Beta Festival announces programme including award-winning XR performance Noire, conference featuring Abebe Birhane and international exhibition Unsettling the Algorithm

Beta, Ireland’s festival of art and technology, will return for its second edition with a focus on interrogating the relationship between power and technology, examining how digital tools influence society and how we can take agency back in their use.

Co-founded and supported by The Digital Hub, Beta will return from 1st to 17th November and will feature a series of events including two exhibitions, several interactive workshops, performances, a thought-provoking conference, and an assembly focussed on artificial intelligence and art.

Cannes Film Festival winner Noire, the Unknown Life of Claudette Colvin will make its Irish debut at this year’s Beta Festival. Directed by Stéphane Foenkinos and Pierre-Alain Giraud, Noire tells the real-life story of 15-year-old Claudette Colvin, who refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in a segregated 1950s Alabama through an immersive and encapsulating digital performance showing the power of storytelling through technology. Noire is presented by The Digital Hub, the French Embassy in Ireland and Institut Francais, as part of the official Novembre Numérique programme, and is supported by Smart Dublin.

This year, Beta will host two exhibitions: the first Unsettling the Algorithm: Seeds of Resistance, is an international exhibition curated by Aisling Murray and Nora O’ Murchú. Featuring artists including Irish-Iraqi artist Basil Al-Rawi, Tega Brain and Sam Levigne, Firas Shehadeh, Winnie Soon and Tzu-Tung Lee, Nora Al Badri and Mediengruppe Bitnik among others, the exhibition will explore how digital infrastructures and algorithms shape, influence and govern our daily lives. Separately, the Local Artists Network will spotlight emerging Irish artists with new work from Conan McIvor, Aisling Phelan, Cailean Finn, and more.

Among these installations will be the interactive artwork Boogaloo Bias, which explores the dangers of unregulated use of facial recognitiontechnology particularly among law enforcement. Created by Jennifer Gradecki and Derek Curry, the project examines the practice of ‘brute forcing’, where law enforcement substitutes images of celebrities resembling suspects when high-quality images are unavailable and explores themes of accountability and bias in automated systems.

Keynote addresses by cognitive behavioural scientist and member of the UN’s AI Advisory Board Abebe Birhane and Head of Arts Technologiesat London’s Serpentine Gallery Kay Watson will be delivered at the conference, while several workshops, discussions and think-ins will be hosted by ADAPT research centre, the Creative Futures Academy, Fire Station Artists’ Studios and Creative Spark during the festival.

Key highlights for the festival will include:

• Noire, the Unknown Life of Claudette Colvin tells the real-life story of the 15-year-old who refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in a segregated 1950’s Alabama in a near-mirror event to that of Rosa Parks, told through an immersive digital performance. Noire won the inaugural award for Best Immersive Experience at Cannes Film Festival earlier this year and the production is brought to Ireland by the Beta Festival and The Digital Hub, in association with the French Embassy and Institut Francais, and is supported by Smart Dublin. Noire will make its Irish debut at the Samuel Beckett Theatre from 7th – 10th November.
• Assembly on Art and AI will bring together AI researchers, policy makers, cultural leaders and artists to explore the impact of artificial intelligence on arts and culture and identify challenges and opportunities to fuel a rolling agenda of areas to consider when creating policy centred on AI.
• Cold Call, a call centre created by Tega Brain and Sam Lavigne that reimagines carbon offsetting, by transforming the concept of time theft – a form of resistance where employees deliberately slow productivity – into a carbon-saving strategy aimed at high-emission companies. Through the call centre, viewers are encouraged to call fossil fuel companies and distract them for as long as possible, delaying carbon-emitting activities.
• Keynote discussions by Head of London’s Serpentine Gallery Kay Watson and UN’s AI Advisory Board Abeba Birhane, encompassing AI’s potential benefits and proven risks

The official opening will take place on Friday, 1st November at The Digital Hub in Dublin 8.

Aisling Murray, co-founder and director of Beta Festival, commented:

“I am thrilled that Beta is returning for its second year and very grateful for the continued support from co-founders The Digital Hub and funders Science Week. It has been an exciting opportunity to work with Nora O’ Murchú on curating our international exhibition Unsettling the Algorithm, which complements this year’s programme that showcases some of Ireland’s most exciting art and technology offerings and gives audiences a chance to explore international best practice of new technologies. The outstanding XR performance Noire will be a highlight of our programme and is the best integration of immersive technology with storytelling that I have come across, which I cannot wait to share with audiences.”

Fiach Mac Conghail, co-founder of Beta Festival and CEO of The Digital Hub, added:

“At The Digital Hub, we always consider the impact of emerging innovations in technology on our society. We provide a creative and safe space for audiences to understand these developments in a tangible and meaningful way. We believe that artists can assist us in this understanding and this year’s programme at Beta is no exception. Through an invigorating programme of important artworks, workshops, innovative keynote speeches and engaging performances, we are in a position to offer this insight and consideration to our communities at The Digital Hub. We are excited to launch the 2024 edition of Beta festival on 1st November and look forward to seeing the great work of so many artists and the visitors that join us over the two weeks.”

The Digital Hub has a strong track record in supporting digital technology industries, creative enterprises, and community learning programmes in Dublin 8 and beyond. Beta is aimed to be both a culmination of various activities within the Liberties campus, as well as a starting point for further discussion on how to make complex technologies more accessible to communities.

The Digital Hub and Aisling Murray are being supported in its preparations for Beta by Science Week, Ambassade de France en Irlande and Institut Francais, British Council, ADAPT Research Centre, Smart Dublin, Fire Station Artist’s Studio, Creative Futures Academy, The Arts Council and Pallas Projects.

Beta Festival will kick off from Friday, 1 November with a variety of events and exhibitions during that time with the centrepiece exhibition, Unsettling the Algorithm: Seeds of Resistance and additional events at The Digital Hub running until Sunday, 17 November.

Tickets for Noire are available to purchase here https://2024.betafestival.ie/.

To find out more about Beta Festival 2024 and how to purchase event tickets, visit https://2024.betafestival.ie/ or follow Beta Festival on Instagram, LinkedIn or X for the latest updates.

See more stories here.