Annelys de Vet - Page of the Serbia Atlas

Got a map fetish? Well, head to Mediamatic this week, where experts will explore, create, define and oppose maps at three separate events.

Mapping For Change (Tuesday, 18.30)

A symposium about defying and opposing existing structures, discussing how maps can decentralises power, handing it back to individuals and allowing local communities to organise themselves autonomously. Speakers include Malkit Shoshan (Dutch-based Israeli architect, discussing Atlas of the Conflict Israel – Palestine), Wietske Maas (whose work focuses on the co-existence of plants, humans and animals in cities), Annelys de Vet (head of the Sandberg’s design department, talking subjective atlases), and Christian Nold (a London-based artist, talking about the Bijlmer Euro project).

Mapping For Clarity (Thursday, 20.30)

An evening dedicated to making sense of data. Abstract sets of numbers will be transformed into fluctuating graphs and beautiful visualisations. Mapping is used to make the intangible world around us tangible and influence the way we experience, use and create space. Speakers include Catalogtree (a design studio specialising in visualisation), De Geuzen (discussing cartography as a form of undoing), and Richard Rogers (talking about the Issue Crawler).

Mapping Ignite (Friday, 20.30)

Ignite combines great ideas, the local community, a stage and plenty of drinks to create thought-provoking, innovative nights. Participants get five minutes (twenty slides for fifteen seconds each) to show and explain their idea. During and after the talks there’s plenty of time for a chat, a beer and a swapping of screen names and phone numbers. Sure, it sounds like Pecha Kucha, which is where the inspiration comes from, but Ignite is more tech- (and map) focussed.

The festival precedes Mapping for Tourists, the upcoming exhibition at Mediamatic, opening on 4 September.