Digital Design Weekend returns on 23 and 24 September to take over the V&A, with 20 interactive exhibits, immersive experiences, demonstrations and family-friendly activities taking place around the museum.
Every year Digital Design Weekend celebrates contemporary digital art and design by offering a unique opportunity for hands-on interaction with exciting creative practice. This edition gathers 25 artists, designers and technologists for a weekend of free workshops, talks and demonstrations that explore a range of themes at the intersection of art, design and technology.
Our programme presents a series of interactive exhibits enabling you to connect through messages of hope, encouraging you to dig deep to reveal your inner strengths, or to get creative with multi-sensory fashion experiences. The festival also investigates new creative territories uncovered by artificial intelligence through playful experiments that examine issues of trust, bias, and identity.
Our highlight this year is Maya: The Birth of a Superhero, an immersive installation by Poulomi Basu and CJ Clarke, following Maya, an ordinary 21st century girl, as she transforms into a uniquely female superhero whose powers derive from menstruation. This installation calls attention to challenging questions of body autonomy and the culture of shame through a powerful coming-of-age story.
The weekend offers a huge programme of projects developed by contemporary artists and designers, including:
- Hope as an Act of Resistance: a sonic monument – a new participatory artwork by Katriona Beales that enables unexpected interactions through the shared experience of sound, physical space and the collective activity of contributing and contemplating hope
- Secret Keeper by Sian Fan, a series of video sculptures inspired by anime and 90s electronics, exploring issues of trust and intimacy in sharing personal data with digital devices
- Sensing Patterns – a wearable experience where visitors can hear and feel knitwear patterns through sound vibrations in a new interactive installation created by artist Ninon Ardisson
With the backdrop of the climate crisis, a special showcase examines non-human and multi-species ecologies through interaction design. These works invite you to connect with a fungal network, hear music from particles, watch water come to life and encourage you to imagine a new relationship with nature.
There is also plenty for young people and families to enjoy at the festival, with digital and craft drop-in activities, or workshops to create music with your own DIY synthesizer.
The Digital Design Weekend is taking place at the V&A on Saturday 23 – Sunday 24 September 2023, from 10.30 to 17.00. In addition, a preview of the festival takes place alongside Friday Late on 22 September.
Events are free and drop-in, and most exhibits are suitable for all ages.
For the full Digital Design Weekend programme click here.
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Art, tech, and social themes unite! ‘Maya’ intrigues—deep, immersive experience awaits!