In a society ruled by algorithms, data is always at play. 

From 3 to 7 February CTM's sister festival, transmediale 2016 reboots itself with a new performative and participatory format for its 29th edition. With the Conversation Piece title, the event creates an intensive space of exchanges, murmurs, and transitions, with dialogues initiated before the event and continued afterwards. Rather than a monothematic festival with static exhibition and programme structures, artistic and research practice will unfold live through discussions, lectures, workshops, temporary installations, and various experimental hybrid formats.

The Conversation Piece borrows its name from a painting genre that emerged in the eighteenth century depicting idealized scenes of groups of people interacting in everyday life. The term has evolved to mean any object that ignites conversation – a prop that prompts an exchange of ideas. transmediale 2016 likewise aims to provide the conditions for a reflection on "idealized" aspects of contemporary life under digital capitalism. What activities and behaviors have become compulsory for cultural production and participation today? How do we face up to the anxieties that have emerged in tandem with those compulsions?

Taking place at the iconic House of World Cultures, a dense programme of conferences, screenings, workshops and performances – some of which presented in collaboration with CTM – invite visitors for critical debate and exchange.

Starting 15 January, Vorspiel 2016 is a joint effort by transmediale and CTM to create and strengthen the network and scene of cultural actors and institutions in Berlin. More than 30 project spaces, galleries and institutions that engage with digital art & culture and experimental sounds & music create a distributed programme of exhibitions, performances, concerts, presentations and other formats.

See the ticket section for joint transmediale and CTM passes, that give access to the events of both festivals.