Events

The ancient practice of alchemy held that prima materia--or "first matter"--was the base substance from which all physical things originate. Raw and undifferentiated, it was a substance of infinite possibility whose chaotic nature required the alchemist's skill and intention to harness its latent potential and guide its material transformation.

This symposium applies a critical lens to our contemporary moment, reframing the alchemical tradition within today's digital realm. It marks digital technologies as both sites of generative potential and subjects of material critique. First Matter brings together architects, designers, and scholars who are pioneering novel approaches to AI, computed imagery, and material practice to examine how practitioners are guiding raw digital substance into new material realities.