Designing the c/c/c studio#
Dr Ben Swift
10 years of teaching artists to code and coders to art
but first, some music
so many qualifications#
10 years — well, 9 (since 2011)
artists & coders — a mix of CS majors, art majors, and others
art — making something of aesthetic, poetic or ethical value
💻 + 🎵 = 🤯
COMP1720#
Art & Interaction in New Media — a first-year elective for CS and art students
started 2011 (~50 students); by 2019 ~250 (80% CS, 20% art)
major project: an interactive browser artwork in p5.js
COMP2710: Laptop Ensemble#
a later-year, boutique elective for CS and music students
flipped mode, whole-class crits & jams
I get to assess my students in a nightclub
Reimagine#
a $350m+ investment in CS & Engineering at ANU
new departments, twice the faculty, new ways of being a computer scientist
I’ve been awarded a fellowship to build the c/c/c studio
the c/c/c studio#
an A-levels creative-computing extension course — selective, two years, small cohorts
year 1: interactive visual & generative art (p5.js)
year 2: computer music & livecoding (Extempore & Pd)
studio-based, with an exhibition each year
making music & art isn’t a side track on the road to computing#
discussion questions#
- can we go all in on creative coding — could this be CS101?
- how do we make the cultural artefact part of the incentive scheme?
- how do we make sure we don’t just stretch the privileged kids?
- how do we study it? scale it? what do we call it?
questions?