“Híbrides” is a three-day biennial organized by the Axolot.cat collective, in collaboration with the DARTS (Design, Art, Technology, and Society) research group at the UOC (Open University of Catalonia), with the aim of promoting the creation of an artistic community that shares concerns regarding the critical use of technological tools and methodologies in their research, practices, and contexts.

Through lectures, experimental performances, concerts, and art installations, the biennial offers a space for collective reflection where small-scale databases and embodied experiences serve as critical methodologies in addressing the ethical, sustainability, hegemony, and privacy debates surrounding various digital and artificial intelligence technologies.

The program of activities is organized through an open call, complemented by a curatorial selection of artists and thinkers related with two guiding concepts:

Small Data Sets

Data is a socio-technical construct: we define what to measure and collect data mediated by existing technologies. Data is, therefore, defined by a prior intention regarding what to measure and for what purpose. For us, small data involves defining, from the perspective of an individual or a community, what things one wishes to measure, for what purpose, and which algorithms or methodologies will be used, and then collecting the data while observing the mediation of technology.

Embodiment

The body as theme and as expressive medium, opens up diverse perspectives on subjectivity and identity. This strand is interested in works that explore bodily experience in relation to technology, and the socio-technical conditions that shape contemporary life, examining how we relate to, resist, or are transformed by the technologies we use and inhabit. How do critical reflections on identity emerge at the intersection of body and technology? How do embodied and technological artistic practices engage with, or challenge, the broader socio-technical systems around us?

The first edition was held in November 2024 and you can visit the website and documentation here: 2024-hibrides.axolot.cat

The second edition will take place from November 26 to 28, 2026. More info: hibrides.axolot.cat

The open call for this year’s edition will open during May 2026.

Stay tuned!