NEXT GENجيل المستقبل
Central to our ethos is the empowerment and fostering of youth, bringing individuals together, and creating a collaborative and sustainable community that thrives on dynamic growth and collective impact.
Festival X’s role is to facilitate collaboration and dialogue, recognizing that by harnessing the collective knowledge and creativity of forward-thinking individuals and establishments, driving innovation and positive change is possible. Progressive entities such as NYUAD, AUS, and DIDI have consistently demonstrated their commitment to pushing boundaries and have emerged as the pillars of the community that Festival X aims to unite.
‘Next Gen’ is a dedicated exhibition space to university students to showcase their work,
share their ideas, and network and connect to others in the community, as an initiative to foster
the youth. Therefore, the main purpose and focus at this stage is to have the presence of
different national, regional and international universities’ students, regardless of how advanced
and developed the presented works are.
Festival X’s collaborative participation with UAE universities such as New York University Abu Dhabi, American University of Sharjah, and Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation, at Ars Electronica Festival Campus 2023, empowers and sheds light on the emerging artists and youth from the UAE, and the region on an international scale. The three UAE-based universities will be presenting some fully developed installations, as well as concepts that will be presented as showreels, and works in progress, involving works that focus on environmental and cultural topics.
These three universities’ works will then be taken back to Festival X and exhibited as part of the ‘Next Gen’ exhibition, alongside student works from Virginia Commonwealth University Qatar, as regional representatives.
Defying barrenness, this art installation transforms with mechanical flowers, revealing nocturnal secrets of life and remnants of lakes in the desert. It questions our relationship with nature, blurring lines between real and man-made beauty. Contemplating artificial autonomy, the petals open in darkness, reclaiming hidden history and revealing truths within the desert's heart.
Dhabia AlMansoori and Joseph Hong, recent graduates of New York University Abu Dhabi, are passionate about exploring the connections between the natural and the artificial. With a shared curiosity, they seek to challenge conventions and delve into the complex ideas that shape our world.
YOU ARE NOT HERE is a durational interactive installation that explores misrepresentation on typical maps. It encourages audiences to engage in counter-mapping by pinning locations on an unlabeled map, meaning it does not contain any labels, and pins contributed by users are not geo-tagged, but placed in a grid on top of the traditional map. Over time, contributed pins will cover the original map, creating a new representation of the world that does not rely on the optics of colonial mapping.
Sarah Al-Yahya is an interactive media artist and researcher crafting decolonial futures through her work. She explores cultural heritage and human rights, taking a research-led approach with a particular focus on Palestine and the SWANA region. Her work aims to foster solidarity and unlock the socio-political potential of new media art.
This project stems from an interest in measuring and mapping air quality patterns in Dubai, with a higher definition than the static station method. The project consists of a wearable micro-device ‘Airsense’, that people can use to track the air quality around them in real time, as they move through their daily activities. The device is connected to an application that aggregates the data distinguishing indoor and outdoor environments using object recognition algorithms.
Areeba is a cross-disciplinary Product & Multimedia designer. Her work displays visionary ideas for the future of cities: Her passion is to create designs that improve the quality of urban life and foster unique communities through a meticulous design process exploring emerging technologies, groundbreaking software, and innovative product designs. Aaliyah is a multidisciplinary designer especially interested in the gray area where the digital & the physical collide. Always have been eager to explore different aspects of her practice. Her work has been largely experimental & conceptual– tasters of different scales, contexts, materials & media, fueled by her belief in the value of versatility. Rand is a fourth-year student at the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation, specializing in product and multimedia design. With an unwavering passion for design, Rand constantly pushes the boundaries to explore its diverse facets. Shamma is a designer currently completing her cross-disciplinary Bachelor of Design at the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation. She specializes in Product Design and Strategic Design Management Joanne is a multidisciplinary designer and faculty member at the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation. Her work is anchored around research for the design of sustainable futures, and spans across different scales and disciplines: architecture, urban design, system design, digital design and coding, fashion design, and material remediation. Mirko is a designer, researcher, and educator with a focus on posthuman and bio-integration design explorations. He is a faculty member at the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation and Co-Founder of NYXO Visionary Design, an architecture and product design practice characterized by a multidisciplinary and technology-led approach to innovation.
This project stems from an interest in cleaning the air while activating pockets of public space in the city proposing a series of ‘Particle Cruisers’: mobile outdoors furniture elements built with a mycelium body, that have the capacity to clean the air, through a mix of air-filtering plants, as well as a photo-catalytic coating, that collects the PM2.5 and PM10 particles when exposed to the sun. The PCs are autonomously moving around in search of sunlight to trigger the depuration process.
Areeba is a cross-disciplinary Product & Multimedia designer. Her work displays visionary ideas for the future of cities: Her passion is to create designs that improve the quality of urban life and foster unique communities through a meticulous design process exploring emerging technologies, groundbreaking software, and innovative product designs. Aaliyah is a multidisciplinary designer especially interested in the gray area where the digital & the physical collide. Always have been eager to explore different aspects of her practice. Her work has been largely experimental & conceptual– tasters of different scales, contexts, materials & media, fueled by her belief in the value of versatility. Rand is a fourth-year student at the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation, specializing in product and multimedia design. With an unwavering passion for design, Rand constantly pushes the boundaries to explore its diverse facets. Kaya is a Lebanese designer based in the UAE. She studies at the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation and focuses on Product and Fashion Design. As an interdisciplinary designer, Kaya is capable of developing impactful solutions by incorporating diverse perspectives and fostering innovation to solve complex design challenges. Her projects are heavily influenced by her commitment to eco-friendly designs. Joanne is a multidisciplinary designer and faculty member at the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation. Her work is anchored around research for the design of sustainable futures, and spans across different scales and disciplines: architecture, urban design, system design, digital design and coding, fashion design, and material remediation. Mirko is a designer, researcher, and educator with a focus on posthuman and bio-integration design explorations. He is a faculty member at the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation and Co-Founder of NYXO Visionary Design, an architecture and product design practice characterized by a multidisciplinary and technology-led approach to innovation.
This project studies a real-time mapping of the micro-wind patterns in comparison with the prevailing winds expected in Dubai. The project makes use of custom machine-learning tools and algorithms to extract from video recordings, the wind intensity and impact on palm trees’ movement. The study highlights the importance of quantifying and mapping the micro-wind flows, and proposes to transform the movement of the palm tree leaves into electrical energy using piezoelectric technology.
Areeba is a cross-disciplinary Product & Multimedia designer. Her work displays visionary ideas for the future of cities: Her passion is to create designs that improve the quality of urban life and foster unique communities through a meticulous design process exploring emerging technologies, groundbreaking software, and innovative product designs. Aaliyah is a multidisciplinary designer especially interested in the gray area where the digital & the physical collide. Always have been eager to explore different aspects of her practice. Her work has been largely experimental & conceptual– tasters of different scales, contexts, materials & media, fueled by her belief in the value of versatility. Rand is a fourth-year student at the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation, specializing in product and multimedia design. With an unwavering passion for design, Rand constantly pushes the boundaries to explore its diverse facets. Suad is a designer currently completing her cross-disciplinary Bachelor of Design at the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation. She specializes in Product Design and Fashion Design. Ayesha is a designer currently completing her cross-disciplinary Bachelor of Design at the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation. She specializes in Product Design and Strategic Design Management. Joanne is a multidisciplinary designer and faculty member at the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation. Her work is anchored around research for the design of sustainable futures, and spans across different scales and disciplines: architecture, urban design, system design, digital design and coding, fashion design, and material remediation. Mirko is a designer, researcher, and educator with a focus on posthuman and bio-integration design explorations. He is a faculty member at the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation and Co-Founder of NYXO Visionary Design, an architecture and product design practice characterized by a multidisciplinary and technology-led approach to innovation.
This project stems from an interest in urban heat waste, as a source of pollution and potentially a source of energy. Focusing particularly on the heat wasted by AC units in Dubai, the project proposes to implement a system of real-time mapping to measure and compute the amount of heat generated by the AC exhausts throughout the year, in different neighborhoods and areas of Dubai in view of proposing methods to repurpose it as a source of energy.
Ahmad is a rising senior at the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation studying Multimedia Design and Strategic Design Management with a background in filmmaking and visual arts. His approach to art & design is speculative and conceptual with storytelling taking center stage. Ahmad is passionate about curating spatial and user-centric experiences. Joanne is a multidisciplinary designer and faculty member at the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation. Her work is anchored around research for the design of sustainable futures, and spans across different scales and disciplines: architecture, urban design, system design, digital design and coding, fashion design, and material remediation. Mirko is a designer, researcher, and educator with a focus on posthuman and bio-integration design explorations. He is a faculty member at the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation and Co-Founder of NYXO Visionary Design, an architecture and product design practice characterized by a multidisciplinary and technology-led approach to innovation.
Eternal Echoes is a project showcasing the impact of timeless storytelling on today's society by focusing on two world famous books: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and 1984 by George Orwell. It does so via short animations projected on top of a blank book and a voice over explaining the significance of each book, and the warnings they aimed to project to future generations.
Sahar Baniabbasi is an Iranian multimedia designer based in the United Arab Emirates with a passion for visual storytelling and design. She is interested in working with mediums such as motion graphics, animation, and most recently: projection mapping.
Calibeaute is an interactive installation that dives into the dark underbelly of toxic beauty standards. Through an interactive physical installation and exhibit, it sheds light on the manipulative tactics employed by the beauty industry, which prey upon our insecurities and coerce us into conforming to unattainable ideals.
Salma Ibrahim is a Multimedia Designer who loves exploring. From a young age, she found herself captivated by the world of video games, which sparked a profound love for the art of interaction, storytelling, animation and its power to create immersive experiences.
4 O'Clock is a first-person narrative 3D game that discusses the speed at which time passes us by, and presents topics including work, time, and death. Led by your higher consciousness in the shape of a fish, explore the terrains of life while you consider philosophical questions on time and how you spend it.
A Multimedia Designer specializing in concept art and game design. I enjoy exploring mediums like 3D/2D digital art, cyanotype, 16mm film, & traditional painting. My work often delves into existentialism and philosophy, emphasizing the importance of reflection. Childhood experiences at aquariums inspired my love for vibrant colors and fish symbolism.
Spoken or with ink, Arabic letterforms embody intrinsic meanings. Each letter, as part of a word, manifests nuance based on its contextual placement and individual spirit, creating a binding thread of connotations in every single unique word. Experience these inherent characteristics, as you twist the knobs, and interact with the projected Arabic forms as individual beings. Discover what forms they might morph into and inhabit, as they travel into the five sheer planes of language. From a letter to a complete narrative, the work aims to root the tools we use to: our language, our heritage, and our identity, as we move into a future that we build, centered with our voices. One focused laser beam draws the oscillating letterform over and over again. It moves at the speed of light, propelling us to imagine an alternative reality for Arabic. Where Arabic letterforms are explored through computational tools and mathematical variables. Where the letters drawn with light are unbounded by the strokes and movements of a calligraphic pen. Where new forms emerge.
Hind Al Saad is a computational artist and teacher, who explores automation systems within digital code and analog printmaking processes to create emergent graphical forms. Sara Khalid is a multidisciplinary designer whose research aim is to find, create, and generate the HyperLink - الخيط الناظم plotting analogies of Arabic Linguistics and Computational Languages in Digital Rhetoric - البلاغة الرقميّة. Joshua Rodenberg is a sound artist, performer, sculptor and educator. In 2022, he released an EP Down by the Abbey and in 2019 an LP called Cognizant both on Off Records from Belgium. Joshua does sound design for independent films and small gaming projects such as the artists Federico Cuatlacuatl’s, Copan En Espera and Amy Young’s Belonging to the Soil Vr experience. Levi Hammett is a designer and associate professor exploring the synthesis of computational processes and traditional crafts with an emphasis on the development of culturally constructive graphic objects.
“Stitch By Stitch” is a project designed to experience, translate, and spread the rich visual culture and diversity of traditional Palestinian textile patterns using modern techniques and mediums including, but not limited to, visual communication and sonification. As Palestinians, preserving our culture has always been part of our identity, especially given how threatened it has been in the modern era. It is part of who we are. We protect our traditions, culture, and customs as if they are our own children. Cultural preservation is the last thread between us and our home. This project is divided into three distinct yet interconnected phases: experience, translation, and dissemination. Experience: Learning the ancient craft and being able to produce my own pieces. Translation: generating sound for all patterns. Dissemination: teaching future generations the craft by designing a new and modern embroidery kit. The goal of this project is to connect the past with the future and act as a bridge between both, and then share the process I went through to inspire and teach the next generations and ensure that they keep spreading it too.
Naima Almajdobah is a designer holding an Honors Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design and is currently undergoing her master’s degree in Design Studies from VCUarts Qatar. Naima’s exploration and interest in design grew from a personal interest in sonic explorations and cultural literacy. She believes that focusing on her culture and mixing it with contemporary mediums and technologies, can preserve that culture and shed light on the lost crafts that once existed and for other people to learn more about it.
SCHOL is inspired by the concept of unity found in a school of fish. It symbolizes the emergence of a collective entity from individual uniform elements. This installation is designed to minimize material usage while achieving structural integrity through intricately designed modules that seamlessly interconnect. Crafted entirely from a single material, 3mm MDF wood, inspired by the work of Philip Beesley. SCHOL represents a harmonious blend of form and substance. Its play of light on the fish-like modules creates an interplay that evokes a sense of fluidity and movement, offering viewers a visual and sensory exploration of a unified swarm. This project explores the intersection of art, technology and design, posing questions like minimizing material usage while creating something massive and designing for rapid size changes.
Angela Hanna, a 23-year-old student from the Technical University of Delft with Egyptian heritage, advocates for the harmonious integration of art, design, and technology. Her journey is rooted in the values of innovation and the profound impact technology can have.She believes that addressing complex questions requires horizontal and cross-disciplinary participation, a process made possible through new creative collaborations. She is dedicated to these transdisciplinary collaborations as they serve to effectively foster reflection on our ever-evolving digital society.
Biosphere Solar is a TU Delft spin-off developing an energy source that is truly sustainable; an energy source that ensures humanity can meet its energy needs, whilst ensuring that individuals globally can live within the planetary boundaries. Through the development of a circular, open-source and fair solar panel, Biosphere Solar is revolutionising the solar industry. PV modules are the energy source of the future. Solar is on your roof, their parking, everyone's backyard. It is projected that in a world fully powered by renewables, PV will provide >65% of the world’s electricity generation. However, the rapid expansion of global PV infrastructure comes at a cost. It is estimated that the production of PV glass alone will emit 4-11% of the total carbon budget for the 1.5°C climate goal, and run into significant resource constraints as early as 2027. In addition, PV modules are still immensely difficult to recycle and impossible to repair. Recycling efforts only recover glass and metal parts, while the most precious materials within the solar cells end up in landfills or are crushed and downcycled into concrete. The total amount of PV waste is expected to reach 78 million tonnes by 2050. This is an expected loss of over €15 billion. Coupled with severe human rights issues in the upstream supply chain, it is clear that setting fair, sustainable and circular standards in the solar industry and market is urgently needed. Biosphere Solar is providing a solution to such challenges: a sustainable, ethical and highly efficient PV module that is completely disassemblable. To ensure the energy transition is not only environmentally sustainable but also socially sustainable, Biosphere Solar has also developed a Development Kit [Dev Kit] that highlights the power of Open-Source for the future of humankind. This [Dev Kit] enables makers, hackers and students all over the world to join in the solar revolution and experience first hand the challenges and opportunities that working with the sun can offer. The [Dev Kit] is an invitation to the larger public to have their say in how the solar industry of the future will look like. By making one's own panel at home or through workshops organised by Biosphere Solar, anybody can contribute to the design of the [Dev kit] and provide suggestions on how they think disassemblable, sustainable, and fair solar panels should look and feel like.
The [Dev Kit] of Biosphere Solar is a culmination of the work of dozens of incredible individuals who have shaped and influenced its creation. Notable amongst those is the work of Sam Boermans, Asli Demir, Yoop Kroon, and Ian Lin. Their backgrounds in design, engineering, rapid prototyping, and sustainability have greatly shaped both the [Dev Kit] and the work of Biosphere Solar.
Sun Catcher is a concept for an organically constructed solar panel that, after charging in your window, turns into a light shade. The light shade is the source of power for the lamp itself, resulting in an energy neutral lamp that can be used anywhere. A papaya enzyme (papain) has been discovered useful in the production of environmentally friendly solar panels. The enzyme reduces the power needed to produce titanium dioxide (TiO2), the conductive material that harvests energy from the sun when used in association with organic dyes inside the panel. Producing TiO2 is currently an energy consuming process, that involves heating at 700°C for several hours, a procedure that can only be done in specialized facilities. Professor Duncan McMillan from Delft University of Technology discovered that this process can be done at 250°C in two hours by using a common fruit enzyme called papain during the oxidation process.
Teresa van Dongen is an Amsterdam based designer (1988) whose current research stretches the limits of living materials to translate her deep-rooted fascination of nature and interactions into practical yet vulnerable design products and installations. After studying biology for two years, she decided to study design and graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2014. Since graduating, she has exhibited her work internationally and received several design awards including the Young Talents awards at the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven in 2015. Her work has also been supported by the Keep An Eye grant in 2016. Her earlier research explored the potential of micro-organisms to produce electricity or light for domestic usage. By working with bacteria and other living micro-organisms that produce photons or electrons within their life cycle, she opens up the possibility of tapping into yet unused and renewable energy sources, highlighting the immense reservoir of potential existing in the natural world. By carefully crafting living interactions, she prompts us to think critically about our current way of interacting with non-human life. Duncan McMillan is an Assistant Professor in Enzymology at TU Delft. He was raised in New Zealand, where he was trained as a microbiologist/membrane biochemist (Univ. Otago). His interests in bioenergetics and microbial physiology exported him to the United Kingdom (Univ. Leeds) where he studied bioelectrochemistry in biomimetic lipid bilayers and started his studies in single-molecule. He then studied molecular machines in single molecule firstly in Germany (Friedrich Schiller Univ.), then in Japan (The Univ. of Tokyo) while continuing his work in bioelectrochemistry and microbial physiology. While in Japan he became an Assistant Professor in the lab of Hiroyuki Noji and orchestrated an international consortium between Japan and New Zealand. He was then awarded the Prestigious Rutherford Discovery Fellowship in 2016, and has since taken up his present position at TU Delft.