About Us
Welcome to the Strange Intelligences Lab
Strange Intelligences Lab is a transdisciplinary space for exploring organic, synthetic and etheric intelligences.
Bringing together technology, creative practice, philosophy, theology and community engagement, we investigate how emerging technologies are reshaping the ways we learn, create, communicate and make meaning.
Our work takes the form of workshops, publications, events, research-informed inquiry, creative experiments and collaborative projects. We are interested not only in what new technologies can do, but in how they influence culture, relationships, knowledge and human experience.
Strange Intelligences Lab operates under AwhiWorld Ltd and serves as the primary platform for our current work and explorations.
Transdisciplinary practice sits at the heart of AwhiWorld. It involves working across disciplines, cultures, sectors and ways of knowing to explore questions that cannot be addressed from a single perspective alone.
For us, transdisciplinarity is more than a methodology. It is a way of approaching the world with curiosity, openness and a willingness to engage with different experiences, knowledge systems and viewpoints. It encourages connection, collaboration and critical reflection in the face of complex challenges.
Whether exploring emerging technologies, community resilience, creativity, social change or environmental issues, we believe that empathy, dialogue and joined-up thinking are essential for developing thoughtful and meaningful responses.
AwhiWorld Ltd (the company behind Strange Intelligences Lab) was founded in South Auckland in 2014 and emerged from a series of grassroots community projects and creative initiatives. The name was chosen with the support of mentors involved in the original AwhiWorld project and reflects the values of connection, care and collective learning that continue to guide the organisation today.
Environmental
Our initiatives extend beyond conventional boundaries, weaving together spiritual, digital, social, economic and artistic elements to foster innovative solutions to environmental issues.
We have a solid connection to the earth and have a multidimensional and interconnective view of reality.
Innovation
Innovation is not simply about new technologies or new ideas. It begins when people question assumptions, connect across boundaries and engage thoughtfully with change.
Our projects bring together creativity, emerging technologies and transdisciplinary approaches to explore complex challenges from fresh perspectives. Through experimentation, collaboration and critical inquiry, we support individuals and communities to develop new ways of thinking, learning and responding to an increasingly uncertain world.
Resilience
We view resilience as an active and ongoing process of learning, adaptation and growth. Rather than returning to an earlier state, resilience involves developing new capacities and discovering new ways of responding to change.
Our projects bring together people, ideas and practices from different fields and traditions. By working across boundaries and encouraging diverse perspectives, we support individuals, organisations and communities to build the confidence and capability needed to navigate an increasingly complex world.
Regeneration
Regeneration is about creating the conditions for life to flourish. We are interested in approaches that support the renewal of people, communities, cultures and environments rather than simply maintaining the status quo.
Through our projects we seek to build capacity, encourage participation and support lasting positive change. The goal is not simply to deliver an outcome, but to leave behind stronger foundations for future growth, learning and wellbeing.
International
We collaborate with innovative organisations at the forefront of transdisciplinary work and emerging technologies.
Our practice extends beyond New Zealand, across borders, weaving together international residencies and projects that involve diverse artists and networks spanning Europe, South America, and Oceania.
Our team is a member of The International Centre for Transdisciplinary Research (CIRET), a collective member of the SEADS Network , an institutional member of The Global Alliance for Inter and Transdisciplinary (ITD-Alliance), and of the Network of Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Research Organisations – Oceania (NITRO-Oceania).