Symposium Session 1 – Workshop in the framework of RIXC Art Science Festival 2026 — Climate Imagination
Workshop leader: Philippe Sormani
Curated and moderated by: Rasa Smite
Venue: National Library of Latvia, Conference Centre, Level –1, Riga
Genealogies of Experimentation
Philippe Sormani — Workshop Abstract
At least since Marcel Duchamp, contemporary forms of art, science, and technology (and their multifaceted relationships) are regularly cast in terms of “experiment” or “experimentation.” Historian and philosopher of science Hans-Jörg Rheinberger has prominently elaborated on “experimental systems” and “hybrid heuristics” in and across art, science, and technology.
This workshop takes its cue from Split and Splice, Rheinberger’s latest book, and reflects on its “phenomenology of experimentation” (2023) in light of another recently published book: Harold Garfinkel’s Studies of Work in the Sciences(2022).
Taken together, the two books will set the stage for a joint discussion on historical epistemology (Rheinberger’s project) and situated praxeology (Garfinkel’s program). To probe their aesthetics in vivo, participants will be invited to share, if not perform, their readings and/or (artistic) experiments in situ — if only to dwell or expand on Rheinberger’s call for a “multi-perspectival view from below.”
References
- Harold Garfinkel, Studies of Work in the Sciences, ed. Michael Lynch, Routledge, 2022.
- Hans-Jörg Rheinberger, Split and Splice: A Phenomenology of Experimentation, University of Chicago Press, 2023.
Workshop Leader — Biography
Philippe Sormani (PhD in Sociology) is a Senior Researcher at the STS Lab at University of Lausanne and the Immersive Arts Space (IAS) at Zurich University of the Arts. Drawing on science, technology and media studies, he has published on experimentation in and across different fields of activity, ranging from experimental physics to artistic experiments and technology demonstrations. Currently, he is experimenting with “extended reality” (at IAS), while (re-)engaging “new AI” (at STS Lab and beyond). Key publications include Respecifying Lab Ethnography (Routledge 2016), the co-edited volume Practicing Art/Science (Routledge 2019), and “Interfacing AlphaGo” (Social Studies of Science, 2023). He also is an affiliated member of CEMS/EHESS in Paris.
Common question for participants
Where is the experiment in your artistic practice?
W1 is a participatory workshop combining invited artistic presentations with collective discussion and experimentation. Invited artists and researchers introduce their practices through an experimental perspective, using slides, video, live demonstrations, tangible artefacts, or performative talks.
All participants are encouraged to engage actively and to bring materials from their own practice — objects, images, data, sounds, short videos, protocols, or other experimental elements that can be shared, discussed, or briefly performed in situ.
Invited participants
Philippe Sormani — Workshop leader; experimentation, historical epistemology, and situated practice.
Rasa Smite — Curator and moderator; Atmospheric Forest and resin-pressure experiments connecting scientific measurement with artistic experimentation.
Ainārs Kamoliņš — Philosophical interlocutor; artistic experimentation, philosophy, science, and technoscientific practice.
Marcus Maeder — Artist, researcher, and composer; environmental sensing, scientific measurement, sound, trees, and climate data.
Pauline Doutreluingne — Curator, filmmaker, and visual researcher; ecological and collaborative artistic practice.
Christian Huebler / knowbotiq — Experimental artistic research across technological, ecological, and sociopolitical infrastructures.
Laura Beloff & Jurģis Peters — Joint artistic contribution exploring experimentation with artificial intelligence, biological and technological systems, and human–machine relationships.
Laura Feldberga — Artist and curator; situated experimentation through landscape, weather, and environmental contingency.
Open-Call Contributors & Workshop Participants
The workshop welcomes artists and researchers who submitted contributions through the festival’s open call, alongside other interested participants. Open-call contributors will have an opportunity to briefly introduce their artistic experiments, research questions, or works in progress during the participatory session.
Depending on the number of participants and the nature of their contributions, the exchange may take place as a collective discussion or in smaller working groups.
Programme — 13:00–15:30
| 13:00–13:10 | Welcome & Framing — Rasa Smite. Introduction to Genealogies of Experimentation, Philippe Sormani, and the invited participants. |
| 13:10–13:35 | Philippe Sormani — Conceptual Proposition. Rheinberger and Garfinkel: experimental systems, situated practices, and experimentation in vivo. During Philippe’s talk, Rasa performs a live resin experiment (tbc.) |
| 13:35–14:30 | Experimental Perspectives in Artistic Practice. Five invited presentations, 12 minutes each: Marcus Maeder; Pauline Doutreluingne; Christian Huebler / knowbotiq; Laura Feldberga; Laura Beloff & Jurģis Peters. |
| 14:30–14:35 | Break & Transition to Participatory Discussion. Informal exchange and preparation for collective discussion or smaller working groups. |
| 14:35–15:15 | Participatory Experimental Laboratory — facilitated by Philippe Sormani, Ainārs Kamoliņš, and Rasa Smite. Invited artists, open-call contributors, and other participants share experimental perspectives, artefacts, and research questions. The exchange may take place collectively or in smaller working groups, depending on participation. |
| 15:15–15:30 | Collective Reflections & Synthesis. Sharing insights and questions emerging from the discussions, with Philippe, Ainārs, Rasa, and workshop participants. |
| 15:30 | End of workshop; break before the 16:00 keynote session. |