Digital systems address us in ways that engender a ‘performance of proximity’: a choreographed algo-rhythm that shapes our politics, our labour, and our relations to one another through the smoothed interfaces of our devices. From ASMR battles with whispered trash talk to children who speak to their parents like Alexa, from e-girls selling their bathwater to skin-riding robots serving your drinks, algorithms reform our human need for connection by advancing new proximities as a replacement for the closeness we yearn for in the times we live in.

transmediale 2025 follows a renewed curatorial approach, shaping both the festival’s theme and programming methodology. Two curators, Ben Evans James and Elise Misao Hunchuck , lead the thematic focus and curatorial research. Additionally, they have invited a group of programmers – artist and performer Nina Davies , editor-researcher Eugene Yiu Nam Cheung , and trans*disciplinary artist-designer Ren Loren Britton – to contribute to the festival. transmediale is further expanding collaborations with its long-standing partners: Winchester School of Art at the University of Southampton, Digital Aesthetics Research Centre (DARC) at Aarhus University, Weibel Institute for Digital Cultures at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, and the Media Studies (EMW) at University of Potsdam & University of Applied Sciences Potsdam.

Filippo Gianetta managing director, Magdalena Ritter senior advisor, Anky Heidenreich festival coordination, Anna-Lena Panter programme coordination, public relations, residencies, Lucas Matray fundraising coordination, studio management, Wakaba Kimura administration and finance, Sylvia Rybak communications management, Bárbara Acevedo Strange graphic design, Marine Kervizic programme management, Neza Grum programme management, Ailie Gieseler communications assistance, Natasza Kozłowska front of house management

curatorial team Ben Evans James Curator and Research Lead, Elise Misao Hunchuck Curator and Research Lead

transmediale advisory board Nora Al-Badri, Asia Bazdyrieva, Gabriele Horn, Jussi Parikka

Main funders: Kulturstiftung des Bundes, Die Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien

Additional funding: Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg, Berlin Senat

Partners: CTM Festival, silent green, HKW, Embassy of Canada, EMAP European Media Art Platform, European Union, werkleitz, Aarhus University, Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien, Winchester School of Art, FH;P Fachhochschule Potsdam, Universität Potsdam, Universität der Künste Berlin, Ministry of the Cultures, Arts and Heritage of Chile, Arts Council Korea, Pro Helvetia

Media partners: arte, Berlin Art Link, Berliner Fenster, Le Monde diplomatique, Springerin

Supporters: Stager, In-Berlin, Finnland Institut, Österreichisches Kulturforum, Culture Ireland, soar