Montreal's MUTEK Announces Hybrid Exhibition for 2021

The electronic music and audiovisual performance festival is back — virtually and physically — for its 22nd year

BY Megan LaPierrePublished Aug 11, 2021

After celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2019, Montreal's MUTEK festival of digital creativity and electronic music had to adapt its initiatives for the virtual realm in 2020. Now it's back for 2021 with a foot in both spheres, announcing physical and virtual components for this year's 22nd iteration of the festival.

MUTEK has made exhibitions a core part of its programming with public presentations at various partner institutions across Montreal. The pandemic shifted the festival's mandate of keeping pace with artistic developments and supporting artist communities to virtual spaces with the launch of the virtual.mutek.org gallery platform. This year, it will host the free Virtual Wonders component of the festival from August 24 to September 5.

The 24 works that comprise the virtual exhibition — with captivating videos, interactive games and net.art pieces featuring virtual reality or AI — examine our perception of relationships to the digital, amplifying and extending the liminal space between what happens onscreen and off.

Meanwhile, MUTEK's physical exhibition will take place from August 20 to September 5 at six locations across Montreal. Admission is free, and the exhibition will be enhanced by art installations as part of the Digital Detox project supported by the city and the Canada Council for the Arts.

A total of 27 interactive, mixed reality, audiovisual, augmented and virtual reality works by both local and international artists will be presented in indoor and outdoor locales — including Society for Arts and Technology (SAT), Livart, Goethe-Institut, Espace culturel Georges-Émile-Lapalme at Place des Arts, Parterre du Quartier des spectacles and Lahaie Park.

The Expérience series at Parterre du Quartier des spectacles will feature 25 live performances and DJ sets on an outdoor stage from August 24 to 29. Again, admission is free and the following will be performing: Bénédicte, Billy Dalessandro, Ciel, Claire & Alicia Hush, Debbie Doe, Echönymphia, Ellxandra, Gene Tellem, G L O W Z I, Jump Source, Lyndsie Alguire, Martyn Bootyspoon, MAYSUN, NPNP, OJBP, Ouri, Poirier, Presqu'île, RONY, Softmatter, V.ictor, vigliensoni and Yu Su.

Tickets for additional performances are available here.

If this wasn't enough, MUTEK is also hosting a forum that will welcome hundreds of speakers to facilitate panels, presentations, case studies, workshops and networking opportunities.

Visit MUTEK's website to see the full festival schedule and lineup of contributing artists.

Latest Coverage