MUTEK Forum 11
From August 20 to 22, 2025, the 11th edition of MUTEK Forum unfolded across several venues in Montréal’s Quartier des spectacles, notably the Monument-National and the Société des arts technologiques [SAT].
Centered on the theme Radical Rituals, the Forum presented a focused, practice-oriented program grounded in a decidedly artist-centred approach, foregrounding concrete conversations, ethical issues, and the ecological sustainability of technologies.
MUTEK Forum 2025 brought together 985 unique participants from 40 countries, representing 566 organizations, including 46 online participants. The edition featured 122 speakers, 64% of whom were women or non-binary people. Over three days, the Forum presented 63 activities: 31 talks, presentations, case studies or panels, 8 workshops and masterclasses, 3 demos, 2 exhibitions, and 19 networking activities. Professional outcomes were notable: 83% of participants made 6 new contacts or more (including 27.4% with 20+), 83% anticipate concrete outcomes, and 98.8% say they are likely to return.
Activity and speaker details
The program emphasized performed and actionable formats, structured around clearly defined daily themes, to foster knowledge transfer, experimentation, and exchange among artists, researchers, and professionals.
Wednesday, August 20 — Expanding Realities: Immersive Media and Storytelling presented by the Canada Media Fund (CMF)
This opening day explored questions of memory, identity, worldbuilding, and immersive systems, examining the narratives produced by contemporary technologies. The Forum opened with a performative manifesto introducing the theme Radical Rituals, followed by presentations and lecture-performances focused on voice, computational poetry, living archives, and Indigenous narratives in the digital age.
The day also featured a key moment with the MUTEK AI Ecologies Lab exhibition, transforming the MUTEK Playground into a techno-ecological space dedicated to sustainable, critical, and artistic approaches to artificial intelligence, complemented by talks and conversations with academic and cultural partners.
Thursday, August 21 — Future Interfaces: Technology
Focused on emerging technologies—quantum, artificial intelligence, video games, open source, and creative tools—this day brought scientific research, artistic creation, and industry into dialogue. Activities addressed the notion of the interface as a space of relation, perception, and co-creation through talks, panels, and lecture-performances.
Issues of representation, diversity, and power in video games, as well as quantum aesthetics in music and digital arts, structured the discussions. The day concluded with targeted networking activities, including MUTEK Match, fostering tailored professional encounters between artists, studios, and presenters.
Friday, August 22 — Ethical Futures: Practices
The final day focused on responsible, inclusive, and sustainable practices, examining economic models, digital commons, AI governance, and the futures of music. Talks, roundtables, and performative readings addressed artwashing, alternatives to extractive platforms, collective ownership, and the political role of artistic practices.
Masterclasses and demonstrations rounded out the program, highlighting creative methodologies grounded in the body, listening, and experimentation. The day concluded with moments of networking and celebration, underscoring the Forum’s collective and transversal dimension.
Networking activities
In 2025, MUTEK Forum strengthened its networking framework to foster targeted, effective, and lasting encounters between artists, professionals, and organizations in the digital arts sector.
A dedicated digital platform, opened four weeks prior to the event, enabled more than 1,000 participants to prepare their attendance, connect with one another, and schedule meetings. On site, the Monument-National Lounge served as the Forum’s central hub, providing a continuous space for informal meetings and professional exchange.
Several complementary formats structured the networking activities:
MUTEK Connect, bringing together 82 Canadian and international professionals around the artists and projects of the MUTEK Market;
MUTEK Match, officially launched in 2025 as the main networking event of MUTEK’s professional programs, with 147 participants and 563 tailored meetings;
Three professional cocktail receptions (200 to 250 participants each), organized in collaboration with key partners;
Two networking lunches bringing together approximately 60 participants each;
A meet-up with a delegation from British Columbia;
An industry brunch and visits to Montréal-based studios.
By combining a digital platform, dedicated spaces, and targeted events, MUTEK Forum 2025 consolidated its role as a catalyst for strategic connections within the local and international digital creation ecosystem.
The MUTEK Market and Incubator
In 2025, the MUTEK Market held its 6th edition in a hybrid format, fully integrated into the MUTEK Forum ecosystem. Designed as a platform for showcasing and connection, it brought together artists, programmers, presenters, curators, and professionals from the electronic music and digital creation sectors, fostering concrete opportunities for development and export.
The official Market selection featured 18 artists (13 projects) from Québec and Canada, active in audiovisual performance, electronic music, and media arts. Forty percent of the artists were women or non-binary people, and 50% identified as BIPOC. All also took part in the Festival’s artistic programming. A professional catalogue (biographies, interviews, visuals, and work excerpts) was circulated to a targeted network of professionals, generating one-on-one meetings organized through the Forum’s professional platform. Two public “Artists in Conversation” sessions completed the framework, increasing artists’ visibility among participants and international presenters.
Learn more about the MUTEK Market
Following its launch in 2024, the MUTEK Incubator returned in 2025 with a second cohort of nine emerging Canadian artists, supported over seven months (June to December). Closely linked to the Market, the Incubator offers individualized support focused on professional development, including mentorship, specialized training, dissemination tools, and preparation for professional meetings. Fifty-six percent of the cohort artists identify as BIPOC, with balanced representation among men, women, and non-binary people.
Learn more about the MUTEK Incubator
By combining artistic selection, professional support, and international networking, the 2025 MUTEK Market and Incubator strengthened support for local artists while consolidating MUTEK’s role as a structuring platform for the development and circulation of digital creation.
With its 11th edition, MUTEK Forum confirmed its repositioning as a reference platform for reflection, experimentation, and professional development in the digital arts. By tightening its format, prioritizing actionable content and performed formats, and strengthening the articulation between creation, research, and industry, the Forum delivered a denser, more legible, and impact-oriented experience.
