THE FASCINATING WORLD OF CAT LADIES, CONSPIRACY THEORISTS AND AIRPORT ACTIVISTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) January 25, 2012 -- Learning Without Frontiers attendees will today have the chance to question their own understanding of normality when designer, artist and researcher Lisa Ma demonstrates her work with fringe communities and ethnographic research.

Taking the audience on a journey covering cat ladies, conspiracy theorist, airport activists and joystick factory workers, Lisa will explain a series of scenarios that could take these groups from society’s fringe to its centre, as integral parts of the community. The aim, says Lisa, is to open the boundaries of learning and, more broadly, design.

“I'm interested in often unusual scenarios that bring people from different worlds together and give a new understanding to learning. Traditionally, designers would focus on problem solving and production efficiency but I create longer-term systems as platforms so that social differences have opportunities to be discussed and decided organically by the community, rather than by external agents,” says Lisa.

By subverting traditional industrial methodologies to create communities through lateral thinking we can encourage people to think creatively about different scenarios and the different people we meet on the street,” she says.

One of the projects, ‘Heathrow Heritage’ advocates turning Heathrow and its surrounds into a viable tourist destination complete with bicycle tours and community involvement. It’s a perfect solution for the millions of travellers who will pass through Britain’s main airline hub during the Olympics.

To find out more about this and other projects, Learning Without Frontiers guests can attend Lisa’s ‘Fringe Benefits’ talks and visit her blog at fringejoyride.com. But be warned: you will come away with a different outlook on that society deems different.

Thursday January 26, 2012 11:30am - 11:45am at The Learning Without Frontiers Theatre National Hall Gallery, Olympia
For further information and interviews:
Andrew Mclachlan 020.7384.6980 / 07931.377162 / andrew@mediazoo.tv
Sion Taylor 020.7384.6980 / 07768.372714 / sion@mediazoo.tv
Katy Lithgow 020.7384.6980 / 07938.787011 / katy@mediazoo.tv

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Learning Without Frontiers 2012: 25 & 26 January 2012 -

http://www.learningwithoutfrontiers.com/lwf12/