MUTEK Forum Returns with Radical Rituals: 100+ Creators, Innovators, and Practitioners Shaping the Future of Digital Creation

MUTEK Forum, a platform and gathering for bold ideas in digital creation, returns August 20–22, 2025, with an expanded three-day program showcasing cutting-edge innovation and critical approaches to research, creation, and interdisciplinary collaboration. For this year’s edition, the Forum takes place across multiple venues—including the Monument-National, the Society for Arts and Technology [SAT], and new partner spaces OASIS Immersion and DASA.

Through mind-expanding talks, performances, exhibitions, workshops, masterclasses, readings, and networking activities, MUTEK Forum facilitates urgent conversations and new connections within digital culture—bridging music, artificial intelligence (AI), extended reality (XR), media arts, gaming, ecological futures, quantum art, and design.

RADICAL RITUALS

Radical Rituals invites a collective cultural inquiry through bold perspectives and transformative practices. In a time of rapid technological shifts and socio-political instability, rituals become essential tools for navigating complexity. This year’s theme frames the Forum as a space for resilience, care, and collaboration, where existing and emerging practices can spark systemic change. Radical Rituals are practices that build meaning and community while challenging dominant paradigms and imagining more just, inclusive futures.

From the inception of sustainable AI tools to new models of collective ownership within culture,Radical Rituals is both a call to attention and a call to action—an invitation to tune into the worlds within and around us. From collective listening to diverse intelligences—artificial, ecological, ancestral, and embodied—the Forum explores new ways of sensing and understanding. To deepen this inquiry and encourage interdisciplinary dialogue, the Forum unfolds over three acts—Storytelling, Technology, and Practices—each offering a distinct entry point into the rituals of digital creation and guiding participants through evolving modes of inquiry, embodiment, expression, and transformation.

Day 1 – August 20, 2025: Expanding Realities: Immersive Media and Storytelling - Presented by the Canada Media Fund (CMF)

Day 1 of MUTEK Forum 2025 explores how technology is reshaping the way we experience narrative. From memory and identity to embodiment and design, this day invites participants to rethink storytelling as an immersive, collaborative, and radical act. Expanding Realities: Immersive Media and Storytelling, presented by the Canada Media Fund (CMF), dives into new narrative forms and methods of worldbuilding across visual, sonic, and technological landscapes.

Kicking off the day, AI provocateurs Dadabots deliver an opening manifesto tying into the Forum's overarching theme. Language artist Sasha Stiles follows with a lecture-performance, presenting a live AI poetry reading that explores the human-machine relationship.

Interdisciplinary artist Jason Voltaire and Argentinian duo Motia take the stage to highlight the storytelling power of live visual design—unpacking how creative rituals and aesthetic decisions shape collective experiences in performance.

In an interactive ‘playformance’, Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley’s What Happens Next is Up to You places the audience at the center of a provocative narrative on censorship and division.

MUTEK and Xn Québec unveil the 2025 edition of the Village Numérique, a unique urban digital art circuit across the Quartier des Spectacles, where cutting-edge technology meets artistic genius, alongside project presentations from a handful of participating studios.

Presentations by new media artist Mélanie O’Bomsawin and founder and creative director of Akoia, Nyambura M. Waruingi, highlight innovative and resilient approaches to cultural storytelling and spatial design.

The talk-show segment What’s Next in Immersive? hosted by Myriam Achard (PHI), features a dynamic lineup exploring the future (and past) of immersive technologies as tools for imagination and engagement. Guests include immersive curator Ana Brzezińska, Marc Barto (V&A), artist Bianca Shonee Arroyo-Kreimes, and more.

Also featured: a critical talk titled Inversive Exhibitions by renowned artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer; artist Q&As with SIM and Ida Toninato & Pierre-Luc Lecours; a hands-on workshop on scenophony—immersive audio design—led by the SAT; and the AIxVoice masterclass with Harry Yeff (Reeps100) and Bertie Sampson (immersive-me), exploring how AI, visual language, and the human voice converge to shape new forms of expressive, ethically-driven storytelling.

Finally, the day culminates with a public showcase of the MUTEK AI Ecologies Lab—an interdisciplinary residency launched in April 2025 exploring sustainable, socially just, and culturally meaningful approaches to artificial intelligence. Developed in partnership with the SAT, Milieux Institute, Applied AI Institute, and Abundant Intelligences, the lab presents six innovative projects shaped through design sprints, hackathons, and mentorship. Highlights include contributions from Soliphilia, Mila, and La Piscine. MUTEK would like to thank the Canada Council for the Arts and the City of Montreal for their support. This project is funded as part of the Cultural Development Agreement of Montreal established between the City of Montreal and the Government of Quebec.

Day 2 – August 21, 2025: Future Interfaces: Technology

Day 2 of MUTEK Forum 2025 explores Future Interfaces, focusing on how transformative technologies are reshaping creative expression across disciplines. From quantum computing to machine learning, gaming to open-source technology, this day invites bold, interdisciplinary visions of resilience, reciprocity, and radical possibility.

Celebrating the 2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, a special series of distinct talks presented by Institut en sciences et génie quantique de l’ÉTS explores how quantum principles can be translated into thought-provoking artistic expressions. The day will kick off with a keynote on non-binary futurisms by quantum art pioneer Libby Heaney.

British synth innovator James Holden introduces Benny, a new live-focused open-source music software. Meanwhile, Oglála Lakȟóta performance artist Suzanne Kite presents work from the Wíhanble S’a Pod as part of the Abundant Intelligences program, sharing projects that translate Lakȟóta epistemologies into responsive artworks. She will also perform an excerpt from Wičhíŋčala Sákowin, a cosmological soundwork rooted in Indigenous story, stars, and ceremony.

In partnership with the Machine Agencies Research Group, Machinic Encounters—an exhibition presented by Milieux, Applied AI, and the Hexagram Network—spotlights student-led projects that challenge utilitarian views of AI. These works instead embrace glitch, care, play, and the poetic potential of human-machine collaboration.

Gaming and play take center stage as technologies of worldbuilding, accessibility, and creative methodology. Highlights include a lecture-performance by Alice Bucknell on ecological simulation in gaming, project presentations by students from Collège LaSalle (LCI Education) and a spotlight on Game Changer, a new study by Club Sexu examining how gender and intimacy are represented—and contested—in Montréal’s gaming industry. Presented by Institut en sciences et génie quantique de l’ÉTS, a roundtable on emerging quantum musical aesthetics, and a live performance-talk on Quantum Music by MOTH and ILĀ (co-founder of Trans Voices) explore how quantum machine learning can be used in musical composition.

Two Indigenous-led games, Katsi’noniowá:nen – The Flying Head by Kahentawaks Tiewshaw and Orange Pekoe by Vanessa Racine, offer alternate modes of storytelling, resistance, and language revitalization through interactive media. A case study on in-game photography will be presented by Ubisoft’s Jean Guesdon, Director of Strategic Visualization.

Day 3 – August 22, 2025: Ethical Futures: Practices

The final act of MUTEK Forum 2025 focuses on Ethical Futures: Practices, spotlighting sustainable, inclusive, and responsible approaches to artistic and technological innovation. This day examines the values, tools, and frameworks shaping the future of digital creation—from decentralized models and commons-based infrastructures to artist-led futures for ownership. Participants are invited to critically assess dominant systems and explore alternative modes of making, sharing, and collaborating.

Award-winning artist and activist Madame Gandhi joins us for a special fireside chat in collaboration with EarthPercent, the environmental charity founded by Brian Eno, to explore the role of music in advancing climate justice.

Music software and hardware maker Ableton will present Ableton Spaces, an interactive sonic playground where visitors can engage with Push and the new Ableton Move. The space will host hands-on demos, artist conversations, and immersive activities that invite new ways of shaping sound and sparking creative ideas.

McKenzie Wark—writer, theorist, and performer—will deliver a signature reading with live beats from her books Raving and Love and Money, Sex and Death, followed by an in-depth conversation on techno-sensuality, queer rave culture, and the poetics of refusal.

FEMINAE NOX presents Resisting Artwashing: Building Artist-Led Futures in Music and Culture, a powerful panel unpacking how performative diversity and institutional extraction without investment operate across the music industry. The conversation will feature the founders of FEMINAE NOX, Salome Asega, Director of NEW INC., and other guests examining how grassroots initiatives, artists-led models, and community-centered collectives are reimagining festival, show, and venue ecosystems. FEMINAE NOX will also present a companion masterclass, Blueprint to Block Party: How to Build Your Own DIY Festival Space.

Rethinking Ownership: Building New Models for Music begins with a book talk from Liz Pelly (Mood Machine) on reimagining power in music, followed by a roundtable with Austin Robey (Subvert) and Peggy Hogan (Next Door Records), who will explore cooperative alternatives to extractive music platforms.

The panel What We Had in Common… On Loss, Extraction, Art and the AI Commons brings together artist Portrait XO, Serpentine Arts Technologies programme, the SAT, and Sporobole to examine how AI systems deplete shared resources—and how creatives are advancing strategies for a sustainable and reciprocal AI commons, grounded in a one-year consultation led throughout the ArtIA initiative. In dialogue, Encode Canada will then present a Youth Manifesto for AI Governance — a creative, justice-centered response envisioning more inclusive, transparent, and imaginative futures for AI.

MUTEK Forum 2025 closes with a rare masterclass and Q&A by Cristóbal Tapia de Veer, the award-winning composer behind The White Lotus, Babygirl, UTOPIA, and Black Mirror, offering a behind-the-scenes look at his approach to composition and sound design.

Also featured on Day 3 are artist Q&As with Matthew Biederman, and Guillaume Coutu & Line Katcho; The Body Politic, a hands-on masterclass by experimental composer Ash Fure exploring physicality and sonic chaos through custom-built instruments and embodied live electronics; and a demo of decentralized autonomous artist Botto, with more details to be announced soon.

DYNAMIC NETWORKING EVENTS

Daily networking activities, including meetups and cocktails, will offer Forum participants the chance to connect in dynamic and inspiring settings. On August 20, Silent Partners, in collaboration with the SAT and Xn Québec, present the opening cocktail in the Satosphère at the SAT—an evening to celebrate the impact of Québec’s digital creativity scene alongside key local and international figures, with special activations in store.

MUTEK Market, a curated networking and career development platform that connects digital creators with international presenters, curators, and industry professionals, returns this year. Dozens of international industry representatives are set to attend MUTEK, including AYA studio (Brazil), b-pm (France), Centro Nacional de las Artes Delia Zapata Olivella (Colombia), Chroniques (France), CTM Festival (Germany), HELLERAU European Centre for the Arts (Germany), INOTA Festival (Hungary), KIKK (Belgium), LAS Art Foundation (Germany), MUTEK.JP (Japan), MUTEK.MX (Mexico), No Convencional Fest (Colombia), New INC/New Museum (USA), Rencontres Audiovisuelles / ISBIC (France), Serpentine Galleries (United Kingdom), Silbersalz Science & Media Festival (Germany), Somerset House Studios (UK), Third Room & Stone Techno (Germany), and Victoria & Albert Museum (United Kingdom), ZKM (Germany), and many more.

On August 21, MUTEK joins forces with OASIS Immersion—a leading destination for immersive and experiential culture in Canada—to launch the first edition of MUTEK Match, a curated B2B matchmaking initiative designed to ignite interdisciplinary collaborations between creators, technologists, studios, and cultural institutions. Integrated with the MUTEK Market, this tailored networking session offers participants exclusive access to MUTEK’s global network. The experience will conclude with a special immersive cocktail reception.

To take part in MUTEK Market and access all networking opportunities at the Forum, submit your interest via our form and join a global community of creators, curators, presenters, and innovators in digital creativity.

BOX OFFICE

MUTEK Forum offers several ticketing options, including the Forum Passport and the Festival + Forum Passport, along with two new additions: the Student Forum Passport at a fixed price of $90 (+ service fees and taxes) and an additional networking access: MUTEK Match at $100 (+ service fees and taxes, limited availability).

Day passes are now on sale at 85$/day (+ service fees and taxes), with student day passes at $35/day (+ service fees and taxes).

Box Office

SUSTAINABILITY COMMITMENT: THE FORUM IN TRANSITION

As part of its ongoing evolution, MUTEK Forum is in transition—committed to circular production practices that respect the 3Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. This initiative, developed in partnership with Sophilia, reflects the Forum’s dedication to sustainable cultural production across its venues, operations, and collaborations.

MUTEK would like to thank its partners, who play a key role in the maintenance and development of its activities and have provided support towards the production of the Forum.

The Government of Québec, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the ministère du Tourisme du Québec, the Secrétariat à la région métropolitaine du gouvernement du Québec, the ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec, the Canada Council for the Arts, FACTOR and Canada's private radio broadcasters, the Department of Canadian Heritage, Musicaction, the City of Montréal, the Conseil des arts de Montréal, Goethe-Institut, Tourisme Montréal, Hôtel Monville, Society for Arts and Technology, Canada Media Fund (CMF), Institut en sciences et génie quantique de l’ÉTS, LCI Éducation, Ableton, Applied AI Institute, Milieux Institute, Silent Partners, OASIS Immersion, Xn Québec, Abundant Intelligences, FEMINAE NOX, Caisse de la Culture Desjardins, CJE, Station Clip, Ubisoft, MOTH, DASA, La Piscine, Encode Canada, Club Sexu, Revital Software, Hexagram, ArtiA, Sporobole, and Botto.