Coliseu do Porto
Designing the impossible

Chaired by

Mariana Pestana


Science and technological development have played a key role in artistic practice over recent decades. For example, the first musical album entirely conceived by artificial intelligence was released in 2017. If creative processes become more and more autonomous, how can we ensure that we don’t lose sight of the human factor?

Designer Nelly Ben Hayoun (1985, France), known as the "Willy Wonka of Design and Science," believes that the Human Condition can, and should, prevail over technology. In this debate, moderated by the architect and curator of the Victoria Albert Museum, Mariana Pestana, she will discuss ideas and provocations concerning the sociological and critical impact of new technologies, noting that innovation often derives from 'multidisciplinary conflicts', wherein it is important to challenge reality, projecting a hyper-real universe, that combines dreaming and social action in the humanisation of technology. For Ben Hayoun, who calls herself a "Designer of Experiences", it is essential to highlight the human component, with its successes and failures, while creating "impossible" experiences that offer a reflection on art, technology and society to the general public. Brimming with inexhaustible energy, it will be difficult to keep pace with the designer who, among many other initiatives, has created The International Space Orchestra with NASA and founded a university for "dreamers of the day" (The University of the Underground).