True or False: when the KIKK Festival scrutinizes the prism of generative AI
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From the outset, the KIKK Festival has offered its visitors a unique and immersive experience in which innovation and digital creativity come to life in various often surprising forms. But this year, the festival is taking a closer look at generative AI. Through its theme of ‘True or False’, it tries to untangle the real from the fake within this new means of creating.
Before diving into the programme for this edition, let us offer a reminder to the little ‘rookies’ amongst you who still have no idea about the KIKK Festival. Launched in 2011 by KIKK, a Namur-based non-profit organisation dedicated to the promotion of digital creativity and digital cultures, this event brings together the creators, artists, technophiles and professionals of various creative and digital domains. To do so, the festival explores the intersections between art, culture, science and technology around exhibitions, talks, workshops and performances, always with links to the digital sector. The programme stretches over four days and promises the visitors a genuine immersion in the creative avant-garde.
And the formula works. Better still, it is absolutely smashing it. Over time, the Namur festival has forged a prime position on the international scene and has become, as its creators had hoped, an unmissable meeting point where the international stars of digital creativity and techno-digital-creatives the world over rub shoulders with one another.
Brilliant minds on the bill
Now that we have revisited the foundations, let us dive into this year’s programme. And we can tell you straightaway, it rocks! First of all, as is true of every edition, the KIKK Festival offers a programme rich in talks led by international figures of the digital domain: researchers, technical experts, visionary thinkers and avant-garde artists. In line with the primary theme of ‘True or False’, this year the speakers will explore the interactions between various fields of knowledge and their potential to generate innovative solutions to contemporary challenges.
Amongst the headline acts you will discover Stefan Sagmeister, a designer of international renown who has worked with the Rolling Stones and the Guggenheim Museum, and is the winner of two Grammy awards. He will offer a long-term vision of the world, presenting visualisations which challenge the dominant perspectives circulated by the social networks and the media.
Anna Ginsburg, a filmmaker and animator known for her animations as aesthetic as they are engaged, will provide a touch of visual magic. By mixing traditional and digital techniques, she will tackle societal subjects with a unique sensibility. During her talk, she will explain her creative process and invite the audience to rethink the boundaries and the messages of contemporary animation.
In the domain of generative art, Sofia Crespo has established herself as a key figure. She explores the forms of synthetic life and the algorithms inspired by biological processes to question our relationship with the real and with technology. Her works, midway between science and art, offer a poetic reinvention of biodiversity.
Off-the-wall humour will take pride of place with Mr Bingo, a British artist well known for his ‘Hate Mail’ and his irony-filled illustrations. He will discuss the importance of authenticity and pleasure in the creative process, in transforming the mundane into the hilarious.
Finally, Ouchhh Studio, a Turkish collective led by Ferdi and Eylul Alici, will present an innovative approach which combines technological exploration and reflection on the links between art, science and technology. Their team brings together varied talents: engineers, researchers, experts in artificial intelligence, data scientists, architects and artists.
KIKK 2024 will also welcome Dr. Formalyst, an expert in synergy with artificial intelligence, Marcin Ignac, known for his visualisations of generative data-driven art, Borja Martinez, a visual branding specialist, and Robyn Landau, a researcher in neuroaesthetics who explores the links between art and science. And that is just one part of the festival’s fascinating speakers, a full list of whom can be found here.
Animations which defy the imagination
The KIKK Festival is also reputed for its both ludic and pedagogical interactive experiences. This year once again, the thousands of visitors will be offered plenty to feast their eyes on. KIKK in Town, the festival’s circuit of art which we will talk about at length in an upcoming article, stands out for its hybrid character, mixing digital arts installations, visual performances and sound creations. Spread over several iconic Namur locations, this exhibitions transforms the city into a genuine open-air museum.
Amongst the works to be discovered there, SUB, an immersive performance devised by Kurt Hentschläger offers a dive into total darkness, broken by short-lived bursts of light, creating ghostly retinal images which interrogate our sensory perception.
Plane Scape, an audiovisual immersive installation situated at the Citadel’s Pavillon, throws the public into a three-dimensional abstract landscape, formed from elastic lengths of cord and projected animated dots. The sound composition reinforces this immersive experience.
Not should you miss The Hand, a performance by Bruno Ribeiro, who interrogates the relationship between the artist and technology through a six-fingered self-portrait, in which the artificial infiltrates the real. This balance between inspiration and influence perfectly reflects Ribeiro’s creative process.
To discover the complete programme of the works and animations which you will be able to see at the KIKK Festival, please step this way.
Workshops, animations for children and festive soirées
But that is not all as far as surprises go. Because the KIKK Festival forgets nobody. For the entrepreneurs, the KIKK Market will offer a space to discover innovative projects. For the children, workshops will be available in the domains of gaming, sound tech and robotics. Finally, for the party-goers (yes, you, we know you want to groove all night long), several festive soirées combining live music, audiovisual performances and DJ sets are planned to extend the experience until sunrise. In short, a rendezvous not to be missed. Sign up quickly, because the places are going very quickly!
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