Exploring the themes and ideas that define our present and near future, Sónar+D presents an exciting program of talks, workshops and demonstrations featuring leading artists, scientists, businesses, researchers, creators and curators across all disciplines.

Joining the worlds of music, technology and film, Laurent Garnier will appear in conversation with lauded Spanish director J. A. Bayona, discussing the documentary Laurent Garnier: Off the Record, prior to its screening at the In-Edit film festival.

Elsewhere, this year’s program explores  themes such as World Building and how we imagine the future world, from the perspectives of sustainability, technology, fiction, design, and, of course, art.

Algorithms and data keep on being a source of inspiration, providing the fabric for digital creativity, and leading to this year’s focus on creative coding and artificial intelligence.  
We will visit new worlds together with the artists that are creating new digital imaginaries, exploring landscapes, imagining bodies, virtual worlds and metaverses.

The program will cross the lines between science, art and technology, while establishing a dialogue between Neuroscience, sustainability and architecture  to design spaces (virtual or real) through interdisciplinary collaboration.
And beyond crypto platforms, we will discover the spaces where the new opportunities for creators reside, and we will explore the good, the bad, and the ugly about the new digital economies.
 

Speakers and participants

Speaking, engaging and contributing on these and more topics will be: Casey Reas, artist, professor and co-founder of Processing, a key tool for digital creativity; Tega Brain, artist, teacher and environmental engineer; Caroline Sinders, artist, and researcher specialising in design and machine learning; Filip Custic, a multidisciplinary artist whose work spans photography, sculpture and performance, he is best known for the visual design of Rosalia’s “El Mal Querer”; Anna Carreras, engineer, artist and creative coder, known for her generative artworks; Joana Moll, artist-researcher whose work explores techno capitalist narratives; Lalin Akalan, curator and and creative director specialising in creative technologies; Beatrice de Gelder, neuroscientist, known for her research on facial and body recognition; Mel Slater, researcher in virtual reality and clinical psychology, and a pioneer in the field of immersive technology; Manuel Cirauqui, director of Eina / Idea, curator and writer; Elena Bartomeu, designer, professor and researcher; Albert Barqué-Duran, digital artist and researcher, and many more.
 

Workshops

This year, Sónar+D has a series of “on-demand” workshops that allow you to introduce yourself to different practical aspects of creativity: design, visuals, músic, creative coding and machine learning, among others.

Creators platform Patreon, will present a workshop with experimental musician Hainbach and a video capsule submitted by multidisciplinary 3D artist Vincent Schwenk. Both workshops will showcase the creative processes between their work, with a focus on how Patreon supports them on their creative journey and allows them to connect with their audiences to build a meaningful connection.  

The world of NFTs will also be explored with two workshops: one offered by  the music school EUMES focused on music production and the creator economy with an NFT masterclass, and one focused on visual arts by the artist and researcher Albert Barqué-Duran.

Continuing in the field of audiovisual innovation is the workshop presented by BAU Escola de disseny de Barcelona and Mónica Rikic with the aim of breaking the universal perception of technological development imposed by western culture throughout an experience in which we will live together with the machine its own existential crisis.
The artist and creative director Florence To will also present a workshop focusing on visual
design.

Introducing more digital tools for DJ’s and music fans Beatport will present a workshop on LINK, a new subscription streaming service that lets you access and stream the entire Beatport catalogue, with Head of Product Laren Agius.

Biohacking will also be explored with a creative focus with a workshop by the biocomputation specialist Nuria Conde.
 

SonarHub

Interact with the latest developments in creative technology.

SonarHub acts as the perfect showcase for new to market prototypes or projects to do with sound, music, media art, VR and AR, design and digital creation or science. Running in parallel to the activities on both days of the event, SonarHub is a space for networking, experimentation and getting face to face with the latest innovations. Among the creative projects to be showcased:

SYNX a VR instalation that reflects on urban complexity in the near future. The installation, and it’s accompanying talk is an intiative of Mindspaces, a S+T+ARTS Lighthouse project created under the artistic direction of Eina Idea and in collaboration with Fundamental Research-Maastricht University, Zaha Hadid Architects and the Hellas Center of Investigation and Technology.

The design college of Barcelona BAU, presenting a new project created by students for Sónar CCCB and 2 projects from IED- Instituto Europeo Design made by students from the Barcelona and Milan campus


Tickets for the event are available here.