signals 2025
NETWORKS AND ARTISTIC INTERVENTIONS
How can we
communicate in
times of
authoritarian
regimes?
• 28. July - 22. August, 2025
• Based in Berlin, Germany
• Four weeks, full-time
• Small class of participants
Artist / Student (Full Time)
€1995 until 1. May, regular fee €2225
Freelancer
€2125 until 1. May, regular fee €2395
Professional
€2395 until 1. May, regular fee €2525
APPLY BELOW!
course
description
Signals 2025: Networks and Artistic Interventions calls on artists, technologists, and activists to find alternative possibilities and modes of hidden communication through the creation of art, sculpture, installation and performance. During this four-week program, participants will engage in critical discourse to create artworks and interventions that speak to the complexities of our time and the importance of alternative modes of network communications.
On the surface, this program focuses on networked communication through the creation of artworks, sculptures, and performances that send signals across the airwaves in a playful manner using both common and innovative technologies such as WLAN routers, ethernet cables, and flying drones.
At the same time, there is an underlying theme aimed at tackling the bigger question of our time: How can we ensure that important topics vital to freedom and democracy continue to be
communicated from person to person within the confines of a controlled or authoritarian state?
Throughout the world, as the words we say become increasingly policed and politicized, we call on artists and technologists to find alternative ways and hidden communication possibilities through the use of artistic means to make a statement that truth shall always be allowed to be spoken even under the harshest of circumstances within society and politics.
Through innovative technologies, deep and truthful discussions about the current issues of our time, and a thoughtful approach, this program aims to bring out in all of us, new perspectives.
Participants will create thoughtful and evocative works that will then be showcased at programs end.
in this program you’ll be introduced to
Creative and critical perspectives on networked communications
Working with drones
Hands-on collaborative group work
An opportunity for introspection and self-reflection with others
Critical and conceptual development of projects for a group exhibition
A variety of guest speakers with varying perspectives and relevant practices will lead workshops on critical tools and technologies
Professional development for artists and creatives
Exciting humans working in the field, engaging with the local network through weekly potlucks and other events
An amazing network and community of like-minded creative beings and potential future collaboration
course outline
Week 1:
Introductions and getting to know each other deeply, understanding what drives each other and our motivations for joining the program, sharing past works, playful collaboration and experiments on key themes, kickstarting the program with critical perspectives on communication and modern political landscapes and tactics.
Week 2:
We will focus on hands-on workshops introducing tools and techniques for the development of your personal and collaborative projects, getting started with networked
communication, electronics, and playful experiments with drones.
Week 3:
This week focuses on Intermediate workshops building on skills from previous weeks, solidifying final project ideas, including project planning, materials sourcing, and professional development for creatives.
Week 4:
Continuation of previous week, mentorship and technical support, documentation of work, finalising projects for installation and public presentation of your works.
who is this program for?
This program is for artists and technologists with a curiosity to think critically about communications technologies and how to obfuscate them through art, sculpture, and performance. No prior experience needed.
guest instructors
Evan Roth
Artist
Evan Roth has been creating paintings, installations, photographs, and videos shown in arts institutions, in public spaces, and on the internet for the past 20 years. Through the repurposing of tools such as cameras, software, and maps, he creates work to challenge our perceptions of typically unseen aspects of the systems and landscapes that surround us, and to amplify the role of personal agency in the face of these larger systems.
Internationally recognized, his work has been exhibited at prestigious institutions worldwide such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Art Center, Tokyo; Whitechapel Gallery, London; and the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.. He is the recipient of the Smithsonian/Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award, the Creative Capital Award, and the Artangel Everywhere award.
Sarah Grant
Media Artist and Educator
Sarah Grant is an American media artist and educator based in Berlin at the Weise7 studio. She is also the Visiting Professor of New Media at the Kunsthochschule Kassel and founder of the interactive media studio Cosmic.Berlin. She holds a Bachelors of Arts in Fine Art from UC Davis and a Masters in Media Arts from New York University's Interactive Telecommunications Program.
Her teaching and arts practice focuses on the electromagnetic spectrum and computer networks, considering these media as artistic material, habitat, and political landscape. Since 2015, she has organized the Radical Networks conference in New York and Berlin, a community event and arts festival for critical investigations and creative experiments in telecommunications. She is currently a Digital Fellow at the Weizenbaum-Institut in Berlin.
program facilitator
Rachel Uwa
Artist, Educator
Rachel Uwa is an artist and educator with a background in audio engineering and visual effects. She founded the School of Machines, Making & Make-Believe in Berlin, Germany in 2014, an independent school hovering at the intersection of art, technology, design, and human connection. Rachel specializes in working with communities and through her work aims to make the technical sector more diverse and inclusive. She uses technology as a catalyst to encourage others to become more critically-minded, and more deeply engaged with their surroundings and with themselves.
Signals 2025 Application Form
Thanks for your interest in our Signals 2025 Program! We will accept participants on a rolling basis, so we encourage you to submit your applications early. After applying, we will contact you within a few days to schedule an interview.
Women and persons from under-represented communities in the tech field highly encouraged to apply! No prior experience required. This is an emerging field. Not many people have experience in these areas. We hope to help change that!
Please note: We are currently self-funded and do not have the ability to provide scholarships at this time.
If you are a working professional, please inquire with your company about covering the costs of your tuition as part of professional development. If you are currently a university student, consider asking your school administrators if they provide funding assistance. Several past participants have received financial support in these ways. Best of luck!