Digital images rely on text in their creation, dissemination, categorisation and broader uses. In this course we will challenge traditional approaches to digital culture and explore memes, visual datasets, metadata and prompts to generate images. Over five, weekly sessions, we will consider a wide range of perspectives on the connection between digital images and text.
Course format
All sessions take place on Zoom and will include presentations, group discussions and short exercises.
Who is this for?
This course is open to anyone interested in photography and art, with a particular interest in digital. No prior knowledge necessary.
Led by curator and researcher Jon Uriarte.
Details on how to access the sessions will be confirmed upon registration. Please check your junk folders if you haven't received an email from TPG staff confirming your place.
Image & Text on Tue 14 Jan at 18.30-20.00 GMT
We start by exploring the relationship between digital images and text. Rather than focusing on traditional thinking of images as text, such as sequencing, we will examine contemporary perspectives that view images as code, the flexibility of image files and the ways they can be transformed across different mediums. This session will also include discussion on topics such as the glitch and synography.
Metadata on Tue 21 Jan at 18.30-20.00 GMT
This week looks at metadata and data visualisation. Together we will consider how metadata is used to embed code for purposes including ownership and geolocation. We will also examine user behaviour on social media to discuss issues surrounding surveillance, privacy, and image arrangement and navigation.
Memes on Tue 28 Jan at 18.30-20.00 GMT
This session provides insight into the role and impact of memes in shaping and circulating information. Memes, including images, gifs, videos and expressions, possess immense potential in communicating ideas. Together we consider meme creation, evolution and their influence on public opinion.
Datasets on Tue 4 Feb at 18.30-20.00 GMT
This week will focus on the connection between images and datasets. How do people annotate images, and how does that influence how machines interpret them? We will also discuss AI, knowledge production, labour, bias, and the concept of "ground truths."
Prompting on Tue 11 Feb at 18.30-20.00 GMT
The course concludes with image generation. How is text used to generate images? We'll introduce different models available for this task and discuss the aesthetics of synthetic images, as well as issues surrounding bias and copyright.
Biography
Jon Uriarte is a curator, educator, writer and artist based in Donostia - San Sebastián, Spain. He co-created and co-curates Screen Walks with Marco de Mutiis (digital curator at Photomuseum Winterthur), a series of live streams guided by artists, researchers and curators using the screen as their medium launched by Fotomuseum Winterthur in Switzerland and The Photographers’ Gallery in London, where he curated the digital programme between 2019 and 2023.
He has also curated Getxophoto International Image Festival in Getxo, Spain, and DONE, a programme launched by FotoColectania in Barcelona, Spain, looking at the changing role of photography in the digital and networked era. Jon is a guest lecturer at several Spanish universities and schools, and he regularly writes essays, reviews and articles for different magazines and publications.
Bursaries
A number of partial bursaries covering 50 per cent of course fees will be awarded on a first come basis. Applicants who wish to be considered for a partial bursary should submit a statement (max. 500 words) to projects@tpg.org.uk, outlining how Explorations in Digital Spaces 2025 would contribute to their professional development. Successful applicants will be notified within a week of submission.Â
We actively encourage applications from groups who are currently underrepresented in the cultural sector in the UK. This includes people who identify as D/deaf, disabled* and neurodivergent; those with caring responsibilities; candidates from Black, Asian and ethnically diverse backgrounds; and arts and culture professionals whose career development has been negatively impacted by Covid-19, prioritising independent artists, freelancers and those made redundant/at risk of redundancy since 2020.
*The Equality Act 2010 defines a disabled person as someone who has a physical or mental impairment, and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Sharing that you are disabled will not be used in any way in judging the quality of your application.
Details on how to access this event will be confirmed upon registration. Please check your junk folders if you haven't received an email from TPG staff confirming your place.
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Ticketing
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