WIP Arts & Technology Festival returns

Following the success of last year’s event, which attracted over 3,000 visitors, the WIP Arts & Technology festival, which stands for Work in Progress, is set to return for the third consecutive year from October 20. Nine locations in the old town of Nicosia will be activated, hosting a series of performances, talks, roundtable discussions and exhibitions. To kick off the festival, a large street party will take over the heart of the town.

The event will begin at 6pm on October 20 when the Muncipality’s Square will come alive with interactive projection mapping, DJ sets and performances until midnight. Visitors will be able to move through six old town venues to discover the 50 artworks of the festival’s exhibition and performances by visionary artists. The square and its surrounding locations will host live bands and DJs (Rumba Attack, Alejjos & Plasmatik, X.YPNO, Mental Soup), while bars will serve cocktails and food trucks cook up culinary delights.

As the festival begins it will spread out among CYENS Centre of Excellence, KEEAED (Training Centre of Employment and Entrepreneurship), Art Studio, Lellou Dimitriadi Square, Nicosia Municipality, Nicosia Municipality Archaeological Site, NiMAC and Theatro Polis.

“As stated by its name,” say the organisers, “WIP festival embraces the notion that both art and research are a Work in Progress. As such, it features a programme of workshops, discussions and presentations that focuses on the creative processes. Effectively, the works on display are considered as in-process products open to an active engagement between the observer and the creator and encouraging a dialogue on the impact of technology on our society and contemporary culture.”

The 3^rd edition of the festival explores the numerous dimensions that creativity carries with it. With Modes of Creation as the general theme, WIP celebrates the complex intersections of art and technology, showing modes by which technology nurtures, encourages and amplifies human ingenuity. The festival’s exhibition approaches the topic through five thematic clusters – Made to Make, Control vs Material, Skin, Gamification of Life, and Care – and visitors can discover them by joining the guided tours the festival will offer.

As WIP continues, its programme includes dozens of parallel events designed to spark inspiration and prompt curiosity. Interactive games, a mapping experience, performative talks, musical sets and exciting workshops are on the agenda, aiming to explore the relationship between art and technology.

WIP Arts & Technology Festival

3^rd edition with workshops, live performances, talks and an exhibition. Organised by CYENS Centre of Excellence. October 20-November 3. In old Nicosia. Free. https://2023wip.cyens.org.cy/