Social Software

Announcing the SoSoft Cycle 2 Cohort! Jordan Silver — Sonic Architecture Em Lugo — Ambling Los Angeles Æther Cavendish — Vigil Score Thomas Noya — Biophonía Peter Sullivan — lux_1.0 Mavyn Vu — the radio is an altar : portal Alex Espinosa — Music for World Computers Jeffrey Alan Scudder — Aesthetic.Computer Darlyn Phan — Meridians Chelly Jin — Software as a Choreography Banyi Huang — Conjuring Notness Over the course of ten weeks, each member of the cohort is working through a project development cycle to create a Score for Social Software of their own invention. We understand a score as a way of choreographing events in time through text, diagrams, or other forms of instruction. We understand social software as any system that organizes behavior, coordinates people, or structures interaction. Scores for Social Software builds on the tradition of Fluxus scores, books like Notations (eds. John Cage and Allison Knowles) and the do it anthologies (ed. Hans Ulrich Obrist). We’ll explore the research of the recent The Scores Project (eds. Gallope, Harren, Hicks). Our aim is not only to learn from these histories, but to extend them—testing what a score can be in the context of contemporary technological, social, and institutional systems. This spring Cycle 2 members have gathered in conversation to explore new forms of social software. Stay tuned for more! @jordan__silver @tsnoya @i.peter @aesthetic.computer @darlynphan @chellyjin @cropp_topp

Registration is now open for the 2026 UCLA AI & Art Pre-College Summer Institute! 💻💿 The AI & Art Summer Institute is a three-week residential summer program at UCLA for high school students exploring the possibilities and social impacts of making art with AI software. Led by software artists Lauren McCarthy and Casey Reas, it is housed within UCLA Art’s Social Software Lab. 🔵 Through hands-on workshops and tutorials, students will develop their own critical perspectives while learning how to make art using AI software. 🌟 Limited spots available — Apply now! Spaces fill quickly, so we encourage prospective students to apply early! 🔗 Apply & find more information at: https://summer.arts.ucla.edu/ai-art @uclaarts @ucla_dma

SOURCE: Generative Art Lecture Series with Martin Grasser This autobiographical lecture from Martin shares his story: how he began working with generative art, the projects that defined his practice, and what he’s exploring now. Martin Grasser Hosted by Jeff Davis, The Generative Art Foundation Location: UCLA Broad Art Center (EDA) and YouTube Date: 14 April 2026 Time: 5pm Pacific RSVP for YouTube link. Link in bio! Co-sponsored by: Social Software The Generative Art Foundation UCLA Design Media Arts

You are invited to our first Spring DMA Lecture Series Featuring Martin Grasser The Art of Infrastructures This event will be Hosted by Jeff Davis from The Generative Art Foundation and will be followed by a Q&A with the audience. This lecture is free and open to the public! To register for in-person or virtual attendance please visit /orybjb0q Remote viewing will be available at: /@ucladesignmediaarts97 Martin Grasser is an artist based in the Bay Area. His work explores systems and forms of repetition. Each project uses repetitive variation to create multiples; each image is a node in a network, both self sufficient and part of the larger group. This DMA Lecture Series is Co-sponsored by: UCLA Department of Design Media Arts The Generative Art Foundation UCLA Social Software

SOURCE: Generative Art Lecture Series with Mitchell F. Chan This autobiographical lecture from Mitchell shares his story: how he began working with generative art, the projects that defined his practice, and what he’s exploring now. Mitchell F. Chan Hosted by Lauren Lee McCarthy, Social Software Location: Zoom Date: 7 April 2026 Time: 5pm Pacific RSVP for Zoom access. Link in bio! Co-sponsored by: UCLA Social Software The Generative Art Foundation Coming Soon! Martin Grasser Hosted by Jeff Davis, The Generative Art Foundation Location: UCLA Broad Art Center (EDA) and Zoom Date: 14 April 2026 Time: 5pm Pacific

SOURCE: Generative Art Lecture Series with Operator (Ania Catherine and Dejha Ti) This autobiographical lecture from Operator shares their story: how they began working with generative art, the projects that defined their practice, and what they’re exploring now. Operator (Ania Catherine and Dejha Ti) Hosted by Casey REAS, Social Software Location: Zoom Date: 31 March 2026 Time: Noon Pacific RSVP for Zoom access. Link in bio! Co-sponsored by: UCLA Social Software The Generative Art Foundation Coming Soon! Mitchell F. Chan Hosted by Lauren Lee McCarthy, Social Software Location: Zoom Date: 7 April 2026 Time: 5pm Pacific Martin Grasser Hosted by Jeff Davis, The Generative Art Foundation Location: UCLA Broad Art Center (EDA) and Zoom Date: 14 April 2026 Time: 5pm Pacific

Social Software will be featured at The Music Center’s next Innovation Social. Step into an evening of exploration, curiosity and connection. Encounter immersive works and interactive experiences from some of L.A.’s most innovative artists, technologists and culture-makers. Social Software will present a series of projects developed by Cycle 1 cohort members and collaborating artists. Featured artists include Esteban Arellano, Elise Chee, Chelly Jin, David Latimore II, Lauren Lee McCarthy, Aurora Mititelu, Dhriti Goyal, Mou Peijing, and Casey Reas. Friday, March 20, 6–9pm The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion RSVP link in bio

Save the dates for SOURCE: Generative Art Lecture Series! These autobiographical lectures feature artists we love sharing their story: how they began working with generative art, the projects that defined their practice, and what they’re exploring now. Each talk ends with a Q&A with the host who invited them. Details below! Operator (Ania Catherine and Dejha Ti) Hosted by Casey REAS, Social Software Location: Zoom Date: 31 March 2026 Time: Noon Pacific Mitchell F. Chan Hosted by Lauren Lee McCarthy, Social Software Location: Zoom Date: 7 April 2026 Time: 5pm Pacific Martin Grasser Hosted by Jeff Davis, The Generative Art Foundation Location: UCLA Broad Art Center (EDA) and Zoom Date: 14 April 2026 Time: 5pm Pacific Co-sponsored by: UCLA Social Software The Generative Art Foundation UCLA Department of Design Media Arts Individual event posts with RSVP links will be released one week before each event!

Enrollment is open. Join us this summer at UCLA Arts. Explore your creative potential. Hone your craft. Transform your future. UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture Summer Programs offer transformative experiences across visual arts, architecture, design, media arts, and cultural studies—all within a leading research university in Los Angeles, the world’s creative capital. This summer we are offering courses for motivated high school students, current college students, and working professionals who want to deepen their creative practice, build new skills, and learn from award-winning faculty and emerging practitioners. Explore the programs and apply through the link in our bio. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Applying early is highly recommended. Have questions? Join us for a virtual information session on Thursday, March 19 at 6:30 PM PDT. Registration link in bio.

OPEN CALL for working group members to develop a Score for Social Software over a 10-week development cycle. Proposal deadline March 2nd. For more information, visit https://sosoft.arts.ucla.edu/cycle-2 Facilitator: Casey Reas Location: UCLA Broad Art Center Meeting Schedule: Alternating Thursdays 12–2pm, April 2nd to June 11th 2026 Software is culture, software is art, and software is social. As our lives become increasingly automated, the term software can be used to think beyond code alone to describe any program, system, or tool that structures, mediates, or intervenes in the world around us. These systems shape how we relate to one another, how communities form, and how actions become possible—or impossible—within everyday life. Over the course of ten weeks, you will work through a project development cycle to create a Score for Social Software of your own invention. We understand a score as a way of choreographing events in time through text, diagrams, or other forms of instruction. We understand social software as any system that organizes behavior, coordinates people, or structures interaction. You are encouraged to push against, stretch, or reinterpret these definitions in ways that feel meaningful to your own practice. Scores for Social Software builds on the tradition of Fluxus scores, books like Notations (eds. John Cage and Allison Knowles) and the do it anthologies (ed. Hans Ulrich Obrist). We’ll explore the research of the recent The Scores Project (eds. Gallope, Harren, Hicks). Our aim is not only to learn from these histories, but to extend them—testing what a score can be in the context of contemporary technological, social, and institutional systems. In addition to individual works produced during Cycle 2, we will collectively produce a small publication that gathers contributions from each participant, documenting the range of approaches developed over the cycle.

Celebrate the closing of Social Software Cycle 1 with us! Over ten weeks, SoSoft cohort members have developed projects that reinterpret “social software” in diverse ways—from developing protocols to connect displaced communities, to a futures market for LA parking, to a device allowing native trout in the Arroyo Seco to communicate. We invite you to join us for final presentations by the cohort members in conversation with featured guests. Light bites provided. ☆ Panel 1: Systems & Worlds: Mou Peijing, David Latimore II, Dhriti Goyal, Yara Feghali, Connie Bakshi ☆ Panel 2: Language & Mapping: Esteban Arellano, Elise Chee, Kidus Hailesilassie, Noopur Raval, Inès Kivimäki Wednesday, December 3, 12–2pm Broad Arts Center EDA 240 Charles E Young Dr N Visitor parking in Lot 3

☆ Announcing the SoSoft Cycle 1 Cohort! ☆ Seven makers rewriting the systems we live within. Code becomes culture, ritual, play, resistance. Esteban Arellano — Neighborhood Watch Elise Chee — Memeon Dhriti Goyal — Survival in the circus Kidus Hailesilassie — ልሳን : Le’sane David Latimore II — The Sunset Index Mou Peijing — (Un)Natural Language Candace Thatcher — Social Lithophane Quilt / Handshake Painting / Knitting Protocol This fall, Cycle 1 members gather in conversation and experiment, evolving new forms of social software. Stay tuned ⭒