The digital arts festival DA Fest draws together in Sofia artists from the global digital scene
2023.10.16
From the 24th to the 28th of October, Sofia is again hosting the international digital arts festival DA Fest, which will allow the Bulgarian audience to get acquainted with new artistic practices and significant achievements in the field of digital arts.
For the ninth time, the festival is organised by DA LAB Foundation and the National Academy of Art, and welcomes some of the world's best names in digital arts.
The ninth edition of DA Fest includes exhibitions, performances, screenings, lectures, presentations, workshops, which will be held at 12 locations in the capital city.
"Antibiosis: The Art of Struggle and Survival" is the theme of this year's festival edition. Just as microorganisms wage battles for supremacy in their microscopic kingdoms, the artists to be presented within the festival programme delve into the intricacies of conflict, contrast and competition in human experience and surrounding environment. The programme activities are accessible to the general public and suitable for both audiences of different ages and viewers sustaining interest in contemporary arts.
About DA Fest
For 14 years now, DA Fest has been providing to the Bulgarian public the opportunity to meet live with the world stars of the digital arts scene and to see their works within the festival programme. The goal of the festival is to build audience of digital arts and to give the opportunity for a number of young Bulgarian artists, including those selected through the DA LAB e-valuation platform, to showcase themselves. The rich programme of this year's edition will take place at 12 locations. It combines lectures and workshops for artists with exhibitions, performances and concerts for the general public.
Artists
Scenocosme (Gregory Lasserre & Anais met den Ancxt)
BlackBox (5 women artists having various expertise)
DA Fest [9] screening programme presents a selection of short films at the most prestigious digital arts forum, Ars Electronica. On October 27, two of their programs - "Welcome to Planet B" and "Electronic Theater" will be hosted at the Goethe Institute. Again there can be seen the interdisciplinary installation BLACKBOX AI, which, in the form of a maze, explores gender bias in artificial intelligence. It was created as a collaboration between Anastasia Nefeli Vidaki, Lida Zaharopoulou, Mihaela Dobreva, assistant professor at the Department of Scenography of the National Academy of Arts, Thea Rukavina and Vivian Stamu, within the regional project EthicAI=Labs of the Goethe-Institut.
The rich program of DA Fest also includes 3 performances, which will be presented in the halls of CCA Toplocentrala. Flying Bodies in the Fields is a contemporary bok-o-bok dance performance for four performers and a swarm of drones exploring the disappearance of bees and the use of drones for pollination. "Immersion" is a new form of live action: an interactive and engaging electro-performance in which the audience becomes both participant and spectator. The author of the project is the French musician Verlatour, who arrived in Sofia together with his team of multimedia, code, video and lighting engineers. In the third performance of the festival, Amsterdam-based video artist Finn Borat examines death and infinity.
DA Fest [9] partners
Ministry of Culture
National Culture Fund
Sofia City Municipality – Culture Programme
Prohelvetia
Embassy of Austria
Embassy of France & French Institute in Bulgaria
Digital November Programme
Liszt Institute / Hungarian Cultural Institute,
Goethe Institute Bulgaria
EMAP
The exhibition "Akousmaflore" is realised in partnership with the French Institute in Bulgaria, and CCA Toplocentrala, and with the support of Sodexo Bulgaria.
DA Fest [9] is part of the Calendar of Cultural Events of Sofia City Municipality for 2023.
The initiative is being implemented with the support of ESTHEDERM Bulgaria, Sodexo Bulgaria, DSK Bank, Novatel, Odesos Pack Ltd, and Schwarz IT.
Gallery
