Birk Schmithuesen
Birk Schmithüsen is a media artist based in Leipzig (DE). His work explores emerging technologies that affect our everyday lives. He is interested in the actual functionality hidden in a black box behind the simple and intuitive user interface. In aesthetic experiments, Birk explores non-perceptible, abstract concepts such as Machine Learning (AI) and BigData as artistic media.
The research results are staged in immersive new media installations. Between explanatory approaches through data visualization, abstract, aesthetic reuse of emerging technologies and speculative concepts and by creating dynamic systems with life-like behavior, he opens up new perspectives on current topics of digitalization.
Birk holds a diploma in fine art and got an EMAP/EMARE grant. He co-founded the performance art theatre ArtesMobiles and light art label FlashClash. His works were shown internationally at key media art festivals in France, the Netherlands, Austria, Spain and Germany, including re:public, Chaos Communication Congress, Ars Electronica and ZKM.
Education
2018 Diploma Fine Arts (Media Art) at the Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig (HGB)
2014 – 2018 Studied at the HGB Leipzig, most recently with Prof. Clemens von Wedemeyer
Grants and Residencies
2023 residency, Schloss Bröllin (DE)
2023 research grant, Digitalkultur, Kulturstiftung des Freistaates Sachsen (DE)
2023 research grant, Prozessförderung, Fonds Darstellende Künste (DE)
2022 fellowship, Akademie für Theater und Digitalität, Theater Dortmund (DE)
2022 fellowship, ZKM | Zentrum für Kunst und Medien, Karlsruhe (DE)
2021 Digital Gutschein, Bundesverband bildender Künstlerinnen und Künstler, BBK (DE)
2021 production grant, special program “AUTONOM”, Fonds Darstellende Künste (DE)
2021 production grant, Kulturstiftung des Freistaates Sachsen (DE)
2021 production grant, Stiftung Kunstfonds (DE)
2020 conception grant, Fonds Darstellende Künste (DE)
2020 production grant of the city of Leipzig (cultural office)
2020 research grant “Denkzeit”, Kulturstiftung des Freistaates Sachsen (DE)
2019 EMAP/EMARE residency, LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial, Gijón (ES)
Academic Conferences and Artist Talks
2024 Forum für Theater, digitale Transformation und Nachhaltigkeit, Stadtheater Gießen / Münchner Kammerspiele (DE)
2020 Experimenta 2020, Biennale Arts Science, Grenoble (FR)
2019 WinterLab, LABoral, Gijon (ES)
2019 Chaos Communication Congress 36C3, Leipzig
2018 Computation Communication Aesthetics & X, xCoAx, Madrid (ES)
2017 TOA Satellite: Hybrid Music Lab, Holzmarkt, Berlin
Publications
2018 „Speculative Artificial Intelligence“, page 160-163, in xCoAx 2018 Proceedings of the Sixth Conference on Computation, Communication, Aesthetics & X.
Workshops and Teaching
2023 building experimental, electronic music instruments SommerMusikFest, Wolfstein/Pfalz (DE)
2023 Immersive Performance Space and the Performers Body @ The Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space, Prague (CZ)
2023 MergingEntities, tanz:digital – Prozess, Dynamik, Diskurs Workshop, Berlin (DE)
2020 projection mapping, Academy of Fine Arts HGB Leipzig (DE)
2020 video workshop, LKJ-Sachsen (DE)
2016 sound design, ArtCamp, Kulturkosmos Lärz (DE)
2015 music band coaching, ArtCamp, Kulturkosmos Lärz (DE)
2014 projection mapping, ArtCamp, Kulturkosmos Lärz (DE)
since 2012 Performance group „ArtesMobiles“ [co-founder, co-producer]
since 2016 Art&Play, ChaosCommunicationCongress [co-curator]
2016 - 2019 Galeria Iluzja, Garbicz Festival [co-curator], (PL)
2018 Asphalt Piloten, nuitblanche, Brussels [video projection] (BE)
2015 Theater Titanick, 1000 Jahre Leipzig – Lipsias Löwen, Leipzig [video installation]
2015 Compagnie HORIZON, Escape from Flatland, Ulm [interactive video projection]
2015 Leipziger Tanztheater (LTT), Ich bin. Aber ich habe mich noch nicht [video projection]