Theme: The Future of Intimacy

Everybody knows social media can be creepy. But lately it seems it’s getting a little too intimate with us, calling us by our first names and channelling embarrassing memories into our feeds. The Internet enticed us to move our lives online, promising an end to isolation. Since its inception it has demystified sexuality for millions of people. So now we can access love and intimacy at our fingertips. And technology is only going to continue to take intimacy to a whole new level in the future. As we continue the quest for augmenting our existence, virtual reality holds the promise of lifelike experiences without the need of actual physical presence. Virtual romantic partners like Samantha in the movie “Her” are poised to be a reality. In fact, new apps like Alice AI or Invisible Boyfriend are already out there, sending you loving texts like a real partner might. It gets even edgier, with futurists predicting that in just 10 to 15 years we will have robots that look and feel incredibly like us, robots we can cuddle and even have sex with. It’s obvious that these developments directly impact our evolution.

But can emerging science and technology defeat loneliness? How will interhuman relationships evolve in this context? Are we seeing the collapse of the institution of marriage? Is the potential for sexual education still unexplored? How is our psyche responding to all these changes? Can we find real intimacy amid shifting identities and permanent surveillance?

We want to invite you to an evening of questioning current developments and envisioning The Future of Intimacy.

MAK Museum für angewandte Kunst
Stubenring 5
Vienna, Wien
Austria

Amy Adele Hasinoff

Media Researcher

Amy Adele Hasinoff researches how and why we view new communication technologies as both the cause of and solution to social problems. She wrote a book on the media, legal, and educational responses to sexting.

Dan Chen

Designer & Engineer

Dan Chen is a designer and engineer. Working in the realms of robotics and interaction design, Dan explores the new ways of communication and human experience through mix medium, inviting a reflective evaluation & implication.

Ghislaine Boddington

Body Technologist

Ghislaine is the Creative Director at body data space, as well as an artist and thought leader. She is advocating the use of the body as a digital interaction canvas. This year Ghislaine is curating the Future Love theme for Nesta’s FutureFest.

Himanshu Giri

Trainee Psychoanalyst

Himanshu Giri is a trainee psychoanalyst based at an outpatient clinic in Vienna. He works with people from diverse cultural backgrounds who have difficulties with intimate relationships and other psychological problems.

Sharon Booth

Dance Performer

Within the realm of dance, touch, honesty and intimacy each play a huge role. Professional dancers Sharon & Alberto Franceschini create connections between each other, the audience and these roles to speak the language of physicality that we all innately share. Performers - Alexander Bauer, Sharon Booth, Gohar Ghandilyan, Christian Findeisen, Alberto Franceschini, Lena Kulterer, Magdalena Painer, Ines Petzl, Brigitte Schlegel, Augustin Tseng Composers - François Ceccaldi, Jana Irmert Costume Design - Devi Saha

Toon Timmermans

Teledildonics Pioneer

Toon Timmermans is the CEO of Kiiroo, an innovative tech company founded in 2013 which has developed a unique technology to get intimate online through a social platform, mobile app and a set of interactive toys. These devices enable both men and women to experience real-time physical interaction.

Wendy Williams

Author

Wendy is the author of The Globalisation of Love, a book about multicultural romance and marriage. Through personal interviews, Wendy explores the whirls and twirls, the quirks and perks, the frustrations and the fun of multicultural relationships.

Yana Tallon-Hicks

Sex Educator

Yana Tallon-Hicks is a pleasure-positive sex writer & educator who teaches consent-based sex education & sexual pleasure workshops. Her sex writing is widely published and can be found weekly in her sex column, the V-Spot.