Sa, 12.07.2026
3 pm
Talk
about 60 minutes
conversation pieces
The internet often feels like a dangerous place, a terrain of increasing threat. The central question therefore becomes: how can we navigate it while remaining both safe and visible? This concerns not only personal experiences but also the structures of platforms that themselves produce these risks. The dark forest theory describes the internet as a dark forest in which it is safer to remain unseen. In The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet (2026), Bogna Konior applies this idea to digital spaces where concealment and deception become part of a strategy for survival.
What does this mean for the internet of our future and for our agency online? What protocols, networks, and shared conditions are necessary to build an internet worth inhabiting? Joining the conversation are Anan Fries and Noemi Garay Murcia, moderated by Anna-Lena Panter.
The discourse series conversation pieces takes everyday technologies as its starting point and situates them in the context of the swimming pool. Each edition departs from a text that sets the thematic frame and serves as a shared point of reference. Invited guests engage with the topic from artistic, theoretical, or technological perspectives, sharing their thoughts and work in dialogue.
The conversation series conversation pieces is curated by Anna-Lena Panter as part of the cooperation between transmediale and Tropez.
The conversations will take place in German.
To take part in the event, you will need a ticket for the swimming pool. Given the forecast temperatures, we recommend that you arrive early to secure a place in good time! As capacity is limited, we also recommend that you book your tickets online in advance to ensure you can take part in the event.
Photo: Anan Fries, Lorecore, 2026, screenshot from video essay, courtesy of the artist.
about the curators
transmediale is an annual festival and a space for critical reflection on art and technology. It brings together transdisciplinary communities and diverse audiences interested in digital cultures to develop new perspectives on our technological age. The transmediale festival takes place annually at the end of January and forms the core of the organisation’s programme. In addition to the festival, transmediale organises events, publications, and residency programmes throughout the year. In 2027, the 40th edition of transmediale will take place.
Anna-Lena Panter organises, curates, and edits projects between Berlin and Vienna. Since 2020, she has worked in various roles at transmediale festival in Berlin. She currently coordinates the festival programme and is responsible for year-round studio activities as well as the transmediale residencies. With a background in publishing practices, she organises exhibitions, discursive formats, and gatherings.
about the guests
Anan Fries is an interdisciplinary artist based in Basel and Berlin. Their practice examines how technologies carry power, ideology and potential for social change. Fries creates installations and performances and regularly collaborates with HAU Berlin. Their video essay Artificial Sex Ep. 1 & 2 received the IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling and the Special Jury Prize of Columbia University's Digital Storytelling Lab. They are co-curator of New Rituals [for the End of the World] at HEK House of Electronic Arts Basel.
Noemi Garay Murcia is a curator and cultural producer based in Berlin, she is the co-managing director of Error 417 Expectation Failed, an independent foundation that supports contemporary Internet art. Since 2020, she has regularly curated exhibitions at panke.gallery and has also co-founded the project space /rosa in Berlin.
Her focus is on art that explores the conditions of contemporary networked technologies. Noemi is enthusiastic about facilitating spaces where people can come together to experience and discuss net-based arts.
Sa, 12.07.2026
3 pm
Talk
about 60 minutes
conversation pieces
The internet often feels like a dangerous place, a terrain of increasing threat. The central question therefore becomes: how can we navigate it while remaining both safe and visible? This concerns not only personal experiences but also the structures of platforms that themselves produce these risks. The dark forest theory describes the internet as a dark forest in which it is safer to remain unseen. In The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet (2026), Bogna Konior applies this idea to digital spaces where concealment and deception become part of a strategy for survival.
What does this mean for the internet of our future and for our agency online? What protocols, networks, and shared conditions are necessary to build an internet worth inhabiting? Joining the conversation are Anan Fries and Noemi Garay Murcia, moderated by Anna-Lena Panter.
The discourse series conversation pieces takes everyday technologies as its starting point and situates them in the context of the swimming pool. Each edition departs from a text that sets the thematic frame and serves as a shared point of reference. Invited guests engage with the topic from artistic, theoretical, or technological perspectives, sharing their thoughts and work in dialogue.
The conversation series conversation pieces is curated by Anna-Lena Panter as part of the cooperation between transmediale and Tropez.
The conversations will take place in German.
To take part in the event, you will need a ticket for the swimming pool. Given the forecast temperatures, we recommend that you arrive early to secure a place in good time! As capacity is limited, we also recommend that you book your tickets online in advance to ensure you can take part in the event.
Photo: Anan Fries, Lorecore, 2026, screenshot from video essay, courtesy of the artist.
about the curators
transmediale is an annual festival and a space for critical reflection on art and technology. It brings together transdisciplinary communities and diverse audiences interested in digital cultures to develop new perspectives on our technological age. The transmediale festival takes place annually at the end of January and forms the core of the organisation’s programme. In addition to the festival, transmediale organises events, publications, and residency programmes throughout the year. In 2027, the 40th edition of transmediale will take place.
Anna-Lena Panter organises, curates, and edits projects between Berlin and Vienna. Since 2020, she has worked in various roles at transmediale festival in Berlin. She currently coordinates the festival programme and is responsible for year-round studio activities as well as the transmediale residencies. With a background in publishing practices, she organises exhibitions, discursive formats, and gatherings.
about the guests
Anan Fries is an interdisciplinary artist based in Basel and Berlin. Their practice examines how technologies carry power, ideology and potential for social change. Fries creates installations and performances and regularly collaborates with HAU Berlin. Their video essay Artificial Sex Ep. 1 & 2 received the IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling and the Special Jury Prize of Columbia University's Digital Storytelling Lab. They are co-curator of New Rituals [for the End of the World] at HEK House of Electronic Arts Basel.
Noemi Garay Murcia is a curator and cultural producer based in Berlin, she is the co-managing director of Error 417 Expectation Failed, an independent foundation that supports contemporary Internet art. Since 2020, she has regularly curated exhibitions at panke.gallery and has also co-founded the project space /rosa in Berlin.
Her focus is on art that explores the conditions of contemporary networked technologies. Noemi is enthusiastic about facilitating spaces where people can come together to experience and discuss net-based arts.
TROPEZ
at Sommerbad Humboldthain
Wiesenstraße 1, 13357 Berlin
Google Maps
Monday – Sunday
10.00 am – 6.00 pm
TROPEZ
at Sommerbad Humboldthain
Wiesenstraße 1, 13357 Berlin
Google Maps
Monday – Sunday
10.00 am – 6.00 pm
