ABOUT

RESEARCH PROFILE

German

Lona Gaikis (*1982 Toronto, Canada) is a writer, curator, and lecturer at the University of Art and Design in Linz, and the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna (Austria) where she offers lectures on current debates in philosophy, society, and the arts. She regularly contributes as an author to exhibition catalogs, academic journals, and anthologies (ORCID).

She obtained her doctoral degree (Dr. Phil.) in Philosophy, Art and Cultural Studies from the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna in 2017. Her research focused on the “new key” in the American philosopher Susanne K. Langer and the meaning of music in artistic practice.

Lona’s commitment to research and academia is complemented by a curatorial engagement with media art and music sub-cultures. In 2009, she founded the platform czirp czirp – experimental and sonic arts. Oscillating between sound in experimental, synesthetic formats, and media art, this project has showcased various international artists such as Aïsha Devi (CH), Bergsonist (USA/MAR), EVITCELES (BGR), Islaja (FIN), Lucas Abela (AU) and Steve Roden (USA) among many others. Further collaborations in the digital involved Jasmine Guffond and Ilan Katin (USA/AUS), Claire Tolan (ASMR audio play) or artificialmuseum.com (AR project).

Lona is philosopher of the research group PHANTOM LAB with performance artist Barbis Ruder and industrial designer Walter Lunzer (Ottobock Healthcare Products).

CURRENT PROJECTS:

TEACHING | WINTER SEMESTER 2023
MACHT EUCH VERWANDT! VOM TRÄUMEN, HALLUZINIEREN UND MISSVERSTEHEN IN MENSCH, TIER UND TECHNIK. Reading Seminar (German) at the Department of Media Theories, University of Art and Design, Linz.

BOOK LAUNCH | 2024
THE BLOOMSBURY HANDBOOK OF SUSANNE K. LANGER
A collection of essays on new keys in the work of philosopher Susanne K. Langer. Authors: Adrienne Dengerink Chaplin, Donald Dryden, Christian Grüny, Robert Innis, Eva Kit Wah Man, Brian Massumi, Adam Nocek, Anne Pollok, Eldritch Priest, Martina Sauer, Helen Thaventhiran, Christophe van Eecke, Iris v. d. Tuin, and more. Edited by Lona Gaikis. London: Bloomsbury, January 2024. Funded by the FWF Austrian Science Fund [PUB 1012-G]. Preview TOC and Introduction through BLOOMSBURY.

RESEARCH PROJECT | 2020-2023
Lona Gaikis is the philosopher in the research group Towards an Aesthetics for Prosthetics, along with performance artist Barbis Ruder and industrial designer Walter Lunzer (Ottobock Healthcare Products). We ask, “What haunts quantitative evaluation and qualitative assessment in the field of medical engineering?” This group and its endeavor are linked to the Angewandte Performance Lab (APL) at the University of Applied Arts, Vienna.

COMING UP:

ART PROJECT | 2021–2023
CICADA GAMES
ASMR Audio Play For One Voice and Seven Spirits by Claire Tolan. Limited print edition coming out in 2024. Published by czirp czirp.

ART PROJECT | MAY 2024
KLANGHAIN: SYMBIOSIS AND NETWORKS
Sounding the underground in public space between poetry and scientific skepticism. Artists: Saša Spačal (SI), Jiří Suchánek (CZ), Leslie Garcia, member of Interspecifics (MX). Schönbornpark, 1080 Vienna. In cooperation with the Austrian Museum of Folk Art and Klima Biennale, Vienna.

CONFERENCE | 24.-28. JUNE 2024
LANGER, CREATIVITY, AND AMERICAN THOUGHT
An interdisciplinary conference held by The Susanne K. Langer Circle. Keynotes: Juliet Floyd (Boston University), Iris van der Tuin (University of Utrecht), Donald Dryden (Duke University), Robert Innis (University of Massachusetts, Lowell). Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL.

CONFERENCE | 1.-8. AUGUST 2024
SUSANNE K. LANGER’S PHILOSOPHY AND LEGACY
Round Table at the XXV World Congress of Philosophy, La Sapienza University, Rome.

ART PROJECT | 31. AUGUST 2024
CLUB RADIOKOJE | MACHBARE UTOPIEN (HOW TO UTOPIA)
Inspired by Yona Friedmann’s Utopies réalisables, 1975 (in English, feasible utopias), the 2024 edition of CLUB RADIOKOJE at the historic pool Kongreßbad will address questions on how we can maintain a sustainable and resilient society. Form follows Community with Artists: Construction Choir Collective (International), Schwimmverein Donaukanal (International), Das Erste Ottakringer Blockflötengewitter (AT). More to come!

Further information:
ACADEMIC CAREER
FUTURE PROJECTS
LIST OF PUBLICATIONS

RESEARCH-ID