Goldsmiths and V&A to host Code Liberation Foundation’s workshop series

A new series of free digital games and creative technology classes for women, non-binary, femme, and girl-identifying people to learn how to create video games and playable experiences is being launched by the V&A and the Department of Computing at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Founded by Professor Phoenix Perry and colleagues in the US on International Women’s Day in 2013, Code Liberation has now reached some 2,500 women between the ages of 16 to 70.

With women, nonbinary, femme, and girl-identifying people vastly under-represented in games development and the wider technology sector, Code Liberation helps inspire and empower people who want to use programming to make creative work.

They collaborate with creators that have never considered entering into the field of computer science or who have left it because it is male dominated.

Code Liberation also develops role models in the industry from within its ranks. These young individuals go on to teach and encourage others to learn how to code - whether it’s with an eye on a career in games development, using code in other fields, or learning just for fun.

Code Liberation fosters a non-competitive atmosphere to build a support network and operates under the core mission of helping people to see themselves as welcome in technological fields like game development and computing.

Professor Perry, who joined Goldsmiths in 2015, works under the ethos that programming is a political act, and that there is no chasm between art and science. “My art is created with technology. They are joined,” she explains.

She argues that “no coder should be left behind” and that just because a programmer’s code may be more complicated, it does not necessarily make it better.

“Inclusion does not mean just reward­ing the loud­est voice or the largest con­trib­u­tor on Github. It means engag­ing peo­ple who have been biased against in social sys­tems,” Professor Perry adds.

Running on Friday nights through October and November at the V&A, Code Liberation workshops will help beginners design and make an interactive toy or game from scratch. The series will end in an exhibition of student projects at a V&A Late event.

The six workshops have been developed by and for creative people, and assume no prior knowledge in programming or game design. By the end of the series students will have used the Unity game engine to create their own working prototype game which they will then be able to play using a game controller created in Arduino.

Code Liberation will provide all the kit needed, including laptops and electronics, but students are also welcome to bring their own if available.

Beginning on 7 October, workshops take place at the V&A, the Machine Room in Hackney, and the Ben Pimlott Building – home to art, computing and psychology at Goldsmiths – on our New Cross campus.

Check out the V&A website for dates

Spaces are limited and allocated through an application process. All successful applicants will be notified by 30 September. If you are interested in joining Code Liberation, meeting other creatives, having fun and creating a game, then get in touch via this form.

Visit codeliberation.org or the V&A blog for more information