The Center for Transformative Media - A New Movement

On October 5, a party of ideas brought together about 45 people working at the intersections of philosophy, technology, science, and art. The event, held at the Desai Matta Gallery, celebrated the new Center for Transformative Media (CTM).

CTM was established by CIIS professors Brian Swimme (Philosophy, Cosmology, Consciousness) and Carolyn Cooke (Master of Fine Arts) as a hub for conversation, networking, and collaborative activity. Their intention is to provide space and resources for the production of transformative media by artists and interdisciplinary thinkers in the CIIS community.

The event was attended by CIIS students, alumni, faculty, and trustees, as well as members of the public and prospective students. CIIS Trustees Mikey Siegel (roboticist and founder of Consciousness Hacking), and Aneel Chima (Associate Director of Wellness Education at Stanford), highlighted efforts across CIIS to raise the profile of the university as a center for Integral Design, with an emphasis on intersections among technology, human consciousness, creativity, and psychological well-being.

New Movement Announced

At the gathering, Swimme and Cooke also proposed a new movement called "Autocosmology." Autocosmology celebrates the notion that we are members of and active participants in an unfolding, developing cosmos, and it is from this perspective that we find inspiration powerful enough to reimagine art, culture, and consciousness. The goal is to encourage original works of literature, art, and scholarship that transcend industrial consciousness and connect human experience to the whole of things.

Monica DeRaspe-Bolles, the Center for Transformative Media's Philosopher-in-Residence, gave a talk on Autocosmology, and a new publication, also called Autocosmology, was unveiled. The interdisciplinary and inter-arts journal is edited by artists-in-residence Ari Makridakis and Ashton Arnoldy.

To be added to our mailing list, please contact Carolyn Cooke.

_{Devin O'Dea is a producer and strategist at the Center for Transformative Media, and a project manager for Brian Swimme's and Mary Evelyn Tucker's Journey of the Universe cosmology project.}

_{Photos: Devin O'Dea}