Professional Conference MMMAD26: Stage Technologies and Hybrid Practices

April 20 (Mon), 6–8 PM. Collaborations between Performing Arts and Creative Technologies (ESP)

This panel explores forms of collaboration between performing artists and creative technologists in the development of hybrid works that combine body, software, and interactive systems. Drawing from different professional experiences, participants will share working processes, research methodologies, and production strategies that help articulate shared languages between artistic practice and technological development. With the participation of Muriel Romero, Artistic Director of the Compañía Nacional de Danza, and Mikolaj Bielski, Artistic Director at Réplika Teatro.

Muriel Romero is a dancer and choreographer with an outstanding international career, having performed with companies such as the Spanish National Dance Company, the Bayerische Staatsballett, and the Deutsche Oper Berlin, where she interpreted both classical and contemporary repertoire with leading choreographers. Since 2000, her practice has focused on interdisciplinary experimentation, and in 2008 she founded Instituto Stocos, through which she investigates the relationship between dance and technology, integrating artificial intelligence, music, and interactive systems. Her work has been presented internationally and is linked to European research projects in the performing arts; since 2024, she has been the director of the Spanish National Dance Company.

Mikolaj Bielski is a theatre maker and director, cultural manager, professor, and curator, and since 2018 has served as artistic director of Réplika Teatro | International Centre for Creation, where he is also involved in production, teaching, and programming. Trained in Philosophy in Madrid and Kraków, his stage practice combines contemporary creation and research, with projects presented across various European contexts. He has been awarded the “José Luis Alonso” Prize for Young Directors (2016) and has collaborated with institutions such as the Polish Institute of Culture and IN-SONORA; his recent works include EUROPA. Los tutelados and Lo que tiembla y casi danza.

April 21 (Tue), 6–8 PM. Networks and Festivals: Sharing Knowledge and Experiences (ESP)

Festivals and national and international networks play a key role in the circulation of performing arts projects that incorporate digital technologies. This conversation will examine how these platforms function as spaces for exchange, experimentation, and visibility for artists and projects, as well as the challenges and opportunities involved in building international communities around digital and performative arts. With the participation of Bani Brusadin, lead curator at Medialab Matadero, and Alfredo Miralles, coordinator of redACTS.

Bani Brusadin is a curator, educator, and researcher whose work focuses on critical technologies, planetary infrastructures, and digital cultures. He is currently a curator at Medialab Matadero and has been part of the curatorial teams of transmediale 2023 and the 5th Industrial Art Biennial, as well as co-founder of the festival The Influencers (2004–2019). His curatorial practice investigates how art can make visible contemporary sociotechnological transformations, exploring—through network cultures and speculative imagination—the possible futures emerging in the present.

Alfredo Miralles is a cultural manager, educator, and artist specializing in the intersection of art, science, and education. Since 2009, he has been affiliated with Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, where he coordinates the Art and Science Platform and pedagogical projects such as Conjuntos, aimed at fostering interdisciplinary collaboration among students and promoting knowledge transfer through the performing arts. His work focuses on developing hybrid methodologies that connect academia with society, and he currently coordinates the Madrid node of redACTS.

April 22 (Wed), 3–5 PM. Learning Environments for New Media Arts and Creative Technologies (ENG)

The emergence of creative technologies has profoundly transformed educational contexts related to the arts. This session will explore how universities, art schools, and research labs are developing new pedagogical models that combine art, technology, and critical thinking, training a new generation of artists capable of working in interdisciplinary contexts. The session will place special emphasis on the approach developed at IED Madrid, with the participation of Carmen Lael, curator, researcher and Programme Leader of the BA in Creative Media Arts, and Andrea Muniain, artist, curator and Programme Leader of the MA in Digital Arts and Creative Technologies.

Carmen Lael Hines is a writer, researcher, and curator working in the field of digital media and technological capitalism. She is a PhD candidate at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and currently a visiting professor at Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm, having previously held a research and teaching position in digital media theory at the Vienna University of Technology. Her curatorial work includes projects for the Klima Biennale Wien, the Venice Architecture Biennale (2021), and Wiener Festwochen 2025, and she is a curator at The Ryder Projects in Madrid. She currently leads the BA (Hons) in Creative Media Arts at IED Madrid, a programme developed in collaboration with the University of Westminster.

Andrea Muniáin develops a practice at the intersection of architecture, visual arts, and critical theory, exploring the relationships between digitality, the body, and materiality from a technical and sociopolitical perspective. Through scenographies and spatial devices, she investigates how representational technologies shape contemporary narratives. Her work has been supported and presented by international institutions such as TBA21, Medialab Matadero, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, and she is co-author of El Giro Fotogramétrico (2024). She currently leads the MA in Digital Arts and Creative Technologies at IED Madrid and teaches at IE University.

April 22 (Wed), 6–8 PM. Robotic Bodies in Performing Arts (ENG)

The integration of robotics, autonomous systems, and intelligent devices is transforming the possibilities of the body in the performing arts. This conversation will explore how these technologies introduce new forms of presence, agency, and relationships between humans and machines, opening up aesthetic and philosophical questions about the future of performance. With the participation of Irene Molina and Paco Ladrón de Guevara, artists, and Mit Borrás, artist and curator.

Irene Molina and Paco Ladrón de Guevara develop artistic practices that explore the relationship between body, matter, and technology from complementary perspectives. Irene Molina investigates the intersection between the digital and the physical through techniques such as photogrammetry, 3D printing, and animation, creating hybrid landscapes and objects where digital error acquires aesthetic value; her work has been recognized with the BMW Digital Art Award (2022) and exhibited in venues such as the Saatchi Gallery and the Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas. For his part, Paco Ladrón de Guevara focuses his research on the intersection between dance and visual arts, articulating projects through installation, drawing, and performance, following a trajectory as a dancer across Europe and the development of his own choreographic and exhibition-based works. Both are the authors of the performance CAN I PET THAT DAWG?!, presented at MMMAD 2026.

Mit Borrás is a Spanish visual artist based between Madrid and Berlin whose practice explores the relationship between humans, nature, and technology from a posthuman perspective. Through a conceptual and multidisciplinary approach, he investigates contemporary consciousness and processes of adaptation as a way of rethinking traditional categories of existence. His work, spanning video, performance, and installation, has been presented internationally in venues such as Centre Pompidou, Art Dubai, and The Wrong Biennale, among others. In addition to his artistic practice, he has developed curatorial and educational projects and currently teaches at institutions such as IE University, TAI, UC3M, and IED Madrid.