Thanima 2
‘REIMAGINING AESTHETIC UNFOLDING – FROM CONDITIONING TO AWAKENING’
2nd International Conference on Design Pedagogy and Contextual Aesthetics
Thanima -02
January 19, 20- 21- 2017, NIT- Calicut
The Architecture Department of N I T Calicut, I I A Calicut centre and E K F Pune- are jointly organizing a conference in order to explore to find a way out of the homogenizing impact of design education rooted in western aesthetic sensibility and the impact of globalization. The conference is being held with a spirit of enquiry or even to create an environment for people who are concerned to come together to re search various aspects related to aesthetic sense- its roots, formative process, connection with cognition, connection with culture and also how it gets distorted and destroyed.
website http://thanima.co.in/
The objective of the Conference
The Objective of the Conference is to explore various aspects of aesthetics- its formation, conditioning, politics, connection with culture and ways of teaching design. Whether to teach or not teach? This is also an open invitation for collaborative research in allied areas as well.
The theme
The visual experience of modern spaces all over the world is beginning to look alike. In this regard, architecture and artifacts are no exceptions! Until last century we have had diverse cultures with distinct ways of life and fitting aesthetic sensibilities. The homogenization of human cultures is one of the biggest challenges of modernity to be addressed by both academia and practice. The real issue is to understand how aesthetic sensibilities as manifested by the things they make and the spaces they employ are inextricably linked to the cultural context. It is the innate need of the system for its aesthetics to respond to cultural needs and nurture cultural diversity of local contexts.
In the present era, education conditions and homogenizes the sensibility of people through the way it imparts lessons in art, architecture, design etc. (to begin with). In the process, we are neglecting vibrant contextual elements and thereby constructing a generic world lacking humane facets of design. So if aesthetic awareness through education is reinvented as awakening the senses through creating situations to connect to the natural context of the learner, authentic diverse cultures can stage a comeback. Through this approach, the organizers sincerely hope that if not in full, at least a part of our lost sensibilities can be regained. Conference is poised to be a form to do this on a continuous basis from time to time.
The keynote speakers
Claude Alvares - Founder Director Goa Foundation, Other India Book house, Author of De colonizing history. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Alvares,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cySj7da5fB0 )
Pawan Gupta - Founder Director SIDH (Society for Integrated Development of Himalayas)
(http://sidhsri.info/Home.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHo6qbU-Ivc)
Judy - Founder Director of Somaiya Kala Vidya (http://www.somaiya-kalavidya.org/), an institute of education for artisans. She has lived in Kutch, working with artisans, for 25 years.
(https://threadsofidentity.wordpress.com/about/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThO1hHglxps)
Links to the Talks
