Future Folk

Future Folk: Remixing folk culture through digital technologies brings together leading choreographers, digital artists, creative technologists, and academics for a day of discussion and exchange. Rebecca Evans (Pell Ensemble, UK) and Chieh-hua Hsieh (Anarchy Dance, Taiwan) are joined by other artistic and academic voices exploring folklore, dance and music through digital technologies (AI, motion capture, games and immersive environments). Together, Rebecca and Chieh-hua, will share their work-in-progress from new international collaboration, Field / Zhèn, and explore how AI and dance can be used to preserve, transform, and remix cultural memory. Additional artists and academics will also join, sharing their work and participating in a panel (TBC).

Through workshops, talks, and panels, Future Folk asks: What happens when folk and digital systems meet? How do stories move across bodies, borders and code? And what are the responsibilities of working with AI in culturally rooted creative practice? This is a vital gathering for anyone interested in the future of performance, heritage, and technology.

Proposed Schedule for the day:

10:00-10:30 : Welcome and networking *coffee, tea provided throughout the day and pastry on arrival

10:30-12:30: 2 hour workshop with the artistic and creative technology team exploring how AI systems can be trained with movement data to co-create dynamic, culturally rooted digital rituals. No movement or coding experience needed.

12:30-13:00; Share outcomes of the workshop that participants have generated

13:00-14:00: Lunch (not provided)

14:00-14:30; Field / Zhèn: a new work using AI to generate folk tales from the future

14:30-14:50: Artist talk (TBC)

14:50-15:00: Break

15:00-15:30: Academic talk (TBC)

15:30-16:00: Panel discussion and questions with invited guests

This symposium is supported by co-producers Kakilang. With support from Cecil Sharp House and the English Folk Song and Dance Society.

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