Sonic Acts is an interdisciplinary arts organization focused on the research, development, and production of work at the intersection of art, science, and theory. Originally founded to shape new directions in electronic music, it aims to provide a platform for international projects, artistic research and the commissioning and co-production of new artworks, often working in collaboration with local and international partner organisations, including cultural incubators, universities and art festivals. The organisation also hosts the Sonic Arts Biennial (formerly the Sonic Acts Festival).
History Early years (1994–1998) Sonic Acts was founded in 1994 by Paradiso and the ArtScience Interfaculty (Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, and Royal Conservatory of The Hague) to provide a platform for new developments in electronic music and interdisciplinary art forms. The festival was initially organised annually at Paradiso. At first, Sonic Acts predominantly focused on demonstrations and workshops, but it later broadened in scope to address both the theoretical and practical aspects of artistic development.
In 1995, Sonic Acts introduced new forms of electronic music, such as IDM and electro. The festival featured performances by English electronic musician Mike Paradinas and ambient techno duo Plaid, among others.
Turn of the century (1999–2009) In 1999, the Sonic Acts festival moved from August to December 23, and expanded to include new events, such as a four-hour boat trip along the IJ to various venues including Paradiso. That year's theme was the work of Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi. Since 2001, each edition of the festival has had its own theme.
In the early 2000s, Sonic Acts shifted its focus to digital art and its historical context. Under the name Sonic Light, the ninth edition of Sonic Acts was devoted to "the shaping in time of light and colour in a way which is comparable to the way sound is shaped into music". The festival featured projections by the late German-American filmmaker Oskar Fischinger and Japanese artist Yasunao Tone, as well as Dutch artist Joost Rekveld, who presented a history of abstract animation and light art. Sonic Light also featured American composer Maryanne Amacher, avant-garde musician Francisco López, Japanese composer Ikue Mori, and Canadian electronic musician Venetian Snares.
In 2004, Sonic Acts held its tenth edition, titled Unsorted, which explored emerging art forms rooted in the idea of an information society, featuring artists from labels including Raster-Noton and Touch and drawing inspiration from the breakcore scene. Performing artists included Carl Michael von Hausswolff, Jon Wozencroft, Philip Jeck, BJ Nilsen, Fennesz, Chris Watson and Sickboy. The exhibition showcased the work of artists including Driessens & Verstappen, Lia, and JODI (Joan Heemskerk and Dirk Paesmans, whose practices involved the early internet era and its culture).
The following edition, titled The Anthology of Computer Art, was held from 23 to 26 February 2006 in Paradiso and De Balie. It focused on the history of computer art and described itself as "a tribute to the work of the early pioneers". The festival featured a keynote by curator Jasia Reichardt (known for organising the exhibition Cybernetic Serendipity (1968)) as well as talks by Frieder Nake, Lillian Schwartz, and Curtis Roads, a presentation by interactive artist Golan Levin, and an audio-visual performance by the Austrian collective Granular Synthesis.
In 2008, the twelfth edition of the festival explored the theme of The Cinematic Experience, addressing how "recent technological developments in digitalisation, higher definition imagery and sound, ever-faster communication networks and new types of portable video players make it necessary to re-address the question of what cinema actually is." This edition featured Signal—the trio consisting of Frank Bretschneider, Carsten Nicolai, and Raster-Noton founder Olaf Bender—as well as Ken Jacobs, Erkki Huhtamo, and Hildur Guðnadóttir.
Recent years (2010–2020)
From 2010, Sonic Acts started to engage in international collaborations with groups such as the Kontraste festival in Austria and the international research project Dark Ecology.
The title of the 2010 edition, The Poetics of Space, was derived from the English translation of La Poétique de l'Espace (1958), a book by the French philosopher Gaston Bachelard. The programme included a tribute to Maryanne Amacher, who died in 2009. Speakers included theorist Brandon LaBelle, acoustic ecology composer Barry Truax, and Hildegard Westerkamp, who spoke on the subject of soundwalks. The programme also featured work by architectural studio Diller + Scofidio, among others.
The 2012 edition of the festival, titled Travelling Time, explored the perception and manipulation of time in art, science, and sound. The programme included an opening lecture by George Dyson, the multi-projector film installation Shutter Interface by Paul Sharits, a performance by Catherine Christer Hennix and The Chora(s)san Time-Court Mirage, and a presentation of the Long String Instrument by Ellen Fullman.
In 2013, the Sonic Acts festival focused on themes drawn from cosmology and theoretical physics under the title The Dark Universe. The programme included lectures by physicist and Nobel laureate Gerard 't Hooft, sociologist Saskia Sassen, and architect Keller Easterling, along with presentations of new works by artists Matthijs Munnik, Yamila Ríos, and Joris Strijbos.
In 2015, the festival was titled The Geologic Imagination and examined the Anthropocene and the impact of human activity on planetary systems. Framed by the idea that humanity is living in a new geological epoch, the programme addressed concepts such as deep time, material agency, and geoaesthetics through a transdisciplinary lens. It featured lectures by philosopher Graham Harman and design theorist Benjamin H. Bratton, masterclasses by composer Goodiepal and video artists Steina and Woody Vasulka, and newly commissioned work by artists including Raviv Ganchrow and Jananne Al-Ani. The 2015 edition drew approximately 9,500 attendees.
In 2017, Sonic Acts, in the festival titled The Noise of Being, explored humanity against the backdrop of the Anthropocene and the rapidly changing relationship between humans and machines.http://sonicacts.com/2017/festival/the-noise-of-being/ Sonic Acts Festival 2017 - The Noise of Being The festival had 10,625 attendees. Participating artists and speakers included Eyal Weizman, JK Flesh, Roly Porter, Kara-Lis Coverdale, Jennifer Walshe, Le1f, Evian Christ and Christina Vantzou. The opening night featured four new Vertical Cinema films by Susan Schuppli, HC Gilje, Lukas Marxt, and BJ Nilsen & Karl Lemieux. The Wire Magazine described the festival as "triggering the imagination necessary for an urgent debate". Crack Magazine wrote that the event "kept its audience shifting, rotating, and reversing around the normalised ideas we all share".
In 2019, the Sonic Acts festival marked its 25th anniversary under the theme HEREAFTER, addressing global crises and challenges. The programme critically considered the interconnected impacts of colonialism, climate change, labour exploitation, and technological advancement, reflecting on the deep-seated inequalities and environmental degradation they have caused. HEREAFTER hosted more than 120 artists and speakers, including Beatriz Ferreyra, Christina Kubisch, Áine O'Dwyer, Timothy Morton, Rosi Braidotti, Jodi Dean, Tony Cokes, and Ulrike Ottinger.
In 2021, Sonic Acts Press began publishing Ecoes, a magazine dedicated to sound art, technology and ecology. The name of the magazine comes from a portmanteau of 'ecology' and 'echoes'. As of 2024, the magazine has seven issues.
Sonic Acts Biennial (2022–present) In 2022, Sonic Acts shifted from an annual festival to a two-month-long biennial format, with the aim of enabling a broader and more sustained engagement with contemporary issues. The first Sonic Acts Biennial focused on ecological and technological crises, examining the relationships between humans, nature, and machines.
The exhibition programme, hosted at W139 under the title One Sun After Another, was described by Metropolis M journalist Sanneke Huisman as a response to ecological emergency, featuring "urgent works that raise questions about ownership (who owns nature?), life forms (what is the position of non-human life?), and the role of humans in a changing world." The Biennial attracted approximately 20,000 visitors and featured performances, installations, and discussions by artists including Raven Chacon, Félicia Atkinson, Kali Malone, Aura Satz, Sarah Davachi, Stephen O'Malley, Tarek Atoui, Tomoko Sauvage, Debit, Jessica Ekomane, Lucky Dragons, Samson Young, Julian Charrière, and Mary Maggic.
In 2024, Sonic Acts marked its 30th anniversary with a Biennial titled Under the Spell of the Sensuous, referencing David Abram's 1996 book The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World. Published around the time of Sonic Acts' founding, the book raises questions about perception, language, and our relationship with the environment and other species. The Biennial featured artists and speakers including Charlemagne Palestine, Astrida Neimanis, KMRU, ZULI, Dis Fig, Tarek Atoui, Aho Ssan, Denise Ferreira da Silva and Arjuna Neuman, Susan Schuppli, Elvia Wilk, Natasha Tontey, Jota Mombaça, and Kassel Jaeger.
The 2024 edition introduced the Listening Room, an 8.2-channel sound installation for focused listening, hosted at Zone2Source in Amstelpark. The installation featured works by Annea Lockwood, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Beatriz Ferreyra, Iannis Xenakis, Flora Yin Wong, and Jim O'Rourke. Writing about the experience, journalist Anton Spice noted: "[...] at Zone2Source, you are reminded more of just how porous these boundaries are [...] It was a rare moment where I felt like I could put both my body and my mind to rest and just let the listening take over."
Evolution and growth Sonic Acts is now an annually active organization. Projects include the three-year art, research and commissioning project Dark Ecology, which predominantly took place in the Arctic region. It is also globally touring film programme Vertical Cinema.
Projects Sonic Arts Biennial The Sonic Acts Biennial (formerly festival) explores contemporary and historical developments at the intersections of art, technology, music, and science. It has programmed artists and musicians such as Autechre, Pauline Oliveros, Florian Hecker, Maryanne Amacher, Catherine Christer Hennix, Annea Lockwood, Hildegard Westerkamp, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Ellen Fullman, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Colin Stetson, Kodwo Eshun and The Otolith Group, Peter Kubelka, Stephen O'Malley, The Bug, Chris Watson, Fennesz, Speedy J, Lillian Schwartz, Carl Michael von Hausswolff, Ken Jacobs, Mika Vainio, and Peter Rehberg (Pita).
It has also hosted theorists and researchers such as Siegfried Zielinski, Eyal Weizman, Denise Ferreira da Silva, Elizabeth A. Povinelli, Rosi Braidotti, T. J. Demos, Wendy Hui Kyong Chun, and Tony Cokes. Each edition centres on a curatorial theme and includes an international conference, performances, exhibitions, and screenings across multiple venues. Vertical Cinema