Author: Lotus Films

Design for Dialogue: publication of position paper, UAL Social Design Institute 2020

“The tools for dialogue are in our pockets as never before, yet the social media we speak through has been capitalised and weaponised to such an extent that, for too many, social media speaks for us and speaks badly. Some marginalised communities embrace a new power to film and fight unacceptable realities, energising the same platforms. Yet, the rise of hate speech, social media’s treacherous shadow, threatens to hollow out democracy, tweet by Trumpian tweet. Until social media platforms reform, we are free to step back from being triggered and respond by de-escalating rather than polarisation”

Pratāp Rughani – “Design for Dialogue: Valuing Doubt in an Age of Conviction” UAL Social Design Institute publication

https://www.arts.ac.uk/ual-social-design-institute/publications

UAL Social Design Institute

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UAL Social Design Institute practitioner 21 April 2021

The UAL Social Design Institute champions social and sustainable design at University of the Arts London (UAL) – helping to improve communities, society and the environment.

Their aim is to amplify, connect, support and promote the ground-breaking design, research and knowledge exchange carried out by UAL students, staff, Colleges, award-winning research centres and hubs.

Each month they  highlight one of the practitioners and their key idea for social design in 2021: Pratap Rughani Professor of Documentary Practices writes on the nature of dialogue.

The Social Design Institute’s Publications include an open series of position papers, sharing diverse research perspectives from UAL practitioners on social and sustainable design, and working papers offering new research insights.

Ethics for Making launch 15 Oct 2020

London College of Communication, University of the Arts London launches Ethics for Making in partnership with Lotus Films, 15 October 2020.

The free, digital resource provides a space for students, teachers and makers to explore ethics in creative practice.

Focusing on five key themes of consent, representation, responsibility, freedom and collaboration, Ethics for Making invites audiences to explore ethical considerations through the lens of Professor Pratap Rughani’s documentary film, Justine, which follows a young woman living with severe neurological disorders in the lead-up to a milestone birthday.

Developed using the responses of a range of filmmakers, teachers and students to the film, which has been shown internationally at conferences, film festivals and online teaching sessions, the site has been shaped into 2 distinct areas: the exploratory information resource, ‘Home’, which offers a range of audio, film and written content; and an ‘Immersive Taster’, which provides an innovative browsing experience using the specialist software, Klynt. Developed in France, Klynt enables audiences to engage with film through particularly responsive methods.

Planetary Health panel, 22 Sep 20

Between 21 – 25 September the UAL Climate Emergency Network is hosting an online 5-day festival to share knowledge from our creative frontline.

Speakers: David Cross with a panel including Professors Pratap Rughani and Carole Collet.

Published as a manifesto in 2014 by Richard Horton and colleagues, Planetary Health celebrates the interdependence between human and ecological systems and connects ecological health to physical and mental health. In this session, we will explore how artists and designers might develop Planetary Health through creative and critical cultural practices.

After a short break (from 11.45am-12.00pm), we join speaker David Cross with a panel including Professors Carole Collet and Pratap Rughani to debate and expand upon the notion of Planetary Health, and its potential application in our practices.

https://www.arts.ac.uk/about-ual/sustainability/five-days-ten-years-one-planet

The Decolonising Lens launch of new web series 30 July 2020

Join us for a discussion around the Decolonial as a concept and methodology through the lens of photography, media, and curatorial practice.

Link to the recording of the discussion here.

This session will be chaired by Dr Pratap Rughani, while Brigitte Lardinois, Director of Photography and the Archive Research Centre, will provide an introduction.

In this first instalment of web-series, The Decolonising Lens, Mark Sealy will be joined by Gary Younge and Carol Tulloch to discuss the Decolonial as a concept and methodology through the lens of photography, media, history and curatorial practice.

Disclaimer: Live events will be recorded and made public on University of the Arts London YouTube channels afterwards. By attending a live event, guests agree to their contributions being captured and used for this purpose.