transmediale 2025: (near) near but — far

The 38th edition of transmediale takes place from 29 January to 2 February 2025 in Berlin. Centred on the theme “(near) near but — far”, the festival explores how digital systems mediate proximity, creating artificial closeness while reshaping relationships, labour, and politics. Through performances, lectures, installations, and films, it examines the human cost of algorithmic connections and asks how technology might foster more meaningful relations.

Curators Ben Evans James and Elise Misao Hunchuck lead the programme with contributions from artists Nina Davies, Eugene Yiu Nam Cheung, and Ren Loren Britton. Long-standing partners include Winchester School of Art, Digital Aesthetics Research Centre, and universities in Vienna and Potsdam.

Theme
Algorithms create strange proximities: ASMR performers whisper through screens, e-girls sell intimacy, and robots serve drinks. These connections blur the lines between closeness and distance, shifting how we experience humanity. The festival unpacks how technology alters intimacy, challenging the binary of near and far. It asks how technologies might respond to collective discontent and help reimagine our relationships.

Highlights
Installations: Artists explore proximity and distance in public spaces at HKW.

Dark Adaptation by Felicity Hammond investigates how autonomous vehicles fail to ‘see’ human rhythms.
Hana Yoo’s Sheep Balloon reflects on propaganda and play through border tensions and balloon imagery.
Performances:

Lindsey A. Freeman leads a running club connecting festival events across Berlin.
Samra Mayanja’s DEAD DAD DEATH CULT examines empathy within institutions.
Bhenji Ra, Tati au Miel, and SUUTOO’s UNTITLED (iii) explores myths and liberation.
Nina Davies and 2girls1comp reimagine TikTok dance trends within gaming.
Film Programme: Short films and live events explore themes of intimacy, distance, and movement. Featured artists include Bhenji Ra, Lého Galibert-Laîné, Alex Martinis Roe, Basir Mahmood, and 2girls1comp.

transmediale x CTM: Evening programmes feature AI-driven audiovisual works by Portrait XO, Rick Farin & Actual Objects, and more.

Artists: Olga Goriunova, Laura Kurgan, Nelly Y. Pinkrah, Federico Campagna, Shaka McGlotten, Ranjodh Singh Dhaliwal, Mercedes Bunz, DeForrest Brown Jr., Cait McKinney, Alex Martinis Roe, Lindsey A. Freeman, David Isaac Hecht, Anna Engelhardt, Thomas Keenan, and Ren Loren Britton.

Prologue at silent green
Workshops on protest documentation, somatic design, and open-source research take place on 29–30 January, concluding with the public opening on 30 January. Ali Akbar Mehta’s Purgatory EDIT installation runs throughout the festival, reflecting on violence and trauma through a vast media archive.