The 3rd LAST Festival

October 16-18

Stanford University

Cubberley Auditorium

The LAST (Life Art Science Technology) festival celebrates the confluence of art with the multiplicity of new media technologies and nascent sciences emerging from the intense cultural ecosystem of the Bay Area.

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Symposium

Engineering the Future (Saturday 1pm-6pm):

We chose the disciplines that will change the world in the near future and invited a visionary speaker for each one. Saturday's speakers will include world experts on Artificial Intelligence, Neuroscience, Nanotech, Space Exploration, and Robotics.

Featured Speakers Include:

Peter Norvig, director of research at Google
Bruno Olshausen, director of the Redwood Center for Neuroscience at UC Berkeley
Jennifer Dionne, director of the Nanotech Lab at Stanford
Chris McKay, chief planetary scientist at NASA
Ken Goldberg, director of the People and Robots Initiative at UC Berkeley

Art Expo

Interactive Digital Experimental Art - IDEA expo

This expo features a dozen interactive digital installations that break the "Do not touch!" taboo of the traditional museum. Artists that have submitted proposals include:

  • Evan Clayburg
  • Robert Edgar
  • Yuan-Yi Fan
  • Peter Foucault
  • Michal Gavish
  • Yoon Han
  • Amy Ho
  • Allison Holt
  • OpenLab
  • Danielle Siembieda
  • DC Spensley
  • Brent Townshend, Wes Modes, Lanier Sammons
  • Meredith Tromble
  • Gareth Polmeer

See the Call for Submissions if you are interested in submitting your artwork.

Life Performances

Adventurous and creative performances by sound and dance artists. To be announced.

"Homo Digitalis": The "L in "LAST" (Sunday)

The "L" in "LAST" stands for how digital media are changing our lives. Susan Greenfield calls it "mind change". We call our mini-symposium on this topic "Homo Digitalis". It features talks, panels and Q/A with the audience.

Schedule

Friday, October 16th, 6pm – 10pm

6:00pm Art Expo opens

7:30pm Artist Talks

Saturday, October 17th, 6pm – 10pm

12:00pm-4:00pm Symposium - Engineering the Future

4:00pm - 10:00pm Art Expo and Artist Talks

Sunday, October 18th, 6pm – 10pm

12:00pm-4:00pm "Homo Digitalis"

Artwork

Going to insert art stuff in here tbd.

Our Mission

Creativity does not happen in a vacuum, whether it's art, tech or science. They all coexist, influence each other and interact. Silicon Valley did not happen in a vacuum, it happened within the intense cultural ecosystem of the Bay Area. The L.A.S.T. festival aims at presenting art, tech and science within the same venue. The art expo features a dozen interactive high-tech installations that break the "Do not touch!" taboo of the traditional museum and that are meant to let you experience something you never experienced before. The symposium features talks on Artificial Intelligence, Graphics/Animation, Nanotech, Space Exploration, Computer Graphics, etc by leaders of today's science and technology.

The Life Art Science and Technology (L.A.S.T.) expo celebrates the confluence of art with the multiplicity of new media technologies and nascent sciences that are transforming sociality and experience in the 21st century.

A History of the LAST Festival

The L.A.S.T. festival, organized by the nonprofit Thymos Foundation and originally conceived by piero scaruffi, is structured around four programs:

  • Interactive multimedia art installations
  • Inspirational talks by luminaries on cutting-edge technology and science
  • Live performances
  • Interactive workshops or talks by artists

Get Involved!

Join the team and help make this happen!

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Organizing Team:

  • Piero Scaruffi, founding director and curator of the tech/science symposium
  • Kiri Rong, curator of the Art Expo
  • Press and media: Sofia Lozano, Judson Rogers
  • Social media: Wu Bin, Judson Rogers
  • Communications: Maria Cerrone, Daniel Riaz
  • Production: Sofia Lozano, Irina Pesterean, Ying Lee
  • Website design: Scott Friedman, Chase Smith
  • Graphic design: Mengru Liang
  • Demos section: Taewan Kim
  • Document editor: Bill O'Brien
  • Curator of Homo Digitalis: Christine Moellenberndt
  • MC of Symposium: Anna Davidson

Advisory committee:

  • Lily Alexander (Curator of the 2nd LAST Festival)
  • Jaime Austin (Program Director at Zero1)
  • Tracy Freedman (Art Business Advisor)
  • Kishore Hari (Director of the Bay Area Science Festival)
  • Soraya Murray (Faculty at UC Santa Cruz)
  • Jennifer Parker (Director of UC Santa Cruz' OpenLab)
  • Erich Richter (Co-producer of the 1st LAST festival)
  • Tracy Freedman (Art Business Consultant)
  • Lily Alexander (Curator of the 2nd LAST festival)
  • Curtis Frank (Stanford faculty)
Life/Art/Science/Technology