For over 110 years in Brazil, Shell has been dedicated to contributing to the development of the country’s energy potential and its society. Valuing individuals and empowering lives are commitments of the company towards a better future. After all, the true wealth of society lies in the people and the stories they carry.
Promoting culture, diversity, and inclusion are pillars of Shell’s mission. This year, we have secured the second place in the ranking of the largest sponsors of culture in the country through incentivized funds, investing around R$ 70 million in over 30 socio-cultural projects across the territory.
We believe that culture is a powerful tool for societal development and, for this reason, we are honored to sponsor the NOVA BIENAL RIO of Art and Technology, which aligns with our strategy to empower lives. The innovative theme focused on technology in the arts resonates with our vision to encourage human development and inspire creativity and innovation.
We believe that art has the power to inspire and unite people, while also contributing to the development of the community and a more sustainable and inclusive world. We are delighted to support this event that stimulates reflection, promotes the knowledge exchange, and offers unique experiences to visitors. Through this partnership, we hope to further strengthen the bonds between art, technology, and society, contributing to a culturally rich and inspiring future.
For more than two decades, the Electronic Language International Festival – FILE has followed the evolution of art and technology, expanding horizons and questioning paradigms. NOVA BIENAL RIO appears as a step forward on this journey, a unique opportunity to express our time, where technology redefines artistic expectations.
NOVA BIENAL RIO is configured as a cultural network, where disciplines such as architecture, music and literature, among others, intertwine with emerging technologies, merging the New Aesthetics. This collaborative approach shapes the future with knowledge and creativity. Welcome to the journey towards artistic and technological expression at the NOVA BIENAL RIO of Art and Technology.
NOVA BIENAL RIO of Art and Technology
When we think of recent Art in the strictest sense, we necessarily consider the concept of the New as the driving force behind the arts, without which they would be merely standardized or purely market-driven.
Arts and Culture, in general, apply this criterion, for without it, they would become stagnant and repetitive over time. On the other hand, when we think of Technology we envision the implication of concept of Innovation, which produces economic disruptions and new social behaviours.
The term ‘artistic novelty’ refers to the product of poetic creation through human intuition and imagination, contextualized within the historical knowledge of the arts. On the other hand, ‘technological innovation,’ derived from scientific invention, is based on the understanding of networks, algorithms, and machine languages, including contemporary fields like machine learning and artificial intelligence.
When we reflect on the concept of ‘Art and Technology,’ we notice that more than a mere combination of these two things, a fusion between the new and innovation takes place, giving rise to another conceptual form, which we call NOVA = artistic novelty + fusion + technological innovation.
Therefore, by NOVA, we mean not the motor that would produce works in a teleological progressive time, but the FUSION of concepts: a stochastic fusion between intuition and machine, creativity and intelligence. This fusion occurs not through mere worldplay but through the intuitive ‘savoir-faire’ of artists and programmers in the constant emergence of NEW AESTHETICS and SUPERCREATIVITIES.
The NOVA BIENAL RIO is, therefore, an event that aims to be an international biennial exhibition of art and technology hosted at the Museum of Tomorrow, in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Its first edition revolves around the theme of NEW AESTHETICS and SUPERCREATIVITY. It provides visitors with the opportunity to explore artistic projects that work in a diverse spectrum of aesthetic applications, such as interactive installations, robotics, videos, virtual and augmented realities, animations, games, along with artificial intelligence, among other technological tools in their creative processes.
Ricardo Barreto and Paula Perissinotto
founders of FILE – Electronic Language International Festival
and NOVA BIENAL RIO of Art and Technology
ALGORITHMS, POETRY, AND NEW RHYTHMS
Just as in a dance number, art and technology challenge and propel each other. Sometimes it’s technology that advances, opening new possibilities for artistic movements. Other times it’s the artists who, driven by the power of new imaginaries, subvert and recreate techniques, devices, and systems, taking technology far beyond the realm of production, consumption, and efficiency where it often resides.
From this dance emerge unexpected scenes and beings. Walls transform into musical instruments. Sculptures converse with biotechnology. Our own voice materializes and gains color. It’s this diverse and surprising landscpae that awaits visitors at the NOVA BIENAL RIO of Art and Technology, at the Museu do Amanhã.
In each of the selected works, we can find questions that directly engage with themes dear for the Museum. What paths are we building for the future? How do our choices impact the planet? What is the potential of new media in overcoming historical inequalities? How do art and technology help us experience other perceptions of the world and, in doing so, bring us closer together?
Amidst the artworks, the audience will be invited to dance in these spaces, activating body and imagination. It’s in this continuous movement of reflection, provocation, and collective discoveries that we build our tomorrows. Enjoy the visit.
Bruna Baffa
General Director of the Museu do Amanhã
Ricardo Piquet
General Director of IDG – Institute of Development and Management
