Commissioning Partner

The digital art commissions we enable are the lifeblood of the festival experience. Each one is made possible through strategic collaboration with innovative organisations interested in pushing the boundaries of art.

From small to large scale co-commissions, we are expert programmers in the field with an internationally renowned roster of cutting edge artists.

Supported by Crowdicity and The University of York as co-commissioning partners, Can You Die If You Don’t Exist? was a radical performance that examined the concept of borders by the exceptional cyber-feminist collective Deep Lab.

In the performance, Deep Lab member Tamara Al-Mashouk reads every name and no name of the women, children, and men who died attempting to claim asylum in Europe since the early 1990s. This data, published by the Guardian in May 2018 and known as The List, was collated by the Dutch NGO United for Intercultural Action and contains information on 34,361 refugees.

Can You Die If You Don’t Exist? allowed partners to be associated with a truly resonant experience, fueled by activism, and engaged them in an international debate about human rights. Their association showcased a clear connection between their organisational values and an interest in supporting cutting-edge performance.