The Lost Reality: Speakers Announced!

Lost HQ is delighted to announce a brand spanking new line-up of speakers for this, our first production of 2013.  It promises to be a mind-shifting experience unlike any other, with an eclectic mix of thinkers, doers and dreamers taking to the Lost Stage.  Without further ado, here are the London speakers…For Berlin, click HERE.

LONDON: Thursday 21st March: The Lost Lectures XI

Steve Vranakis:  is the Creative Director of Google Creative Lab (EMEA) and one of the most tech-savvy, rule-breaking progressive thinkers you’re ever likely to meet. He’s in charge of a team responsible for pushing the notion of what is possible at Google and using the full weight of their capability to do so, through projects like ‘World Wonders Project’ and ‘Web Lab’ (not a bad gig, eh?!).  He’s here to share his insights from one of the world’s most groundbreaking organisations and share his vision of how, through tech, there’s a genuine opportunity to leave the world better than how you found it.

Fleet Street Fox:  Often sarcastic, occasionally right and more than a little enigmatic, ‘Foxy’ is something of a Twitter phenomenon.  Rather serendipitously (for us as much as anything) she recently ‘outed’ herself to reveal her true identity as tabloid newspaper reporter Susie Boniface: a Fleet Street insider who’s worked at pretty much every national newspaper in the country.  She’s shared insider commentary on the press (good bits and bad), toed everything but the line via her blog and book and generally kept us all well and truly entertained with her vulpine vernacular.  She joins us to share what has been a pretty unique personal and professional journey.

Dr Alex Parfitt: is Head of Materials Research at British Aerospace Engineering (BAE Systems Advanced Technology Centre). A biologist turned engineer, he’s a world-leading authority on biomimetics and their use in development of innovations in defence technology.  His talk will be a jaw-dropping display of how engineering can copy nature and a rare glimpse into the frankly unbelievable future technologies being developed in his lab. He has also gained clearance to demo some never-before-seen tech as part of his talk, which is extremely exciting and just a little terrifying!
Christine Taylor: is the Founder and Creative Director of Choccywoccydoodah: a chocolate emporium and art and design studio based in sunny Brighton. Working purely in chocolate, Christine and her incredible team of ‘Chocolistas’ create extravagant fantasies, chocolate dreams and some really, really naughty stuff too!  She’ll be taking us on a fantastical journey into the world of Choccywoccydoodah, likely resulting in a coco-induced trance, mainly from the large quantities of chocolate she’s promised she’ll be bringing with her. Her talk will be the tastiest of the evening, we believe.

Robin Flavell:  Formerly known as Jacques_AIH, Robin is a comedy writer, prolific tweeter and ex-editor of Pop Bitch.  He writes witty jokes, chummy banter and other award-winning shenanigans: he does this with the sort of awe-inspiring consistency and quality that saw him become The Independent’s most influential non-celebrity tweeter.  The truth is that Robin has the type of fiercely sharp wit and enviable wordsmithery that most aspiring comedians can only dream about.  We are incredibly excited that we’ve finally twisted his arm to come and join us on the Lost stage.

The Organic Jam:  are a partnership of top international DJs and world-leading musicians who specialise   in improvisation.  Featuring a mix of percussion, brass, woodwind and strings and combining these classical sounds with electronic beats and samples, they push the boundaries of freeform sound, creating unique experiences each time. The musicians are some of the most prolific working today, many of them performing and recording regularly with some of the biggest names on the planet including Beyoncé , Gorrilaz, Coldplay, Hot Chip, Massive Attack, Led Zeppelin, Stevie Wonder and many others. The Organic Jam’s founder, Carlo Rossi, will give a short intro and talk about how improvisation gives musicians the freedom to explore their creativity beyond the confines of sheet music and rehearsed pieces.

 

LONDON: Friday 22nd March: The Lost Lectures XII

Prof. Jerry Brotton:  is a cartographer, broadcaster and author of the highly acclaimed book ‘The History of The World in 12 Maps’.  He’ll guide us through the history of the world (in a mere 15 minutes!) demonstrating how maps have been fundamental in shaping our view of the world, and our place in it. He argues that far from being purely scientific objects, they are unavoidably ideological and subjective and intimately bound up with the systems of power and authority and of time and place.  Even in the world of Google and.. ehem, iOS maps, they are no more definitive or objective than they have ever been.  You’re likely never to look at a map in the same way again.

Alice Taylor:  is founder and CEO of MakieLab, a new kind of future-smashing toy company that makes 3D-printed, locally made, and game-enabled toys.  She’s a pioneer in the fast-emerging industry of 3D technology, has built multi-award-winning digital products, and has been Commissioning Editor for Education at Channel 4 and one of the Game Industry’s Top 100 most influential women, not to mention Mum to a 5-year-old daughter who demands Space Pirate Dolls, which is partially how MakieLab came about.  Alice will be talking about the staggering new possibilities of 3D printing and giving her personal take on a technology that is becoming ever more accessible.

Bompas and Parr:  are jelly architects, also affectionately known as jellymongers, who experiment, develop, produce, and install projects, artworks and exhibitions with food, including – of course – jelly.  They design spectacular experiences often on an architectural scale, utilising cutting-edge technology to explore the limits of edible engineering. With projects like Mount Rocky (a chocolate climbing wall) and Edible Crazy Golf (on Selfridges Roof Terrace), as well as exploding wedding cakes (ain’t that every girl’s dream?!), it’s little wonder that they were named ‘one of the 15 people who will define the future of arts in Britain’.  They will be bringing with them an experience that titillates the subconscious, which sounds completely mental and rather brilliant.

Sarah Corbett:  is Founder of one of the world-leading groups in the Craftivism movement (Craft + Activism).  Her group ‘Craftivist Collective’ expose global poverty and human rights injustices though the power of public art, challenging people’s views through inspiring, surprising and original creative interventions.  Whether it be cross-stitched graffiti or political bunting, these small, provocative actions are gaining an international following.   She joins us to share her story and explain how voicing opinion through creativity can make your voice stronger, your compassion deeper and your quest for justice more infinite.

Ed Yong:  is an award-winning science writer, journalist, geek and creator of the widely acclaimed blog ‘Not Exactly Rocket Science’, which is a hub for the most awe-inspiring, beautiful and quirky science happening in the world.  His work has appeared in Nature, the BBC, New Scientist, Wired, the Guardian, the Times, Discover and many others.  He’s also something of a Twitter phenomenon.  He’ll be taking to the Lost Stage to discuss some of science’s most brain-bending phenomena: expect a persuasive parley of parasitic proportions as Ed gets in your head with nature’s weirdest workings.

The British Paraorchestra:  is a pioneering orchestra and a global movement that recognises and showcases disabled musicians with extraordinary abilities.  It’s an orchestra with a mission to level the playing field of musical excellence and end the limitations placed on individuals, not by their physical ability but by lack of opportunity.  It was founded by British conductor Charles Hazlewood (who’ll be giving a short talk prior to the performance) and television director Claire Whalley, with performances from a splinter group of musicians from the orchestra: Stephanie West on Harp and Gemma Lunt on Saxophone.

(A huge thanks goes to The Worshipful Company of Musicians, who helped make the British Paraorchestra’s participation possible).

 

As ever there’ll be food, drinks, demos and some, as yet, unannounced surreal surprises as we lose our grip on reality over these two evenings.  All will become clear when you meet us there, but for now, Lostlings…

Keep it to a whisper.