What if the vibrations that shape our world, sonic, electromagnetic and algorithmic, had their own forms of intelligence?
For the Forum’s 12th edition, Sarah developed the curatorial theme Symbiotic Frequencies and led its programming across three days. At a time when AI is flattening definitions of intelligence and the music industry is fighting for the value of human creativity, the theme insisted that the world is full of ways of knowing and feeling that computation has not accounted for.
The program moved from storytelling and worldbuilding to AI and ecology, Indigenous knowledge systems, immersive media and embodied sound. Highlights included an opening keynote and live podcast taping with Caroline Busta and Lil Internet of New Models, and sessions such as Land-Based AI Ecologies, Tuning the Machine and Frequency and Footprint. Sarah worked alongside guest curators Kahentawaks Tiewishaw and Honeydrip, and integrated an expanded MUTEK Market into the Forum for the first time.
The Forum sold out for the first time in its history.
2026 in numbers:
- 1,057 participants
- 942 professionals from 579 organisations
- 158 speakers, 58% women or non-binary
- 50+ talks, panels and workshops
Selected speakers:
Caroline Busta and Lil Internet (New Models), Mindy Seu, Caroline Monnet, Zach Blas, Claire L. Evans, Elsewhere in India, Katie Hofstadter & Memo Akten
Partners and Collaborators:
Indigenous Screen Office, National Film Board of Canada (NFB), The Lumen Prize, Roland, TouchDesigner, Epson, MAC (Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal), Moment Factory
Photos: Katya Kounioukhova, Félix Bonnevie
