Fotonica Festival Returns to Rome with Immersive Digital Art

The eighth edition of Fotonica, an international festival of digital audiovisual arts, is underway in Rome, running until December 21. The festival features immersive installations, live audio-visual performances, workshops, and video mapping across venues including the Accademia d'Ungheria and the new Chromosphere Dome, a futuristic space for 360-degree projections. Artists from 19 countries participate, including Lydia Yakonowsky (Canada), VJ Spetto (Brazil), Ployz (Thailand), and Monocolor (Austria). Artistic director Gianluca Del Gobbo highlights key works such as Dávid Ariel Szauder's installation "Modulator V3" at the Accademia d'Ungheria, inspired by László Moholy-Nagy's "Light Prop for an Electric Stage" (1930). Other notable performances include Monocolor's "Entangled Structures," Kati Katona's "Continuum," Milian Mori's "DOM1" (fusing dance, algorithms, and minimal music), and Konx-om-Pax's "Uaxuctum." The festival aims to consolidate its international platform, support emerging artists through residencies and workshops, and attract a broader audience beyond specialists. Del Gobbo emphasizes that the Chromosphere Dome serves as a sensory laboratory dissolving boundaries between real and virtual.