Impakt Festival 2017 Explores Haunted Machines and Wicked Problems

The 2017 edition of Impakt Festival, titled 'Haunted Machines & Wicked Problems,' will take place in Utrecht, Netherlands, from October 25 to 29. Curated by Natalie Kane and Tobias Revell, who have been researching the topic since 2015, the festival examines the relationship between technology and the occult, myth, and magic. Kane is a curator and writer, Revell an artist and designer. The program includes presentations, films, exhibitions, and debates with international guests. The curators note that designers and technologists often describe devices using terms like 'magic' and 'enchantment,' but magic is a form of deception. The project explores this discourse through texts, discussions, and exhibitions. The festival's three lines of inquiry are myth, magic, and monsters. Myth delves into the mythologies built around technology, from Silicon Valley legends to smart city utopias. Magic addresses how technological solutions are presented as wondrous and supernatural, as with the Internet of Things, and also as deception for stealing data or money. Monsters serve as a thread for discussing fear and the personification of devices when things go wrong. A highlight is Dries Verhoeven's installation 'Phobiarama,' described as a 21st-century haunted house, an anxious environment commenting on fear in contemporary society, 'more surreal than reality, more real than theater.'