Athens Digital Arts Festival

Athens Digital Arts Festival (ADAF) (Greek: Διεθνές Φεστιβάλ Ψηφιακών Τεχνών της Ελλάδας) is an international festival, that takes place every May in Athens, Greece.

ADAF logo

The festival was established in 2005, under the title Athens Video Art Festival, as an initiation of the non-profit organization Multitrab Productions to create a platform for video art, installations and live performances. Since then, it has added interactive installations, web art, workshops, animation and digital images. In January 2015, the festival changed its name into Athens Digital Arts Festival.

Through its multidisciplinary program, ADAF offers a wide range of exhibitions, screenings, live performances and workshops.

History

Over the years, the Festival gradually evolved and grew as the most important event for digital arts in Greece. ADAF has been proudly devoted to the support of innovative and artistic expression, establishing strong bonds with local and international artists, audiences and institutions.

Within the last 15 years, ADAF developed including various art forms such as web art, interactive installations, animation, digital image, performances, talks and workshops, exploring creative aspects of technology and digital culture.

Until now, it has welcomed more than 140.000 visitors from all over the world. In addition, through the Open Calls, it has received approximately 25.000 submissions, having created one of the largest databases of international artworks, worldwide.

Moreover, in the framework of its strategic partnerships, it has presented more than 50 international festivals interchanging knowledge and experience.

Athens Video Art Festival was founded in 2005 with the intention to offer a platform to video art, installations and live performances. Within the following 10 years, the Festival gradually evolved and included more art forms, such as web art, interactive installations, animation, digital image, applications and workshops, exploring creative aspects of technology and digital culture. In 2012, the Festival introduced the subtitle “International Festival of Digital Arts & New Media” and from January 2015 was renamed Athens Digital Arts Festival. In 2016, ADAF launches the category ADAF Kids, a complete program for kids and their parents. This year, ADAF celebrates its 15th anniversary edition, with a multidisciplinary program that will culminate at the main Festival, May 2019

ADAF has maintained active partnerships with local and international artists and audience, institutions, art foundations, schools, universities, galleries and museums and a number of 46 collaborating festivals. Athens Digital Arts Festival is also partner of AVnode, an international network of artists and professionals organising festivals and/or working in the fields of audiovisual live performances.[1]

Past Festivals

2005 - 2019
  • 2005

The first edition of the International Festival of Digital Arts and New Media, Athens Video Art Festival, took place on April 2005 at the cultural multi-space Thira Texnis. In the framework of it, apart from Video Art and Video Installations, the festival presented an exhibition of Digital Images and Constructions.

  • 2006

The second edition of the International Festival of Digital Arts and New Media, Athens Video Art Festival, took place in April 2006 at the cultural multi-space Aggelon Vima. In the context of it, apart from the categories of Video Art, Video Installations, Installation Art and Performance Art, the festival presented some of the most important festivals from abroad: Transmediale (Germany), Vaia (Spain), File (Brazil), Loop (Spain) and Con Can (Japan).

  • 2007

The third edition of the International Festival of Digital Arts and New Media, Athens Video Art Festival, took place in April 2007 at the cultural multi-space Technopolis of Municipality of Athens. Apart from the categories of Video Art, Video Installations, Installation Art and Performance Art, the festival presented even more festivals from abroad.

  • 2008

The fourth edition of the International Festival of Digital Arts and New Media, Athens Video Art Festival, took place in April 2008 at the cultural multi-space Technopolis of Municipality of Athens. More than 1.350 artists both from Greece and abroad submitted their artworks, and more than 12.000 visitors honoured it with their presence. In the context of it, apart from the categories of Video Art, Video Installations, Installation Art and Performance Art, the festival presented some of the most important festivals from abroad.

  • 2009

The fifth edition of the International Festival of Digital Arts and New Media, Athens Video Art Festival, took place in April 2008 at the cultural multi-space Technopolis of Municipality of Athens. More than 1.400 artists both from Greece and abroad submitted their artworks, and more than 14.000 visitors honoured it with their presence. Athens Video Art Festival celebrated its 5th edition by inviting in Greece exclusive guests and representatives of academic institutions that consisted a crucial part in the modern history of Video Art and New Media. Athens Video Art Festival in the midst of its fifth anniversary with the aim to honour the great Korean Master of Video Art, Nam June Paik, realised the greatest tribute that has ever taken place in Greece.

  • 2010

The sixth edition of the International Festival of Digital Arts and New Media, Athens Video Art Festival, took place in May 2010 at multi-space Technopolis of Municipality of Athens and the Greek Film Museum. More than 2700 artists both from Greece and abroad submitted their artworks and more than 13000 visitors honoured it with their presence. In its context, it included several categories such as Video Art, Video Installations, Installation Art, Performance Art, Web Art, Animation and Digital Image.

  • 2011

The international festival of digital arts and new media of Greece, Athens Video Art Festival took place during the 20, 21 and 22 May in the multi space «Technopolis» of the Municipality of Athens. The Festival took place for the seventh time staying loyal to its basic principles, as well as the new goals that it sets year by year. The public had the opportunity to get introduced to a series of the most promising names of the local as well as international artistic scene through the artworks of all of the categories and special tributes that were hosted in the framework of this year’s edition.

  • 2012

The International Festival of Digital Arts and New Media of Greece, Athens Video Art Festival, returned for the eighth time on the 18th to the 20th of May 2012. More than 340 artworks from 58 different countries and more than 15000 visitors attended the Festival which took part in different places of the historical Center of Athens. By following the route from the historic Kourtaki Arcade (Kolokotroni 57) to the Aghia Eirini square, visitors had the opportunity to visit the famous Booze Cooperativa, the block of flats on Kolokotroni street, the basements of the whole block being accompanied the raw spirit of new media and new technologies in the framework of a program that pointed out all of the aspects of modern culture.

  • 2013

The 9th Edition of the International Festival of Digital Arts and New Media, Athens Video Art Festival, included an ambitious, difficult project, with the title “Living Athens”, which purpose was the contribution to the aesthetic revitalisation and the suburban improvement of the city. More than 18.000 citizens visited the Festival which was held in on the 7 - 9 June in cooperation with multiple venues including CAMP!, Estia Emporon of Samourka Foundation, Booze Cooperativa[2] and Bios.

  • 2014

The Festival celebrated its 10th edition with a four- day event from the 2nd to the 5th of October in which participated 350 artists from 58 countries. Projections, exhibitions, lectures, workshops and performances were held in the main venue, the Technopolis of the Municipality of Athens.

  • 2015

The 11th edition of the Athens Digital Arts Festival took place on 21 - 24 May 2015 in collaboration with the E.B.E - Diplareios Sxoli as well as other parallel venues of the historical center of Athens including the Squares of Monastiraki, Aghia Irini and the Theater Square. The theme of the Festival revolved around the notion of public space and its different ways of interpretation. Places like Squares, parks, streets and the Internet are all potential public spaces that are activated through participation and engagement in order to acquire meaning.

  • 2016

On the 19th to the 22nd of May 2016 the Festival celebrated its 12th edition with a theme devoted to Pop- culture and the use of the internet that creates a kind of ephemeral culture that is constantly undergoing changes. The main venue where it took place was the Building Complex Gate Ermou 117 – 121 as well as the collaborating Parallel Venue of six d.o.g.s. It presented works from 450 artists from all over the world, and was attended by more than 10.000 people.[3]

  • 2017

The 13th edition of Athens Digital Arts Festiva l with the title #PostFuture revolved around the notion of what follows up after the digital revolution is over, based on the late Negroponte’s prediction.[4] As the modern age seems to have purely incorporated the merge of “digital” and “reality” this edition explored the ways that technological advancements influence art and the everyday life. It was held on the 18 – 21 of May on its main Venue Mitropoleos 23 in the Historic Center of Athens as well as other parallel venues like the Athens International Airport, “Eleftherios Venizelos”, Syntagma Square, Monastiraki Square and Kolokotroni 61. The 13th edition of the Festival hosted works by 250 artists and was attended by more than 17.000 people.[5]

  • 2018

The 14th Athens Digital Arts Festival explored the unknown future of the upcoming Technological Apocalypse through art, science and technology under the theme “SINGULARITY NOW”. Singularity can be interpreted under different concepts. In technology, it is a scenario where artificial intelligence surpasses humanity, the technological boom becomes infinite and the outcome is unpredictable.[6] Therefore, the 14th edition presented works and achievements which outline, comment, foresee, or determine the upcoming singularity, the human as well as the technological role in this new era. It was held on the 24th to the 27th of May 2018 in the Megaron/ Athens Concert Hall and presented works by 350 artists while it was visited by more than 20.000 people.

  • 2019

This year ADAF is celebrating its 15th anniversary from 9 - 12 May. Under the theme "The World is a Hologram", revolves around the holographic theory,[7] taking a closer look at the notions of inter-connectivity and an alternative perception of the 3- dimensional perception of the world we live in. The 15th edition will be even more interactive as two new categories have been added to the program, those of Games and Virtual Reality. As for now, there have been more than 3.500 submissions by artists from all over the world.[8]

Parallel projects

Continuing its cooperation with the Athens International Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos”, since the 5th of March 2019, ADAF presents a series of contemporary digital art installations along the corridor Underground Link, which connects the Main Terminal Building with the Satellite Building.

AVnode | LPM 2015 > 2018 is a Large Scale Cooperation Project co-funded by the Creative Europe Culture Programme of the European Union which aim is to promote and develop live video culture to both European and worldwide audiences. LPM 2015 > 2018 project foresees the production of 36 festivals, 3 Meetings, 3 Audience Development Conferences and 200 satellite events in 3 years.

Εspecially for the SNF RUN 2019 FIRST RUN [9] 4k race organized by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and took place a few minutes after we welcomed the New Year of 2019, Athens Digital Arts Festival (ADAF) created a unique interactive and participatory installation under the name Finish Line Digital Canvas, in which runners were displayed as they cross the finish line in real time, forming a mosaic of human bodies that was imprinted on a digital canvas which united individual efforts into a collective body.

During the Christmas period of 2018, Athens Digital Arts Festival (ADAF), undertook the art direction and curated the luminous interactive installations at Stavros Niarchos Park, which were designed so visitors could walk past or through the light frames, immersing themselves in a unique holiday festival of lights.[10]

On 26 November 2018, ADAF launched its new Augmented Reality application, which gave life to artworks, murals, posters, flyers, vinyls, books and much more. The app is available for free on Google Play and Apple Store.

Mid-November 2018 saw the completion of a magnificent European Heritage Days project by the Directorate of Archeological Museums, Exhibitions and Educational Programs of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports. A series of augmented murals were unveiled on the streets of Athens, Thessaloniki, and Ioannina, opening the dialogue between cultural heritage and urban life.

With the aim to explore both Utopian and Dystopian views on the future of art,[11] technology and science, Multitrab Productions, in the framework of the 14th Athens Digital Arts Festival, organised a two-day event with screenings with free entrance on 1 and 2 February 2018. The program of the film tribute included premieres of renown films, documentaries and video art.

REC: Interactive Installation // #PostFuture Mural was an interactive installation by REC of Elektro Moon group which revolved around the modern issue of surveillance and data mining. The same event also hosted the mural #PostFuture of the visual artist Nikolaos A. Tsounakas, which was a realistic incarnation of the digital-physical contradiction inspired by ADAF’s 2017 theme #PostFuture.

Aiming to create a cultural dialogue between Greece and China, ADAF held an event on 2017 which focused on how Greece and Chinese artists experience the transcendence of the digital culture, under the theme of the ADAF 2017 #PostFuture. It included installations, indoor and outdoor screenings as well as a tribute to Microwave International New Media Arts Festival (HK).

Under the theme “Seeking a new home: old and recent stories of people on the move” the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports organised, an event in the context of the European Heritage Days in 2016. During this event, ADAF pointed out the ancient and later cultural heritage through the realisation of cultural actions and modern creation by curating a series of actions including murals, installations and screenings.

EFFE

Athens Digital Arts Festival is selected as one of the 26 EFFE Laureates by the EFFE International Jury. The Laureates are chosen from amongst the 715 Label recipients by EFFE – Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europefor their exemplary work and commitment to festivals' role in the arts and societies. The EFFE Award Ceremony will take place on 18 September during the Arts Festivals Salon in Brussels, hosted by the Centre of Fine Arts – BOZAR.

Athens Digital Arts Festival is the first Greek Laureate to represent the local cultural scene to the European Festivals Association (EFA).

Awards

Over the years, ADAF has won four awards for the annual Festival. Three of those were won at the Greek Event Awards held by Boussias Communication in Athens every year as a tribute to the various Festivals held in Greece, with 10 categories that can be awarded . The first award ADAF won at the Greek Even Awards was the GOLD prize, in the category Best in Marketing & Communication and the SILVER for the category Thematical Events. In 2019, ADAF got the Silver Award for the Thematical Events | Cultural Organisation as well as for the category 5 Senses Star.

Apart from the Event Awards, Athens Digital Arts Festival also won the GOLD prize for Cultural Tourism, under the category Specialty Travel at the Tourism Awards 2018.

References
  1. "AVnode".
  2. "Aesthetica Magazine - Infinite Horizons". Aesthetica Magazine. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  3. "Athens Digital Art Festival 2016 | LPM 2015 > 2018 | IT". Live Cinema Festival (in Italian). Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  4. Duvfa, Duvfa, Tomi, Mikko (2019). "Grasping the future of the digital society". Futures. 107: 17–28. doi:10.1016/j.futures.2018.11.001.
  5. ArtJaws (2017-05-18). "The 13th edition of Athens Digital Art Festival returns with works from international artists around Post Future". ArtJaws. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  6. Dougherty, Quinn; Liu, Kai; Wang, Pei (April 2018). "Conceptions of Artificial Intelligence and Singularity". Information. 9 (4): 79. doi:10.3390/info9040079.
  7. Luminet, Jean-Pierre (2016-01-15). "The Holographic Universe". Universe. 2 (1): 1. arXiv:1601.03884. doi:10.3390/universe2010001. ISSN 2218-1997. S2CID 7331164.
  8. cristina (2019-01-21). "22 European art festivals to blow your mind [2019] • Feeder.ro". Feeder.ro. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  9. "Visit Greece | SNF Run 2019 First Run". www.visitgreece.gr. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  10. "Luminous interactive installations at Stavros Niarchos Park in Athens". Digital meets Culture. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  11. Mitcham, Carl; Mackey, Robert (1983). Philosophy and Technology. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780029214305.
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