Felipe (semente) and Ed King (University of Bristol) were invited by the Knowle West Media Centre to participate in the first of a new series of events. It was titled “What if…? Seeds of Tomorrow Growing Today”. Knowle West is a media centre with a long history of community-oriented projects. The event was “a collective exploration of community tech plus arts. A place to grow connections and be inspired by the seeds of possible tomorrows happening today.”
All speakers and artists at the event were asked to produce one “what if” question. Ours was “What If We Thought of Technologies as Plants?”. The title draws inspiration from the talk “Thinking Like A Forest: A Design Agenda for Bioregions” by John Thackara, one of the lasting references for Felipe’s work over the years.
The conversation centred on Felipe’s history of engagement with digital culture in Brazil, along with more recent collaborations (since 2021) between Brazilian organisations and the University of Bristol. One such collaboration is semente.
Photo by Ibi Feher
Along with a packed room in Knowle West, the debates were also streamed live. The audio, however, was broken during the transmission. The team later edited it, and published the recording on YouTube.