12 & 13 December, we celebrate 10 years of ThingsCon!
We return to Amsterdam, to the Volkshotel.
Save the date! We will open registration for special early birds in July.
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10 years of ThingsCon
Back in November 2014, we organized the first Dutch chapter of ThingsCon in Amsterdam, after the inspiring first Berlin edition in spring 2014. From a small gathering of 100 people at the offices of info.nl, we moved in 2015 to the Volkshotel and had three more editions in Amsterdam. In 2018, we moved to Rotterdam and organized four in-person editions in that lovely city (in Bluecity (2018, and Het Nieuwe Instituut (2019, 2023). We also had a special Covid-online festival in 2020 and moved the 2021 edition to the summer of 2022 at Keilepand.
To mark the 1o year celebration we decided to go back to Amsterdam, and also go back to Volkshotel. To get an impression, this is the 2017 aftermovie:
If you want to take a complete trip down memory lane, including the more than 20 Salons we organized over the years, check our history of events!
Theme for 2024
Our theme for this edition: Generative Things
In short; the inspiration for this year’s conference is the coupling of the new artificial intelligence happening in digital lives to the physical world, the objects we use, and the places we live. It is as if an invisible but present gas undergoes a direct transition to a physical state, with the air becoming solid and the deposition of things from the twin intelligence. This raises questions about what this means for makers and designers of these things, how ethics will play out, and what new models of use and trust will emerge.
We have written more on the theme here.
Program
We are shaping the first plans and will share them over the coming months. They are all inspired by this theme.
- Workshops and talks
- RIOT publication
- Specially commissioned exhibition
On the latter:
We want to create an exhibition commissioned by ThingsCon to explore the next decade of living with things. We hope to inspire designers and makers of future things. We like to explain the context of an experience that ignites debate and critical thinking by engaging our community through speculative objects and things.
Our preliminary program:
🎓 Thursday: long-form workshops for even more in-depth knowledge exchange and interacting with peers.
🎉 Thursday evening: celebrating 10 years of ThingsCon with special evening program with inspirational talks, music, and drinks
🎤 Friday: the good old mix of inspiring keynotes, short project-pitches, 2-hour workshops, exhibition, and meeting each-other.
Participate
We hope you will engage with the theme and collaborate with us to make another memorable edition! Let me know if you already have ideas for contributions to the program or collaborations. You can contact us by replying to this email or connecting directly with one of our team members.
Registration
This year, the regular price for one day is 100 eu, and the full conference pass is 175 eu. The ticket includes entrance and catering on the conference days. You are also invited to join our special Thursday evening program.
Until the end of September we offer an early bird price: