Liz Pelly, Alice Bucknell, Libby Heaney, Marc Barto & Austin Robey: Meet the speakers of MUTEK Forum’s 11th Edition

At the intersection of media theory, digital art, and platform politics, this year’s MUTEK Forum gathers a dynamic group of thinkers and creators redefining the possibilities of digital culture. From quantum computing and algorithmic critique to speculative gaming worlds and cooperative economies, these voices offer bold visions for a more expansive and equitable technological future.

What happens when playlists shape taste and labor? Journalist and editor Liz Pelly brings a sharp lens to the influence of streaming platforms on music culture. In Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist, she unpacks how algorithmic systems reshape how we listen, and how artists work. Her writing appears in The Baffler, Harper’s, NPR and more, and she teaches at NYU Tisch.

In the virtual architectures of video games, Alice Bucknell builds futures. The Los Angeles–based artist and writer uses gaming platforms to stage speculative narratives about ecology, technology, and power. Their work—seen at venues such as Ars Electronica, the Serpentine, and the Venice Architecture Biennale—combines cinematic scale with theoretical precision. In 2025, Bucknell is a Creative Capital Awardee, a resident at the Cité internationale des arts, and faculty at SCI-Arc, producing new work for CERN and the Centre Pompidou.

Libby Heaney is rewriting the limits of media art—qubit by qubit. With a PhD in quantum information science, she is the first artist to use quantum computing as a creative tool. Her immersive installations blend physics, mysticism, and feminist theory into multi-sensory experiences. Recent solo exhibitions include Quantum Soup (HEK, Basel) and Heartbreak & Magic (Somerset House, London). In 2025, she presents new work in dialogue with J.M.W. Turner.

At the V&A in London, Marc Barto curates public programs that reimagine how institutions engage with emerging technologies. As Senior Digital Producer, he leads the museum’s Digital Design Weekend, a flagship celebration of digital art and culture. With a background at the British Council and in tech consultancy, Barto brings a critical, accessible approach to digital curation.

For Austin Robey, the future of creative work is cooperative. A founding member of Ampled and Metalabel, Robey builds platforms that challenge the dominant models of ownership online. Now developing Subvert, a collectively owned music marketplace, he advocates for solidarity-based infrastructure where creators govern and sustain the tools they use. His work asks what digital culture could look like—if built by and for its communities.

This year’s MUTEK Forum invites you to engage with voices shaping the future of art, tech, and society. From quantum computation to game-based storytelling, these speakers push the boundaries of how digital culture is made—and who it’s for. More names to be announced soon.

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