The first edition of the Sonic Acts festival took place in 1994. Over the years, it has established itself as a thematic festival with a strong focus on contemporary and historical developments at the intersections of art, science, music and technology. Each festival edition explores the chosen theme by means of an international conference, a wide range of concerts and performances, exhibitions and screenings, and covers a great variety of fields, practices and disciplines.
Sonic Acts Academy 2020
Academy 2020 took its cue from inspiring artistic research with a special emphasis on experimentation and innovation. Informed by the urgency of the climate crisis and approaches to new futures, the Academy was an open invitation to listen, talk and learn with one another, fuelled by over 50 of the most exciting contemporary artists and thinkers from around the globe. 2020.sonicacts.com
Sonic Acts Festival 2019 – Hereafter
Under the title Hereafter, Sonic Acts explored the genesis of our current crisis by reflecting on the issues we are forced to confront on a daily basis: the inequalities caused by colonisation and geostrategic manoeuvring, the challenges brought forth by immigration and the climate crisis, and the way technological advancements disrupt and not emancipate. 2019.sonicacts.com
Sonic Acts Academy 2018
Sonic Acts Academy 2018 was a platform for investigation, speculation, and reflection, focusing on educational practices and the critical examination of knowledge production in the field of art. By expanding artistic experience into an academy of engagement and exchange, it offered both a playground and a radical syllabus at odds with institutionalised learning. sonicacts.com/2018
Sonic Acts Festival 2017 – The Noise of Being
The Noise of Being strived for a (de-)alignment of actors: humankind, Earth, technology and all other beings, by means of several strategies: de-colonising thought, de-normalisation, de-capitalisation, the inversing of time, creating cracks, and imaginative speculation – a chance to speculate about the strange and anxious state of being. sonicacts.com/2017
Sonic Acts Academy 2016
Sonic Acts Academy 2016 highlighted artistic engagement as vital to understanding the complexities of our contemporary world. Over the course of three days, artists presented work that challenged the sterile dichotomy of theory versus practice. Following an open and dynamic format, the Academy positioned art as a unique means of knowledge production. sonicacts.com/2016
Sonic Acts Festival 2015 – The Geologic Imagination
The Geologic Imagination examined how art and science map and document new insights, and how the changes and transformations that occur on a geological scale can become something humans can feel, touch, and experience. Sonic Acts invited artists and theorists to reflect on these transformations and make them imaginable. sonicacts.com/2015
Sonic Acts Festival 2013 – The Dark Universe
For The Dark Universe, Sonic Acts brought together scientists, artists, theorists, musicians and composers. They investigated how to make the invisible imaginable, taught us how to embrace the unknown, and guided us through the dark universe. The festival contained experiments with projections, sound generation and ‘expanded’ experiences to enhance the senses. sonicacts.com/2013 Download the programme brochures of the previous editions: 2020 - Sonic Acts Academy 2020 2019 - Hereafter 2018 - Sonic Acts Academy 2018 2017 - The Noise of Being 2016 - Sonic Acts Academy 2015 - The Geologic Imagination 2013 - The Dark Universe 2012 - Travelling Time 2010 - The Poetics of Space 2008 - The Cinematic Experience 2006 - The Anthology of Computer Art 2004 - Unsorted 2003 - Sonic Light 2001 - Point Pixel Programming 2000 - Sonic Acts 2000 1999 - Sonic Acts VI 1998 - Sonic Acts V 1997 - Sonic Acts IV 1996 - Sonic Acts III 1995 - Sonic Acts II 1994 - Sonic Acts I
