Touch Me Festival deals with interconnections between art and science through themes that engage and inspire contemporary artists and scientists in the field of biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics. From the perception of time to the exploration of pleasure, Touch Me Festival offers new sensation and opens up new dimensions of human perception, presenting within each of the triennial some of the most important projects of international and Croatian investigative art.

In the midst of crisis and forbidden touches, we are grasping new futures!

Since 2005 and through its five past editions, Touch Me festival has so far explored dark matter, time, pleasure, intelligence and energy abuse. Developing continuously at the intersection of art and science, this year the festival is bigger than ever!

The exhibition programme, sound performances, lectures, artist talks, workshops and film programme gather works in the field of exploratory and interdisciplinary arts and experimental sound. Along with the thematic outline which focuses on new forms of coexistence between living beings, nature and technology, the festival also brings KONTEJNER’s curatorial exhibition and performance programme developed within two European projects: EMAP – European Media Art Platform and Re-Imagine Europe.

TOUCH ME EXHIBITION AND FILM PROGRAMME |
This thematic programme reflects on biotechnological and other possibilities of hybrid, symbiotic and chimeric intertwining of living and non-living beings, exploring what happens when we truly get rid of nature – culture, living – non-living, human – non-human oppositions.

Exhibition participants | Koen Vanmechelen (BE), Maja Smrekar (SI), Thomas Thwaites (UK), Ai Hasegawa (JP), Špela Petrič (SI), E.A. 1/1 S.V. (HR) M28 (HR), Luana Lojić (HR), Antonio Kutleša (HR), Marta de Menezes (PT), María Antonia González Valerio (MX)

Curators: Jurij Krpan (Kapelica Gallery, Slovenia), Klara Petrović and Luja Šimunović (KONTEJNER, Croatia)
Film programme “Evolution Passes Through the Stomach” | Jenna Sutela (FI), Sasha Litvintseva (RU) and Beny Wagner (DE), Erin Espelie (US)
Curator: Mirna Belina (Sonic Acts, The Netherlands)

EMAP – EUROPEAN MEDIA ART PLATFORM EXHIBITION | EMAP is a network of 11 European cultural institutions and media art organizations which annually give production grants to emerging European media artists. The group exhibition presents a selection of works based on natural sciences and cybernetics, and produced as part of the platform from 2018 until today.
Participants | Quimera Rosa (ES/AR/FR), Robertina Šebjanič (SI) & Gjino Šutić (HR), uh513 – María Castellanos & Alberto Valverde (ES), Anna Dumitriu (UK) & Alex May (UK), Taavi Suisalu (EE), Kat Austen (UK/DE), Daniela Mitterberger & Tiziano Derme (MAEID – Büro für Architektur und transmediale Kunst) (AT)
Curators: Olga Majcen Linn and Tereza Teklić (KONTEJNER, Croatia)

SOUND PERFORMANCES

RE-IMAGINE EUROPE | This international project is co-created by a network of 10 cultural institutions from across Europe, active in the sphere of contemporary artistic production and transnational networking, at the same time addressing the social and political challenges we face today. As part of the festival, it brings a diverse sound performance programme with artists working in the field of experimental music and related art forms, sound research and new technologies.

Participating | Marco Donnarumma (DE/IT), Hugo Esquinca (DE/MX), Kali Malone (US), Anthea Caddy (AU/DE), Miodrag Gladovic (HR) & Gideon Kiers (NL/HR)
Curator: Davorka Begović (KONTEJNER, Croatia)

Participants | Marco Donnarumma (DE), Hugo Esquinca (DE/MX), Kali Malone (US), Anthea Caddy (AU)
Curator: Davorka Begović (KONTEJNER, Croatia)

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE DISCURSIVE PROGRAMME AND WORKSHOPS COMING SOON

ABOUT TOUCH ME FESTIVAL | Touch Me is an international manifestation that explores the relationship between art and science, created under the concept of Olga Majcen Linn and Sunčica Ostoić. It has been held every three years since 2004 and is organized by KONTEJNER | bureau of contemporary art praxis. The festival is one of our main original programmes: with the triennials Extravagant Bodies and Device_art, it defines our focus on art at the intersection of science, technology and social matters.

PROJECT SUPPORTED BY | Creative Europe Programme of the European Union, Government of the Republic of Croatia Office for Cooperation with NGOs, Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, City of Zagreb – Municipal Office for Culture, Kultura Nova Foundation, National Foundation for Civil Society Development, Acción Cultural Española (AC/E), Embassy of Belgium in Croatia, Austrian Cultural Forum, Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Zagreb, Embassy of Portugal in Croatia, Camões Institute in Zagreb

Entrance is free.