In our third and final Interdependence summit, presented as part of MIF19 and Distractions, we took inspiration from DYSTOPIA987 and Atmospheric Memory to explore how science and technology are enabling us to reconfigure our minds, bodies and relationships with each other and the world around us. We heard from the artists and futurists visualising new worlds, and the thinkers tackling the big ideas – and there’ll be interactive demonstrations throughout the day hosted by the Royal Shakespeare Company and Magic Leap, Vrai Pictures and TEM. 

Morning session – 10am–1pm

In the morning session, we heard from contributors such as:

Refik Anadol, media artist, director and pioneer in the aesthetics of machine intelligence

Aaron Bastani, co-founder of Novara Media and author of Fully Automated Luxury Communism

Jessica Brillhart, director and founder of mixed reality studio Vrai Pictures

Paloma Dawkins, cartoonist, world builder and the creator of Songs of the Lost for MIF19

Todd Eckert, founder of mixed reality studio Tin Drum

Dan Hett, digital artist and game designer

Dan McQuillan, Lecturer in Creative & Social Computing at Goldsmiths College, University of London

Hardeep Pandhal, artist and creator of the Interdependence artist commission for MIF19

Dr Subramanian Ramamoorthy, VP of Prediction & Motion Planning at FiveAI and Associate Professor of University of Edinburgh’s School of Informatics

Anna Ridler, artist and researcher working with AI, machine learning and self-generated data sets

TEM, creative studio for Skepta’s DYSTOPIA987 at MIF19


Afternoon session – 2–5pm

In the afternoon session (2–5), speakers included:

Claire L Evans, writer, musician and the author of Broad Band: The Untold History of the Women Who Made the Internet

Dame Wendy Hall, DBE, FRS, FREng, Regius Professor of Computer Science, Pro Vice-Chancellor (International Engagement) and an Executive Director of the Web Science Institute at the University of Southampton 

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, artist and creator of Atmospheric Memory at MIF19

Marshmallow Laser Feast, immersive experience studio

Julian Oliver, critical engineer and artist

Professor Verena Rieser, Professor in Conversational Artificial Intelligence at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh 

Vivien Sansour, artist and founder of the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library

Professor Sophie Scott, Deputy Director and Head of the Speech Communications Group at UCL’s Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience

Jakob Kudsk Steensen, interactive and digital artist


Produced by Manchester International Festival in association with HOME.

Distractions is presented by Manchester International Festival, Sound City and FutureEverything, developed by the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority, with the support of Peter Saville, Rose Marley and Modern Designers. The recreational future starts here.