📅 : 11 October 2024
📍: VEGA, Enghavevej 40, Copenhagen V
🗂️ : The venue of the future

After four years of exploring the possibilities within concert formats and experimenting with new technologies—from artificial intelligence and virtual reality to cyborgs and virtual humans—we at VEGA are at a crossroads.

As a cultural institution, we strive to drive curious, bold, and visionary change by experimenting with new formats, technologies, and ways to engage audiences, while preserving and conveying our musical heritage.

So, what have we learned, and where has this knowledge led us? How can we, as an industry, evolve alongside the artists?

We use this edition of What’s NEXT both to reflect on what we have learned and to look ahead at the key technologies that will continue to shape music and art. We will explore how experimentation can lead to new insights and innovation—and, most importantly, how to involve more people in the process.

We can't predict the future, but we can help shape it. That's why we keep asking: what’s next? What does the future hold for VEGA and the artists we collaborate with? How can we continue to experiment as a venue and push the boundaries of what is possible?

Minds-in/Hands-on for musicians and the industry

What’s NEXT has two parts: an exciting masterclass (minds-in), followed by an experimental laboratory (hands-on), where participants can experience the latest developments in the live music industry and ask questions to relevant stakeholders.

What’s NEXT is VEGA's annual forward-looking conference. In a world of cultural upheavals, technological breakthroughs, and rapid trends that have transformed the way we create content, music, and art, VEGA asks: What’s next, and how do we ensure that the industry remains sustainable when there’s always something new at play?

MINDS-IN

13:00-13:20: VEGA asks What’s NEXT?
Welcome by Louise Opprud
Four years of exploring What’s NEXT: insights, mindset shifts, reversed perspectives, but we will never stop exploring.

13:20-13:50: Stories from a Living Technology Lab
Keynote by Florian Weigl
Florian Weigl will take us on a journey into his world of technology, art, and constant exploration. He will share his thoughts on the key technologies that will continue to transform music and art, and how experimentation can lead to new insights and innovation. We will ask him how we can prepare our mindset for the future to truly explore in more lively and bold ways.
As a curator and researcher at V2_ Lab for the Unstable Media, Florian Weigl is interested in art and contemporary technology that reflects on society, collaborating with artists to develop critical dialogue, artistic reflection, and practice-oriented research.

13:50 - 14:10: Artist interview with Louise Foo

Unfortunately the Swedish duo Gidge is no longer part of the program. Instead we welcome Louise Foo for a conversation about the projects she has been involved in under VEGA Beyond. As one half of the duo Glas, she participated in a residency at VEGA in the spring of 2024. Through an experimental workshop they aimed to create an interactive exhibition. The workshop culminated in an immersive concert at Ideal Bar.

13:50-14:10: Gidge – Rituals of Creativity - Unfortunately the Swedish duo Gidge is no longer part of the program
The Swedish duo Gidge, consisting of Jonatan Nilsson and Ludvig Stolterman, shapes their electronic music from sound recordings they capture in nature. Their music works both on the dance floor and in more relaxed settings. Each track has its own atmosphere and feeling, with powerful climaxes built from quiet pauses using vocal samples.
Gidge will perform at Store VEGA later that evening.

14:10-14:30: The Venue of the Future
Conversation with Lene Vive Christiansen and Majken Overgaard
A moderated conversation about adapting to societal and cultural changes while actively shaping them. We’ll discuss the importance of creating new opportunities, challenging habitual thinking, and fostering dialogue with young and marginalized groups, all while preserving our musical heritage.

14:30: Break

HANDS-ON

15:00-16:30: VEGA Beyond Highlights - A Look Back at Recent Years
In recent years, VEGA has explored new ways to create unique experiences for audiences, while giving musicians and artists the opportunity to experiment and develop their artistic expression through new technology and the spaces provided by VEGA.
A wide range of artists have worked creatively with this, and with VEGA Beyond Highlights, we have selected some of the most exciting projects from the past two years. Here, you can experience how the traditional concert format has been challenged and expanded, inviting the audience to engage with music and art in entirely new ways.
You can, among other things, experience immersive sound and video installations by Glas, Simon Littauer, Nils Frahm, and Robert Borg, augmented reality experiences by Ida Kvetny, Jeanett Albeck, and Noah Rosanes, as well as collage art created by MØ and her fans.