Microbites of Innovation

Background: Human Computer Interaction (HCI) in South East Asia is a relatively nascent field within design, as compared to its counterparts in Europe, Japan, USA. Interaction Design and experience (UX) is considered as a niche discipline that focuses on the development of screen-based user interfaces, scarcely reaching out into the wider range of everyday interactions and applications. Even within the field of computer science, it is often buried and deprioritized in larger departments (Edmonds 2018). Contribution: Microbites of Innovation was directed and curated by Mauro-Flude. The 3-day event featured installations, performances, and artist interviews. Art was defined as an artefact or experiential framework which prompts engagement and has a measurable effect on the physical world (Spence 2016). The event featured established and emerging artists whose critical and playful works within the field of HIC demonstrated the future potential of the field. The research underlying this work contributes to the debate on the role of human and non-human cognition in contemporary culture. Significance: The 11th ACM Creativity and Cognition (C&C) 2017 symposium was an inaugural event for Asia. It was presented at ArtScience Museum Singapore, a world class venue focusing on the confluence of creativity & technology. Artists were selected on the basis of an independent peer review. Awarded a CHI Development Grant ($36,000), Mauro-Flude was appointed by ACM Distinguished Members committee, the world’s largest computing society. Receiving acclaim from discipline peers, the event was reviewed by IEEE journal and gained press through across Southeast Asia, influencing the SE Asian HCI researchers’ community of practice.