Open seminar
Open seminar: Performing Arts in the Age of AI
Thu 8 October 17:00–20:00
Marsio Stage (Otakaari 2, Otaniemi)
Welcome to an open seminar organized by Espoo Theatre and Aalto University with leading experts of European perfoming arts an creative technology.
Artificial intelligence and emerging technologies are rapidly changing the contexts in which performing arts are created, produced, and experienced. This event brings together perspectives from the arts, technology, and academia to explore what these developments mean in practice: from new forms of artistic collaboration and experimentation to partnerships between cultural institutions and technology ecosystems. Through three keynote presentations, the program asks how the performing arts can engage with technological change while retaining their own forms of knowledge, imagination, and critical thinking. The speakers of the event represent leading institutions and practitioners in these fields in Finland and Belgium.
Programme:
17:00 – Opening
17:15 – Keynote 1: Centre for Radical Creativity
by Dr. Riikka Mäkikoskela, Head of Aalto Centre for Radical Creativity, Aalto University
How do we create new ideas, processes, solutions, products, services and collaborations in our turbulent times? And how do we move from incremental, step-by-step development to radical change? Riikka Mäkikoskela brings research perspectives and experiences from Aalto University’s Radical Creativity initiative to the discussion.
17.45 – Keynote 2: Building Productive Alliances Between Different Ecosystems
by Stijn Jansen, Creative Director, Wintercircus Ghent
How can arts and technology organisations build meaningful partnerships despite their different cultures and ways of working? Drawing on the collaboration between Wintercircus and NTGent, Stijn Jansen explores the opportunities, challenges and lessons of connecting artistic and technological ecosystems.
18:15 – Keynote 3: Goose Bumps Tech Lab
by Yves Degryse, Artistic Director, NTGent and BERLIN
How can technology become a creative partner in the performing arts? Yves Degryse introduces NTGent’s Goose Bumps Tech Lab and its experiments with AI, artistic creation and machine agency, with Alva Ishii and Sonder as concrete examples.
18.45 Q&A
with Riikka Mäkikoskela, Stjin Jansen and Yves Degryse, moderated by Jussi Sorjanen
Riikka Mäkikoskela
Dr. Riikka Mäkikoskela works as the Head of Aalto Centre for Radical Creativity and Head of TiLA! at Aalto University, Finland, driving transdisciplinary collaboration and systemic change at the intersection of art, design, technology and business. Her research focuses on the creative process, and her research and art have been presented at both Finnish and international events, galleries, museums, conferences and journals. Her expertise lies in art-based research, creative and strategic leadership, and building cultures and environments that nurture radical innovations and future-oriented problem-solving.
Stijn Jansen
Stijn is a creative director and curator, currently leading the brand and public program at Wintercircus in Ghent, home of the city's tech ecosystem. There, Stijn curates and develops a wide range of activities at the intersection of culture and technology, shaping how the organization engages with its public and technology audiences. This includes collaborations with other cultural houses in Ghent to create unique productions, such as the current partnership with NTGent on SONDER.
Born and raised in Belgium, he built a career as a concept creative with a focus on technology and innovation, starting out at creativity-driven advertising agencies and earning recognition at Cannes Lions, Eurobest, London International Awards and many others.
In 2015, he joined SF HEAT in San Francisco, where he spent four years as a lead creative working on global gaming titles including EA FIFA, Star Wars Battlefront and Titanfall, as well as developing innovative campaigns with tech platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
After returning to Belgium and stepping away from his advertising career, he brought together his passion for digital art with community and culture by joining the early team at Wintercircus. His long-standing fascination with technology and the maker community continues to shape that work, expressed through interactive installations, product design, experimental projects, and mentoring emerging creative talent.
Yves Degryse
Yves Degryse (born 1977) is artistic director of BERLIN and, together with Barbara Raes and Melih Gençboyacı, part of the artistic directors team at NTGent. He founded BERLIN in 2003 together with Bart Baele and Caroline Rochlitz. Since 2022, he has been solely responsible for BERLIN's artistic direction; 'The making of Berlin' was the first production in this new constellation. This was followed in 2025 by 'Living Apartment Together', the first co-production between BERLIN and NTGent, in which the façade of an apartment building served as a stage and projection surface.
Within BERLIN, Degryse works on formats that move between fact and fiction, and between technological and more organic forms of creation. Each production starts from reality, but chooses the form that the material requires: image, text, live performance, technology, or installation. A recent development in this regard is 'Sonder' (2027), a performance about mourning and closeness in which Alva Ishii, NTGent's digital house maker, also plays a role.
Acting and directing run parallel in his career. Between 2000 and 2009, he was part of the theater collective SKaGeN, which he co-founded. He has appeared in productions by NTGent, SKaGeN, and Comp. Marius, among others. Degryse also regularly appears in television series and films.
Centre for Radical Creativity
The Centre for Radical Creativity is an interdisciplinary actor at Aalto University that brings together science, art, technology and business. It investigates what radical creativity means for individuals, organisations and society and supports and develops education that puts these findings into practice. Through collaboration with companies, foundations and the public sector, The Centre for Radical Creativity explores how creativity can change the way we think and act.
Read moreWintercircus
Located in the heart of Ghent, Wintercircus is a dynamic technology and innovation hub where entrepreneurship, creativity and curiosity come together. Its 15,000 m² historic site combines a startup campus hosting more than 35 early-stage technology companies, a community of entrepreneurs and forward-thinkers, and a public arena that welcomes a broad programme of performances, art installations, conferences and events.
Read moreNTGent
NTGent is a dynamic city theatre that challenges, inspires and engages a diverse audience. Through high-profile productions and theatre as a catalyst for social debate, NTGent combines a Ghent-based perspective with an international reach. Its three artistic focal points – Art & New Technology, Art, Care & Rituals, and Art & the City – form the foundation of a multifaceted creative house of makers where generations of artists collaborate.
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