Interfaces for Empathy - Research (2017-18)

Following the successful 2016 Pixelache Festival, the Interfaces for Empathy (IfE) project evolved into a two-year research initiative exploring empathy's role in ecological thinking and collective action.

Research Evolution

2017: Regenerative Notes

• Focus shifted to macro-level perspectives on empathy
• Explored empathetic practices in post-fossil world contexts
• Collaboration with artist Mari Keski-Korsu and social scientist Maarit Laihonen
• Built upon the collective curatorial framework established in 2016
• Published articles, including VR and empathy analysis in AVEK magazine 1/17

2018: Action Tank Development

• Developed theoretical and practical frameworks for an interdisciplinary art-science action tank
• Created methodologies for collaborative intelligence and ecosystem understanding
• Focused on practical applications in everyday activism and policy work
• Established foundational research on empathy's qualities and limitations

Key Activities and Outputs

Workshop Series 2017

• Glasgow: Edge Effect exhibition at CCA, partnering with Scottish Sculpture Workshop
• Helsinki: "Local Energy" exhibition at Lapinlahti cultural centre
• Turku: YHYS Colloquium facilitation for Finnish Society for Environmental Social Science

Research Developments 2018

• Created and launched ifempathy.org
• Developed empathy-enabling discussion methods
• Conducted fundamental empathy research

Networks and International Engagement

• 2017: Scottish Sculpture Workshop (Glasgow), YHYS Finnish Society for Environmental Social Science
• 2018: Co-facilitated "Design and Empathy" session for design professors in Mexico City (WDC 2018)
• 2018: Organized research dissemination event at Villa Vuosanta, Helsinki
• 2018: Initial collaborative discussion with different key climate orgs in Finland, such as Natural Resource Institute Finland and Demos Helsinki.

Core Objectives

• Research and develop empathic methodologies for collective intelligence
• Apply these tools across diverse participatory situations
• Address humanity's environmental crisis through empathetic frameworks
• Foster everyday activism through practical applications

Research Outcomes

• Established new frameworks for empathy-based collaborative work
• Developed practical exercises for empathy building
• Created discussion methodologies for collective engagement
• Produced theoretical foundations for future applications

Funding and Support

The project received sustained support from Kone Foundation (2016-2018)

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