1st Edition of PERCEPTIONS. New Forms of Art November–December 2024
PERCEPTIONS. New Forms of Art
is a unique artistic event that transports theatre into a new dimension—where art meets technology and traditional forms are transformed by digital tools.
The festival showcases innovative theatrical and performative works that incorporate cutting-edge technologies such as augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), artificial intelligence, 3D projections, and interactive installations. These tools make it possible to create visual worlds beyond imagination—worlds where the spectator becomes a participant and sensory perception reaches new levels of depth.
PERCEPTIONS is a space for experimentation and creative courage. We aim to expand the boundaries of perception, break away from conventional patterns, and introduce new languages of artistic communication. We ask questions about the future of theatre in the digital age and provoke reflection on how technology can not only support but also radically reshape the creative process.
Here, new technologies are not merely instruments—they become co-creators of artistic expression. They amplify emotion, intensify experience, and deconstruct space and time, opening audiences to previously unknown ways of engaging with art. Through this fusion, theatre can resonate more deeply, impact more powerfully, and transcend physical and mental boundaries.
Step into a world where art and technology create a new universe of sensory and intellectual experience. PERCEPTIONS. New Forms of Art is more than a festival—it’s a laboratory for the future of theatre.
The upcoming, second edition of the festival is planned for September 2025.
1st Edition of PERCEPTIONS. New Forms of Art
November–December 2024
The first edition of the PERCEPTIONS. New Forms of Art festival took place in Lublin in November and December 2024, opening a space for artistic experiments at the intersection of theatre, technology, and science. The event showcased innovative forms of expression that, through digital tools such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, 3D graphics, and networked media, expand audience perception and redefine the contemporary stage experience.
The “ICONS” exhibition by the panGenerator collective was an interactive exploration of digital everyday rituals—from iconic user interfaces to the illusion of agency offered by our habitual gestures toward technology.
The performance “Possible Worlds” by Teatr Kana, full of irony and pop culture references, portrayed humanity trapped in a global escape room, guided by AI and struggling to regain control over its own reality.
“CO(*)NNECTION. 2201: A Socio-Political Odyssey” by Teatr Potem-o-tem was a futuristic story about the decline of humanity in an automated world. Its reverse narrative—from the year 2201 back to the present—revealed the processes that led to technological dominance.
In the immersive experience “NO-ONE SHOW” by Jerzy Bielski and Teatr Futurists, viewers were plunged into virtual, algorithmic worlds where the human being confronts questions of identity and existence in a reality dominated by artificial intelligence.
The PERCEPTIONS festival presented not only new means of artistic expression but also new ways of thinking about art, humanity, and the future.
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Performances presented during the first edition:
“The Possible Worlds” / directed by Krzysztof Popiołek / Teatr Kana / performance – Sunday / November 10 / 7:00 PM / TVP Lublin Studio
“The Possible Worlds”
We live at the beginning of the cosmic era. We are the witnesses to the great change. Surrounded by the spate of media reports about the war, helpless in the face of the crisis of imagination and the lack of the adequate narrations, we try to recognize possible variants and tell the story anew – to find a way to forget the fears of the modernity, at least for a moment, to regain agency and influence the course of the events. Is it still possible to think this world differently?
Four representants of the human species guided by the AI, takes the final showdown: everything is at stake, action takes place on the Planet Earth, this bizarre escape room…
The performance consists of surprising plot twists, plays with convention, dialogue with pop culture, bitter irony and dark humor. The monologues are intertwined with group scenes in which movement, singing, dancing, fun and music are dominant. While, everything is leading to a surprising finale. ‘I hope that the next planet won’t let to beat itself like this’ says one of the characters.
Creators:
Script and Direction: Krzysztof Popiołek
Set Design: Anna Wołoszczuk
Costume Design: Piotr Popiołek
Music Arrangement: Krzysztof Popiołek
Assistant Director: Bibianna Chimiak
Set Design Assistant: Anna Kolanecka
Cast:
Bibianna Chimiak, Karolina Sabat, Dariusz Mikuła, Piotr Starzyński
with a special appearance by Nita Starzyńska
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“CO(*)NNECTIVITY. 2201: A Socio-Political Odyssey” / directed by Marcin Zbyszyński / Teatr Potem o tem / performance – Thursday / December 19 / 6:00 PM / Labirynt Gallery
“CO(*)NNECTIVITY. 2201: A Socio-Political Odyssey”
A science fiction performance telling the story of one family across six future generations.
The journey begins with a generation coming of age in the year 2201. Life on Earth at that time is difficult to comprehend, as it bears little resemblance to the world we know today. With each successive scene, we move backward in time, gradually uncovering the events and processes that forced humanity to live under a system called “Co(*)nnectivity.”
Can a GPS malfunction lead to extinction? Why would an operating system be allowed to match people into perfect couples? Is humanity’s infertility really a problem? And how does one remain human in a world where humans no longer exist?
To these – and many other trivial questions – Potem-o-tem will respond without hesitation…
WARNING: The performance contains strobe lighting.
Part Two of the performance takes place outdoors. Please take this into consideration when choosing your evening attire.
Creators:
Script and Direction: Marcin Zbyszyński
Set Design: Joanna Załęska
Music: Filip Grycmacher
Costume Design: Irma Tylor
Choreography: Natalia Kielan
Video / Lighting: darek Redo
Sound Design: Ernest Grabowski
Graphic Design: Stefania Michera
Production Management: Marta Kozłowska, Joanna Młynarska
Cast:
Filip Kosior, Ewa Jakubowicz, Norma Ilnicka, Anna Mrozowska, Agata Różycka
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“I C O N S” / panGenerator / exhibition – November 16 to December 15, 2024 / Dominican Monastery, Złota 9 Street
“I C O N S”
Icons – a set of symbols transposing the impenetrable intricacies of digital processes onto a territory accessible to our, still very much Neolithic, minds. By dragging a text file to trash, we succumb to a useful illusion. Truth be told, nothing is in transit: the trash can does not exist; even the text file does not constitute any cohesive physical entity inside any hardware. However, by performing this codified, ritual-driven dance of clicks, taps, and swipes, we conjure digital processes to bring about a happy turn of events.
Our exhibition takes a closer look at our shared cultural “imaginarium” of digital gestures, symbols, and artefacts, dragging them out onto a physical space, enabling audiences a direct, tactile confrontation and – also literally – a different visual perspective. We dispose of the illusive permanence of digital archives, transforming a selfie into a heap of gravel. We ask: “How much of our attention do we make an offering to tech corporations, succumbing to the ritual of ceaseless scrolling?” We perform an act of iconoclasm, deconstructing the cult, iconic Nokia 3310 – the gateway drug of our present-day smartphone intoxication. We place digital icons within baroque frames, depicting emotions associated with them. Paused by our gaze, the progress bar is our way of asking whether technological advancement goes hand in hand with the rejection of magical thinking…
About panGenerator
panGenerator is an art collective working in the field of new media art, founded in 2010 by Piotr Barszczewski, Krzysztof Cybulski, Krzysztof Goliński, and Jakub Koźniewski. Over the years, the group has created a wide range of unique projects that explore new technologies as a medium for crafting new forms of expression and communication with audiences.
Their works are characterized by a fusion of the world of bits and the world of atoms—bridging the physical and tangible with the ephemeral and digital. In contrast to much of contemporary art, which is often hermetic and alienating to the viewer, panGenerator creates objects and artistic situations with a “user-friendly interface”—engaging and open to interactive dialogue with the audience.
Operating at the intersection of art, design, and engineering, the collective produces large-scale interactive installations for cultural institutions and festivals, as well as experimental music interfaces and purely speculative or critical art objects.
Beyond their creative work, the members of panGenerator have, from the very beginning, been actively involved in numerous educational initiatives focused on the creative use of new media—leading workshops both in Poland and around the globe. In recent years, they have also co-led the country’s first postgraduate program in Creative Coding, offered through the School of Form.
panGenerator has presented its works in galleries, festivals, and exhibitions worldwide, including: Ars Electronica, SXSW, ZKM Karlsruhe, Dutch Design Week, Milan Design Week, Athens Digital Art Festival, LPM, Warsaw Autumn, WRO Media Art Biennale, Łódź Design, Pause Fest Melbourne, Node Festival, Design Museum Holon, PrintScreen Festival, nuit numérique @ Saint-Ex Reims, Festiwal Przemiany, European Culture Congress, Art+bits Festival, Patchlab, Galeria Kordegarda, Galeria 2.0, Kultura 2.0, KODY Festival…
Among the group’s numerous accolades are: an Honorary Mention at Ars Electronica, a Lumen Prize shortlist, a Cannes Golden Lion, and Polityka’s Passport Award in the category of Digital Culture.
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“NO-ONE SHOW” / directed by Jerzy Bielski / Teatr Futurists / performances – December 20 / 6:00 PM / 8:30 PM / 11:00 PM / Labirynt Gallery
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No-One Show VR 360 (an immersive musical-theatrical experience)
No-One Show takes the audience on a virtual, audiovisual journey through a world dominated by systems of algorithms and code, in search of the essence of humanity. In an age of artificial intelligence, omnipresent internet bots, and algorithms that communicate with us, shape our search results, social media feeds, and influence our access to information—and thus our worldview—can the artist still be a vital part of live performance? Or has technology already surpassed us even in this deeply human domain?
Moreover, how independent can such an “android” performer be from its creator or programmer? Could it ever break free—or even more intriguingly—multiply into several entities, simultaneously engaging in (artistic) dialogue with one another? How would they communicate with us, and what kind of communication would that be?
No-One Show allows the viewer to immerse themselves in semi-virtual parallel realities and witness a life-and-death battle between humans and artificial intelligence. Join Jerzy Bielski and the other Futurists: filmmaker (VR 360) Thomas Brand and sound artist/audio-visual programmer Tatiana Rosa, on a mission to save the human soul.
Composer and interdisciplinary creator Jerzy Bielski has been redefining the fusion of music, theatre, and installation for years with his group, Futurists. In No-One Show, there are no performers on stage. This innovative live event/film, partially generated by artificial intelligence, challenges the audience to reflect on the meaning of humanity in a technology-dominated 21st century.
Note: The VR film includes strobe lighting and the performance features loud music. Limited seating available.
Photo galery: https://rozdroza.com/galeria/percepcje-festiwal-1-edycja/
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