The project kicked off in 2019 in Rome with a spectacular showcase of mapping projections on the Facade of the Palazzo della Farnesina.

The Italian studios selected by The Farnesina Digital Art Experience are: Antaless Visual Design, Antica Proietteria, Apparati Effimeri, FLxER, Kanaka Studio, Luca Agnani Studio, Michele Pusceddu, Monogrid, Mou Factory, Olo Creative Farm, OOOPStudio, Pixel Shapes, The Fake Factory e WöA Creative Company.

During this difficult year for all arts, the organizers set a new phase for the audiovisual arts project, turning it into an itinerant showcase of the best in the Italian audiovisual arts.

The audiovisual exhibition is the result of a collaboration between the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and the Bright Festival Connect.

Against all pandemic odds the world premiere of the expo took place in Leipzig on the 23rd of October during the Bright Festival Connect.

The exhibition in Leipzig is promoted by the Italian Cultural Institute in Berlin and will be open to the public until the 9th of May 2021.

There wasn’t a better venue to host the event than the Kunstkraftwerk in Leipzig, former power plant from the early 1900s then turned into the first digital arts German museum.

The audiovisual artists didn’t waste the creative opportunities offered by the industrial surroundings.

In fact, The Farnesina Digital Art Experience delivers a dramatic multimedia experience to the audience. A true sensorial bath featuring a 360° immersive audiovisual projection breaking all boundaries between artwork and user.

The Kunstkraftwerk will also host other immersive art pieces, interactive installations, mix-media sculptures, live performances and light art shows. The main goal is to encourage visitors to interact with new technologies and discover cutting-edge and futuristic artistic expressions .

The The Farnesina Digital Art Experience proves once more the possibilities of audience engagement offered by the audiovisual arts installations.

It also restresses how we can rethink our way of experiencing arts, while also respecting the COVID related health regulations.

Experiencing immersive arts can be done in total safety when planning has been done thoroughly and followed to the letter.

Shutting down museums and art galleries is possibly the easiest solution, but not so viable when we look at museum sustainability and cultural enrichment for the citizens.

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Barcelona is home town of many amazing audiovisual artists. It is not a coincidence our magazine has been founded there.

The city and its surroundings have always been very active since the early stages of the audiovisual culture.

Mapping World Lab features a 360° experimental approach to projection mapping.

During 10 years of activity, they have experimented with very different formats such as façade projections, indoor immersive shows, interactive installations, dance mapping and beyond.

MWL is active internationally both in the corporate and artistic world. Their main artistic mission is to transform venues and public spaces into immersive aesthetic environment through audiovisual content.

Vertical Dance Mapping

Very intriguing experiment where acrobatic vertical-dancers from SACUDE performed onto a façade projected upon by Mapping World Lab.

In order to deliver this complex show, the audiovisual artists have utilized motion graphics, VFX, 3D animations and a bespoke motion tracking tool to achieve precise synchronization with the dance’s movement.

An ambitious, gravity-defying mixed media show that didn’t fail in inspiring awe and wonder in the audience through the interaction among body, music and projection.

Interactive Projection Mapping

Based on the classic SIMON SAYS game, Mapping World Lab have developed this playful interactive audiovisual installations.

The audiovisual game has been projected onto the façade of the Sabadell council building, near Barcelona.

It consists of four large pushbuttons (green, yellow, red and blue) placed on the ground, so the player can interact with them.

The game sets a colour sequence, adding one extra colour at every turn. The player needs to repeat the exact pattern in the correct order.

The result? An highly engaging installation that connects strongly with the younger audience, by encouraging them to carry out a creative physical activity while the rest of the viewers enjoy the live show.

Body Mapping

Building facades have been utilized widely by projection mappers worldwide. What about using our own body as a live painting?

Mapping World Lab has been experimenting together with several performers to offer live audiovisual shows where the body in movement is the main expressive medium.

An alluring sensorial experience that captivates the audience and triggers an interesting dialogue between audiovisual artists and body performers.

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Maotik has produced a wide variety of audiovisual projects during his long lasting career. He is highly interested in the relationship among science, art and technology.

His aesthetic is refined, well paced and alluring. Pixel by pixel, beat by beat, Maotik builds up immersive environments where the audience gradually and seamlessly slips in.

By developing his own algorithms he is able to design unique artistic experiences where the sounds and images are intrinsically connected. Nevertheless he doesn’t seek full control over the audiovisual outcome.

Across his very different projects there is one interesting component that links them all: the inclusion of outside inputs, such as data feeds or audience interaction which are not totally under his control.

By incorporating these external inputs Maotik enriches the audiovisual experience. His polished aesthetic structure is shaken by the random elements from the outside world, making each show different from the previous one.

A mesmerizing contrast between his precise geometry-based audiovisual aesthetic and the chaos born from the random elements, that are manipulated live by the performer or by the audience.

Maotik has presented his work in various festivals around the world, such as Mutek Festival, Live Cinema in Rio, Signal Festival in Prague, the British Film Institute in London and ARS Electronica in Linz.

Maotik recently moved to Berlin where he continues his artistic research by taking part in the art residency organized between Sonar+D and Factory Berlin.

He also joined the CODE university where he works as a professor giving lectures about interactive design, generative design and AR/VR environments.

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They will share our response on social media with The Hague’s Arts Council to prove their irreplaceable role in Arts and Culture.

You can help them continue their incredible project simply by liking and commenting on their Facebook or Instagram. Find more information about the call on TodaysArt social media posts.

Hundreds of artists, partners, collaborators and people who took part or feel part of the community have already reacted to their call and shown their support.

We want to share our understanding of these extremely difficult times, and show our support. We encourage anyone who feels part of the audiovisual scene and creative arts community to like, share and comment to prevent them from disappearing.

Their efforts to create a truly international and multidisciplinary network are invaluable. We truly believe – and so do many partners and artists from all disciplines and parts of the world – that their absence would mean an irreversible damage to the beautiful audiovisual art world we have now.

Moreover, their proactive nature in creating a space for inspiration and exchange needs to be spread to improve our current social and political dynamics and the world as a whole. Supporting them means supporting artists, their diversity and representation.

TodaysArt is a global network for art and creativity based in the Hague, where their annual festival takes place. They are actively working on numerous projects and work with many partners such as other fellow festivals and cultural institutions in the World.

They are partners of projects on arts and creativity in Europe such as We are Europe (other members include Sonar or Insomnia); SHAPE platform for Sound, Heterogeneous Art and Performance in Europe (CTM festival); as well as global networks such as ICAS network of International Cities of Advanced Sound (LEV festival, MUTEK…) amongst others.

Throughout the years they have commissioned from new emerging talent to the most influential artists in audiovisual and new media art, electronic music and beyond. International artists include: NONOTAK, Memo Akten, Lisa Park, Refik Anadol, Ryoichi Kurokawa and many many more…

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The festival has been founded by a group of VJs with the goal of outreaching new audiences and promoting collaboration among audiovisual artists.

As you know we are always happy to add a new pinpoint on the Audiovisual map we have been building since 2011. Especially when it comes from a country we haven’t heard in a while from.

Aavistus Festival is the result of the joint effort of local audiovisual artists and event producers to endorse VJing as an independent art form.

Artists need events to showcase their work and for professional networking. As any ground-breaking form of art, the beginnings are tough due to the lack of dedicated events.

Vjing and audiovisual art are often misinterpreted as forms of entertainment to complement electronic music.

It is true that VJing especially, share the same breeding ground as electronic music. Nevertheless it quickly took its spot as an independent, varied and complex art form.

Aavistus Festival responds to the specific needs of the local artistic scene bringing something fresh in Helsinki and truly ambitious, considering the overall Covid scenario and restrictions to public events.

The programme includes AV live performances, VJ sets, audiovisual installations, projection mapping, workshop and panel discussions.

It will take place in multiple locations in Helsinki. Aavistus Festival organisers aim for the event to become a a truly international festival, when travel restrictions don’t stop us anymore.

From Audiovisual City all the best of luck to this new kid on the audiovisual events block!

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They craft beautiful light geometrical shapes, slowly pulling the viewer into a trance-like state. The soundscape is dense and absorbing, precise and analytical.

Their immersive environments are pervaded with a dreamy, hermetic atmosphere.

NONOTAK explore the full potential of minimal forms by combining lights and sounds to build delicate audiovisual architectures.

Instead of offering a colorful audiovisual feast, NONOTAK prefers basic structural elements slowly appearing and conquering the dark space.

We are hypnotised. We step into a dream-like state by wandering around this otherworldly and ethereal landscape, built upon three key elements: light, sound and movement.

Fascinating and mysterious, each installation leaves the viewer with an impelling feeling of wanting to know and explore more of their audiovisual art.

The studio is the result of the collaboration between the illustrator Noemi Schipfer and the architect musician Takami Nakamoto.

Commissioned by the Architect Bigoni-Mortemard to create a mural in the lobby of a public housing building in Paris, NONOTAK was created in late 2011.

In early 2013, they started to work on light and sound installations capitalizing on Takami Nakamoto’s approach to space & sound, and Noemi Schipfer’s experience in kinetic visual.

NONOTAK have been commissioned by the Mapping Festival ( GENEVA ), EM15 ELEKTRA / MUTEK ( MONTREAL ), MUTEK.JP (TOKYO), MUTEK.MX (MEXICO), MUTEK.SF (SAN FRANCISCO), MUTEK.ES (BARCELONA), la Nuit Blanche ( PARIS ), Roppongi Art night ( TOKYO ), Axcess Art Gallery ( NEW YORK ), Stereolux ( NANTES ), Playgrounds Festival ( TILBURG ), Mirage Festival ( LYON ), Vision’R, Insanitus Festival ( LITHUANIA ), FUZ Festival ( PARIS ), Lunchmeat Festival (PRAHA ), KIKK Festival ( BELGIUM ), Nokia by Lumia ( ISTANBUL ). 

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Their artwork range from audiovisual performances and new media theatre to design, interactive installations and projection mapping.

mammasONica approach to audiovisual reveals a fond social aesthetic and a strong relationship with the public space.

Their most recognized works are undoubtedly their large scale mapping projections.

mammasONica have projected onto prestigious locations such as European Parliament in Strasburg, the Atrium in Weimar, the Palace of Parliament in Bucarest, the Romisch-Germanisches Museum in Cologne, the Lancaster Caste in Lancashire.

The Italian collective has won several art awards during their busy career. In 2014 and 2015 they won the Genius Loci Weimar Competition with their TRA-DIGITAL Projection mapping onto the Anna Amalia Bibliothek and Zoetropolis on the Weimar Atrium.

mammasONica design complex AV storytelling experiences that require more than a simple look to be fully appreciated.

They are technically outstanding and conceptually advanced, leaving the viewer with thoughts and feelings that lingers way after the performance.

Their AV artwork is too dense and utterly complex to be described from a single perspective. To better grasp their meaningful aesthetic I have picked a few works sent to me by the collective:

ZOETROPOLIS

This massive 400m projection mappings has been developed for the Gauforum in Weimar in the frame of the Genius Loci Weimar festival.

The building is a symbol of the dystopian Nazi society. The painful human odyssey has been brilliantly transposed by the creative studio, within a dark and unsettling storytelling.

As many other works of the collective, it incorporates a clever fusion of different techniques such as 3D Animation and Stop-Motion.

A superb immersive audiovisual work, triggering historical reflection through a mesmerizing visual impact.

‘KHOR

Very different from the dystopian storytelling of Zoetropolis, ‘KHOR features a beautifully crafted representation of the natural elements.

The main protagonist of this abstract storytelling is the ever-flowing energy that animates the static structure Palace of Parliament in Romania.

Matter and antimatter, light and darkness, hyperbolic fractals and invisible quantic forces. The space boundaries are fragmented leaving the spectators dumbfounded and lost in this constant flow of light.

PLANAR.S & FRAME.S

A very playful light installation engaging with audience of all age. An irrefutable prove of how versatile mammasONica are. And how diverse is their audiovisual narrative.

The light shapes reinvent the urban fabric by engaging with the passer-by and dematerialising the space of predesignated trajectories.

They are placed within the urban fabric to open a dialogue with the public; like a metaphor, where our relationships are filtered through perception and construction.

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The overwhelming beauty of data visualization. Our world evolves at staggering speed. With it the gathering and processing of the new world currency: the data.

The importance of the audiovisual data visualization resides in the sensorial connection with the audience.

Ouchhh are absolute master of the data-visualization technique. They create awe-inspiring aesthetic representation of data through audiovisual technologies.

Their installations and data sculptures draw the complexity of big data closer to the audience, by converting it into mesmerizing audiovisual experiences.

Reading through data only provides us with a two-dimensional hint of the information landscape we live in. Through the work of the audiovisual artists, the data is turned into a meaningful immersive environment.

By experiencing this environment, we can just about grasp the scale of the information that rig our hybrid world. And we let ourselves go into the shockingly beautiful universe of data.

Ouchhh always manages to balance the big data complex analysis with the delivery of a stunning audiovisual experience to the audience.

The studio integrates art, science, and technology in every work they create. A multidisciplinary creative hub focused on new media platforms, offering direction and art direction and also producing video mapping projections.

Skilled in animation, design, illustration, 3D, 2D, interactivity, interaction, and live-action -and seamlessly combining some or all of these- OUCHHH considers each project as a challenge and takes a fresh and unique approach to each other.

They have an office in Istanbul, and partnerships in L.A., Vienna, Barcelona, Paris, and Berlin.

Ouchhh has created the “POETIC AI” Solo Exhibition at Atelier des Lumières, the largest AI exhibition using 50K pixels and 136 projectors. One million people visited the exhibition!

The studio worked with many brands such as Google, Cern, Nike, Wired, their collaborators transcend all industries and all continents.

Their works have received multiple accolades and awards in the international arena. Ouchhh has been featured at Ars Electronica 4 times and will be attending for the 5th time this year.

They became Istanbul’s first new media agency to win Reddot design awards, German Design Award, 10th Annual IDA Awards (The International Design Awards) and ADC Awards ( The Art Directors Club), in addition to an Honorable Mention from the City University of Hong Kong.

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The CITIC Press Lightening Selection is a China based open call for the discovery and support of outstanding audiovisual artists.

The selection aims at showcasing amazing new media based artwork to the public. The art award focuses on light-based art and its professional and academic development: “Everything in sight is light”

The initiative is run by CITIC Press Multimedia Lab and MANA Global New Media Art Platform.

It features partnerships with internationally renowned institutions as Elektra Festival and The Montreal Digital Art Biennal.

The CPML is a research institute for multimedia art created by CITIC Press Group, publishing company based in Beijing, China. While MANA is a platform for the promotion of new media arts based in Shangai.

We praise the organizers for developing an open call as a specific response to the COVID-19 art crisis. At the current state only the Award Ceremony has been planned to go ahead in October 2020. If restrictions ease down more exhibitions and events will be planned.

The jury is made by international academic researchers, artists and curators. The ultimate goal of the selection is to build a platform for communication, mutual learning and collaboration among audiovisual artists.

The CITIC Press Lightening Selection features different categories and many awards. The categories include projection mapping, immersive and interactive experiences, light installations, video art and outdoor works using natural sunlight. Here a list of the awards:

Lightening Award: 1 Prize worth 100.00RMB

Individual Awards: 7 prizes worth 20.000RMB each plus 21 nominations worth 3.000RMB each.

Emerging Talent Awards: 7 prizes worth 10.000RMB each plus 21 nominations worth 1.000RMB each.

Best Popularity Awards: 1 Prize worth 10.00RMB

The artwork requirements to apply are the following:

– Video example of the artwork (min 1280*720 px, MP4/MOV)

– 3 images of the artwork (min 1280*720 px)

– Description of the artwork, MAX 1000 words

Candidates applying for the emerging award will need to submit the certificate of studies, as it’s exclusively dedicated to students.

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At Audiovisual City, we are always interested to know more about audiovisual artists balancing their career, between sales-driven corporate events and artistic experimentation.

INTUS approach to audiovisual is wide open. They are constantly on the lookout for new tools and experiments. Nevertheless their forte is definitely the creation of immersive and interactive environments.

We asked a few questions to dig deeper into their background, techniques and what’s cooking up in the near future.

1. Can you tell us about the history and concept behind the foundation of the audiovisual studio INTUS?

INTUS means “intuition” in Latin, inner search and it is related to thought as self-knowledge. Since its inception INTUS has been interested in the positive development of intuition and self-knowledge through new technologies.

We need to seek in art and technology the way to bring ourselves back to our inner cosmos, utilizing technology for the positive development of human values. 

2. INTUS is internationally renowned for its immersive and interactive audiovisual experiences. Can you give us some insights about your creative process when approaching a client’s brief?

Hey thank you very much. Generally the first thing we do is ask a lot of questions, most of the time the client himself does not know what he wants as a final outcome and it is important to discover it through questions. 

We carry out a process similar to Socrates mayeutica, both towards ourselves and the client in order to arrive at an idea that we intuit will be successful.

For us, the creative process must be linked to intuition and feeling. Brainstorming should always take us to a pleasant place. 

When we find a place where the client and us feel good, that is where we carry out a process of architecture of the experience.

We tried from the beginning to incorporate real-time tools for prototypes and pre-visualization to have software architectures that will work for us in the final installation.

3. During the years, INTUS has built an impressive portfolio of both artistic and corporate projects. In your opinion, which are the main differences in the approach and realization between corporate and artistic projects? 

Thanks so much, we appreciate your feedback a lot.  Creatively there are many differences. Commercial projects will always be tied to the same discourse that is to sell, but in terms of selling the projects or executing them I think they are quite similar.

I think it helps a lot to have knowledge of commercial projects to be able to sell and better execute your artistic works.

4. In addition to the audiovisual installation work, you have developed innovative softwares for Natural User Interfaces. Can you tell us a bit more about this type of work and what you have achieved so far?

We develop our own systems for immersive or interactive installations. For example we have developed our own multi-gpu system for immersive projections, calibration systems for Lidars, laser mapping calibration systems and many other custom projects we have for private clients.

5. Your works feature a high complexity and impeccable technical development. What are your preferred tools to work with and why?

Thank you very much. Our main tools in the studio are TouchDesigner for systems development, Notch for real-time visuals development, Unreal for virtual and augmented reality application and Unity for game development. 

6. What do you consider is the biggest achievement in your career? What are you most proud of?

Good question, I had not thought of it.  Perhaps it is the experience we have acquired through the years. I think that our experience combined with our mistakes is what brought us where we are today, by teaching us to constantly improve ourselves. 

7. What shall we expect from your future projects? Are you currently working on something you would like to share?

We are adding a new service to our portfolio that we are calling InSpace. InSpace is a multidisciplinary space dedicated to audiovisual communication.

It specializes in multimedia installations and interactive spaces for hybrid encounters with comprehensive support in production, programming and design. Here more info.

Also we released a new platform for workshops where we are offering teaching activities related to the industry.

Despite the current situation, we consider ourselves lucky as we have more projects coming up on our radar, but we cannot talk much about them.

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