NYC School of Data 2022

Data Performance will be a cutting edge panel on the intersection of data science, performance studies, arts, and critical theory. The session consists of three panelists, and a brief introduction from the curator and moderator. The panelists will define and explore the concept of "data performativity" and how open data could be leveraged by artists and individuals into acts of resistance and change.

Yaakov Bressler (Data Scientist and Theatre Producer) will argue that despite Broadway’s legacy as the center of American theater, historical Broadway data has been mostly unavailable or inaccessible for large-scale analysis. He will discuss why he founded Open Broadway Data to solve this problem, and how such data can be used to enhance the theater experience, improve inclusivity, and shape the future direction of Broadway shows.

Anel Rakhimkhanova (PhD Student at NYU Performance Studies) will draw from a western history of criminology and facial recognition, and look at the works of artist Trevor Paglen and his attempts to present how the biases of modern training data, which are datasets used to teach the software an algorithm, repeat and reestablish the objectives of targeting deviancy. She will introduce the ongoing conversation about how data performs aka participates in the making of our world and how we can reconsider the characteristics centered in it.

Adham Hafez (PhD Candidate at NYU Performance Studies) will discuss how for many years, artists have experimented with the blockchain, and with Web3.0 tools in a visionary manner. However, since early 2021, the rise in popularity of a particular token, called ERC-721 has shaken the art scene. From cartoons to music and performance, non-fungible tokens have allowed artists to sell, auction and share their digital creations with their audiences and fans. The rise in value of these crypto-assets makes us question the future of the art market. Because the blockchain is a publicly accessible ledger, a lot of this data is public as well. He will debate if this could be the beginning for another way of market performance, one rooted in decentrality, accessibility of data, and of provenance records; or, we might quickly see a ‘winner takes it all’ gatekeeper model shaping the future of art and the blockchain.