Digital Cosmos

Hartwig Art Foundation presents Digital Cosmos, a two-day forum at De Thomas, Amsterdam on 21–22 November 2025. The event will critically examine the role of art amid the rapid rise of artificial intelligence and its planetary transformation. Keynote speakers include Holly Herndon, Yuk Hui, john gerrard, Marina Otero and Benjamin Bratton. With contributions from Xin Liu, Cory Arcangel, Thandi Loewenson, Michael Connor, Victoria Ivanova, Nolan Oswald Dennis, LAS, Lukas Likavčan, Metahaven, Bahar Noorizadeh, and Nestor Siré. See full programme below. 

Digital Cosmos explores the current, unprecedented moment in time, in which artificial intelligence has diversified into a myriad of forms and applications, both inside our devices and in the world around us. It is evolving so rapidly that we might already be living in an ‘extended reality’, a cosmos of hybrid spaces and life forms. This extended reality is only possible because of a planetary network of supercomputers and countless data centers that store the digital remnants of human memory on which AI is trained, consuming vast amounts of energy and water. 

This two-day event brings together visionary artists, thinkers, and technologists to collectively navigate the convergences of artificial intelligence, life and art and explore key questions: What happens when life, intelligence, and technology become indistinguishable? How do artistic practices engage with the ethical, social, and environmental implications of artificial intelligence? And how can cultural institutions collaborate with technologists to build a sustainable digital art infrastructure as a shared resource?

Please note: tickets are sold out, and the waiting list is now closed. The screening programme at Hartwig Proxy (Parnassusweg 213) is accessible for free without a ticket. Visit on Saturday, 22 November (11:00–22:30) and Sunday, 23 November (11:00–17:00)

Friday 21 November 2025: 

At Thomaskerk:

• 8:10 PM – 8:30 PM: Welcome by Beatrix Ruf and introduction by Memory Gems 

• 8:30 PM – 9:20 PM: Holly Herndon talk with listening session 

• 9:20 PM –  9:50 PM: Discussion and Q&A (moderated by Leonardo Dellanoce) 

• 9:50 PM – 10:00 PM: Conclusion 

Saturday 22 November 2025: 

At Thomaskerk:

• 10:00 AM – 10:20 AM: Welcome by Beatrix Ruf and introduction by Memory Gems  

• 10:20 AM – 11:00 AM: Keynote talk by Yuk Hui

• 11:00 AM – 12:10 PM: Keynote talk by Marina Otero, lecture performance with Thandi Loewenson and conversation (moderated Arthur Steiner)  

• 12:10 PM – 12:50 PM: Cory Arcangel in conversation with Margarita Osipian 

• 12:50 PM –  1:30 PM: Lunch break

• 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM: Panel Talks by Nolan Oswald Dennis, Lukáš Likavčan and Xin Liu (moderated by Leonardo Dellanoce) 

• 2:30 PM – 3:05 PM: Keynote talk by john gerrard  

• 3:05 PM – 3:25 PM: Break (20 min) 

• 3:25 PM – 4:05 PM: Panel Talks by Nestor Siré and Bahar Noorizadeh (moderated by Emily Pethick) 

• 4:05 PM – 4:50 PM: Keynote talk by Benjamin Bratton (digital)

• 4:50 PM – 5:10 PM: Break (20 min) 

• 5:10 PM – 5:50 PM: Metahaven in conversation with Amira Gad   

• 5:50 PM – 6:50 PM: Panel Talks by LAS, Victoria Ivanova and Michael Connor (moderated by José Luis de Vicente) 

• 6:50 PM – 7:00 PM: Outro and goodbye by Memory Gems  

At Hartwig Proxy (Parnassusweg 213):

• 11:00 AM – 10:30 PM: Screening programme with works by Bahar Noorizadeh, Holly Herndon, john gerrard, Metahaven, Nestor Siré and Xin Liu. Also on Sunday 23 November 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM (free of charge)

• 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM: Becoming Brainrot workshop (sold-out)

Screening programme at Hartwig Proxy

A selection of video works by artists Bahar Noorizadeh, Holly Herndon & Mat Dryhurst, john gerrard, Metahaven, Nestor Siré and Xin Liu will be on show at Hartwig Proxy (Parnassusweg 213) on Saturday 22 November (until 10:30 PM) in the evening and Sunday 23 November (11:00 AM – 5:00 PM). Entry to the screening programme is free of charge.

More information about the workshops

Workshop Becoming Brainrot by Lilian Stolk (The Hmm) — Public
The Becoming Brainrot workshop offers a hopeful look at meme culture's future, reframing the rapid spread of absurd, AIgenerated content not as mere 'slop,' but as a powerful, internet-native folklore. Inspired by its pushback against algorithmic efficiency, this session will explore how collective, AI-enabled world-building creates community through shared, emotional weirdness. Participants will move from critical reflection to hands-on practice, generating and physically assembling their own brainrot figures to collectively expand an emerging digital universe. Sold-out.

Workshop Building the Civic Art Stack by Arthur Steiner, Leonardo Dellanoce (Memory Gems) and Ben Cerveny (Foundation for Public Code) — Invitation Only
This invitation-only workshop convenes key players—artists, public code stewards, and infrastructure builders—to collaboratively prototype the civic art stack: a new model for open digital cultural infrastructure as a shared public resource. The discussion focuses on challenging the proprietary layers that dominate digital public space, particularly those controlled by major corporate players. Instead, the group will explore an alternative conceptualization where cultural institutions define and emit open information platforms, focusing on new governance, funding, and collaboration models essential for a future-proof, civic-minded digital ecosystem.

Five-year research journey

In 2023, Hartwig Art Foundation embarked on a five-year research journey exploring how virtual technologies—like AI, VR, AR, game engines, blockchain, metaverse tech and more—are reshaping the cultural landscape and how artists and cultural institutions can critically engage with these developments. 

The aim of this journey was to bring together a community of practice—artists, technologists, and cultural institutions—through research, workshops, and events. In 2023, the first international conference, Art in the Age of the Metaverse, took place at de Balie in collaboration with Rijksakademie. During the event, we charted unexplored frontiers in art and digital technology together with experts like Ian Cheng, Micaela Mantegna, Trevor McFedries, Marina Otero, Kévin Bray, Morehshin Allahyari, Katja Novitskova and others.  

Now in 2025, we’re calling our local and global community and our partners back to meet and exchange in Amsterdam at De Thomas, a Brutalist church located just steps away from Hartwig Proxy and the future site of the Hartwig Museum.