The installation presents a short film on automation in the Pearl River Delta by the Rotterdam-based artist Lichun Tseng, showcasing two factories in Shenzhen where this technological order is being implemented. A set of drawings analyzes and documents how these disruptive changes in labor conditions manifest spatially in the Ash Cloud factory in Shenzhen, where humans and robots work closely together. The opening will take place on 15 December 2017.

In the public forum a diverse group of designers and experts in relevant fields from the Netherlands and China discuss the spatial, cultural and social implications of automation and exchange their knowledge and experiences of both territories. Speakers include Wanyu He (XKOOL), Timothy Jachna (Hong Kong PolyU), Steven Lee (Rapoo Shenzhen), Martijntje Smits (Utrecht University), De Kai(Hong Kong University of Science and Technology), Edwin Gardner (Monnik) and Javier Arpa tbc (The Why Factory, TU Delft).

The academy program will focus on the research and documentation of different cases of automated manufacturing, logistics and supply chain infrastructures in Pearl River Delta. In the first part of the workshop, participants will visit and document a kitchen, a fashion brand, and a factory is planned to be visited, and documented. In the second part of the workshop, participants will will be organized around the development of develop speculative/fictive scenarios of automated futures in cities.