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Elsewhere, Keiken explores perception and worldbuilding through participatory formats, asking audiences to reflect on how they interpret and construct reality, moving away from passive listening and requiring attendees to engage directly with tools, systems, and concepts. A similar approach appears in workshops led by practitioners such as Chia Amisola and communities like 0xSalon, where the focus shifts to the structure of the internet itself. Participants are invited to explore alternative frameworks, including small, self-organized networks and experimental digital spaces. This theme connects figures such as Yancey Strickler and Mindy Seu, who approach the internet not as a fixed infrastructure, but as something that can be redesigned.

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These discussions are not limited to theory. Many sessions combine analysis with participation so that the audiences also become contributors, such as collective readings, interactive talks, and game-based workshops. In this way, this space within the Sónar+D festival lineup becomes an area for exchange instead of presentation. The exhibition program also reinforces this approach by translating abstract ideas into physical installations, with works by Volvox Labs and Superbe operating as systems that respond to input from the audience. In Astral Twin, robotic arms move in continuous cycles, balancing repetition and variation. Then in From0, sound is captured and transformed into motion through a series of pendulums. Both installations require interaction to function fully, making visitors part of the work, and this emphasizes participation, aligned with the broader theme of the festival.

Roxanne Harris

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The architecture of Llotja de Mar plays a key role because the event’s stages and spaces have been redesigned to fit the theme of engagement. Circular layouts place speakers at the center of the room, surrounded by the audience, and outdoor and transitional areas host conversations and informal exchanges. This design reflects the program’s overall structure, where different formats, talks, performances, workshops, and exhibitions, are interconnected and not separated. Another layer of the lineup focuses on community involvement. Local groups and networks are invited to take part in the program with takeovers and collaborative sessions. The presence of communities such as Barcelona Music Tech Hub and The Generative Art Museum highlights how innovation often emerges from collective practice rather than individual work.

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Whether through AI-driven music, body-based performance, alternative internet models, or interactive installations, the Sónar+D festival lineup addresses the question on how people can actively shape the systems that shape them. The result is a program that functions less as a series of separate events and more as a continuous environment, where ideas introduced in talks reappear in performances, are tested in workshops, and are experienced in installations. This circulation creates a feedback loop, so concepts move between formats and evolve through interaction and not stagnate. Sónar+D 2026 runs from June 18th to 19th at Llotja de Mar in Barcelona, Spain.

Chia Amisola in Southern Exposure SF

the program builds a shared theme: technology as a tool to question, shape, and actively engage with | photo by Nerea Coll