edu.sg