The Culture & Technology Podcast

Playing vs seeing an artwork GUEST Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley is a Berlin-based artist who works predominantly in animation, sound, video game development, and performance, creating interactive spaces. Her practice focuses on intertwining lived experience with fiction to imaginatively retell the stories of Black Trans people. HOST Severin Matusek is a cultural theorist and founder of co—matter, a research & strategy studio exploring the cultural and societal impact of new technologies. IDEAS AND PEOPLE IN CONTEXT Black Trans Archive https://blacktransarchive.com/ "I can’t remember a time I didn’t need you" https://transmediale.de/de/artwork/i-cant-remember-a-time-i-didnt-need-you Resurrection Lands [https://onesouthend.com/resurrection-lands/ ](https://onesouthend.com/resurrection-lands/ ) The Soul Station at Light Art Space in Berlin, 2024 https://www.las-art.foundation/programme/the-soul-station Trans & Conditions, CIRCA, 2025 https://circa.art/exhibition/danielle-brathwaite-shirley-trans-conditions/ CREDITS The Vienna Business Agency supports new companies, projects and products that develop Vienna's creative industries further. Find out more at viennabusinessagency.at. Editorial & Production Team (in alphabetical order): Carina Dala, Mike Evans, Nick Houde, Kesia Inkersole, Severin Matusek, Elisabeth Noever-Ginthör, Alice Smith, Heinz Wolf Theme Music by Hell Mutang.

Translating the physical into the digital Rebecca Merlic is a European digital artist and architect, experimental filmmaker, and senior scientist at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. She creates virtual, interactively experienceable spaces and situations—not merely as portals from the real to the digital world, but as gateways inclusive representation that can only be discovered in the fluid negotiability of virtual worlds. In this episode, Severin is joined by Rebecca to discuss her project Kissaten Vienna, a documentation of vanishing coffee house cultures across Vienna, Japan, and Zagreb using 3D scanning and game engines. Together, they explore how emerging technologies can document and reimagine traditional social spaces while raising questions about accessibility and preservation. GUEST Rebecca Merlic is a European digital artist and architect, experimental filmmaker, and senior scientist at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. She is the holder of the Marianne von Willemer Prize 2020 for digital media, DKB VR Art Prize winner 2023 as well as Content Vienna winner and the holder of Theodor-Körner prize for art and science 2023. HOST Severin Matusek is a cultural theorist and founder of co—matter, a research & strategy studio exploring the cultural and societal impact of new technologies. IDEAS & PEOPLE IN CONTEXT The great Vienna Coffee House-Experiment. Phase II Tour with the expert Gregor Eichinger https://www.viennadesignweek.at/en/archive/2011/the-great-vienna-coffee-house-experiment-phase-ii/ Cafe Prückel https://www.prueckel.at/ Susanne Widl https://cafekorb.at/susanne-widl/ Glitch Feminism by Legacy Russell https://www.legacyrussell.com/GLITCHFEMINISM Glitch Bodies, a multiplatform project that consists of a visual novel Game, a VR-Game Experience, an animation movie, and a performance piece. https://calls.ars.electronica.art/2023/prix/winners/7379/ CREDITS The Vienna Business Agency supports new companies, projects and products that develop Vienna's creative industries further. Find out more at viennabusinessagency.at Editorial & Production Team (in alphabetical order): Carina Dala, Mike Evans, Nick Houde, Kesia Inkersole, Severin Matusek, Elisabeth Noever-Ginthör, Alice Smith, Heinz Wolf Theme Music by Hell Mutang.

How slime mold and ant colonies change our view of the world Claire L. Evans is a writer and musician based in Los Angeles. She is the founding editor of Terraform, VICE's science-fiction vertical, and author of Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet. In this episode, Claire and Severin explore how emerging technologies — from biocomputing to xenobots — are reshaping our understanding of the natural world. Severin and Claire dive into the interconnected world of life sciences and computation, exploring what we can learn from systems like ant colonies, slime molds, and evolutionary algorithms. GUEST Claire L. Evans is a writer and musician exploring biology, technology, and culture. Her 2018 history of women in computing, Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet, published by Penguin Random House, has been translated into six languages and was named one of the Top 10 Best Nonfiction Tech Books of All Time in 2023. HOST Severin Matusek is a cultural theorist and founder of co—matter, a research & strategy studio exploring the cultural and societal impact of new technologies. IDEAS & PEOPLE IN CONTEXT Broad Volume: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet by Claire L. Evans, 2018 https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/545427/broad-band-by-claire-l-evans/ Wild Information Substack by Claire L. Evans https://clairelevans.substack.com/ Ways of Being by James Bridle, 2022 https://jamesbridle.com/books/ways-of-being The Future of Another Timeline, Annalee Newitz, 2019 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43263237-the-future-of-another-timeline Deborah Gordon: The emerging genius of ant colonies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukS4UjCauUs CREDITS The Vienna Business Agency supports new companies, projects and products that develop Vienna's creative industries further. Find out more at viennabusinessagency.at Editorial & Production Team (in alphabetical order): Carina Dala, Mike Evans, Nick Houde, Kesia Inkersole, Severin Matusek, Elisabeth Noever-Ginthör, Alice Smith, Heinz Wolf Theme Music by Hell Mutang.

Claudia Larcher, an artist delving into AI bias and representation through diverse mediums, discusses how gender discrimination is embedded in AI models. She shares her innovative approach to injecting inclusivity into AI training data, transforming historical narratives. The conversation uncovers the challenges in creating diverse images due to entrenched stereotypes and emphasizes the necessity for critical engagement with technology. Larcher also reflects on the artist's role in reshaping history while addressing societal biases, offering insights into her future projects.

Behind the scenes of The Vinyl Factory and 180 Studios In this episode, Severin is joined by Sean Bidder, curator and exhibition organiser at 180 studios and creative director at The Vinyl Factory. They discuss Reverb, an exhibition showing the collaborations of The Vinyl Factory with artists and musicians from the past 20 years, featuring artists such as Virgil Abloh, Cecilia Bengolea, Jenn Nkiru, and Gabriel Moses. Sean shares the importance of physical context in music consumption, the value of dedicated listening spaces, and how digital platforms can enhance rather than replace analog experiences. GUEST Sean Bidder is a curator and exhibition organiser at 180 studios and creative director at The Vinyl Factory. He collaborates with artists to create original exhibitions and art commissions, including The Vinyl Factory: Reverb (2024). He is also the creative director of Fact magazine, a multimedia platform that champions the global movement of electronic art. HOST Severin Matusek is a cultural theorist and founder of co—matter, a research & strategy studio exploring the cultural and societal impact of new technologies. IDEAS AND PEOPLE IN CONTEXT REVERB is a major multimedia exhibition exploring the intersection of art and sound, curated by The Vinyl Factory - https://thevinylfactory.com/features/the-vinyl-factory-180-studios-reverb-exhibition/ 180 Studios, a network of production and exhibition spaces that supports emerging talent and provides a platform for creative growth - https://www.180studios.com/ Fact Magazine - https://www.factmag.com/ The Infinite Mix: Contemporary Sound and Image is an off-site exhibition by Hayward presented in collaboration with The Vinyl Factory at The Store, 180 The Strand. https://theinfinitemix.com/ Devon Turnbull's Hi-Fi Listening Room Dream #1 part of the Reverb exhibition at the Vinyl Factory https://thevinylfactory.com/features/interview-devon-turnbull-on-hi-fi-listening-room-dream-no-1/ CREDITS The Vienna Business Agency supports new companies, projects and products that develop Vienna's creative industries further. Find out more at viennabusinessagency.at Editorial & Production Team (in alphabetical order): Carina Dala, Mike Evans, Nick Houde, Kesia Inkersole, Severin Matusek, Elisabeth Noever-Ginthör, Alice Smith, Heinz Wolf Theme Music by Hell Mutang.

How to communicate and collaborate with AI To kick off season 5 of The Culture and Technology podcast we are joined by Eva Jäger to peel back the layers behind Serpentine's latest exhibition, The Call. Severin and Eva examine how art institutions can move beyond reactive approaches to technology, and towards meaningful experimentation and agency, with The Call exhibition as an example. GUEST Eva Jäger (she/her), based in London, is a Curator, Arts Technologist and Creative AI Lead at Serpentine. She recently curated The Call, Mat Dryhurst’s and Holly Herndon’s solo exhibition which began on October 3, 2024. HOST Severin Matusek is a cultural theorist and founder of co—matter, a creative studio exploring the cultural and societal impact of new technologies. IDEAS AND PEOPLE IN CONTEXT The Call, an exhibition, AI model and Data Trust Experiment at Serpentine gallery, London https://www.serpentinegalleries.org/whats-on/holly-herndon-mat-dryhurst-the-call/ HOLLY+ is a generative AI voice tool modelled on the voice of musician Holly Herdon https://holly.plus/ IRCAM, legendary Paris sound research lab at the Centre Pompidou https://www.ircam.fr/ Holly Herndon & Mat Dryhurst: All Media is Training Data https://shop.serpentinegalleries.org/products/holly-herndon-mat-dryhurst-all-media-is-training-data Radical X Change, a community of activists, artists, entrepreneurs, and scholars committed to using mechanism design to inspire radical social change. https://www.radicalxchange.org/ Centre for Data Futures at King’s College London https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/centre-for-data-futures Future Art Ecosystems 4: Art X Public AI, a publication https://reader.futureartecosystems.org/briefing/fae4 Choral Data 'Trust' Experiment White Paper https://zenodo.org/records/14859320 CREDITS The Vienna Business Agency supports new companies, projects and products that develop Vienna's creative industries further. Find out more at viennabusinessagency.at Editorial & Production Team (in alphabetical order): Carina Dala, Mike Evans, Nick Houde, Kesia Inkersole, Severin Matusek, Elisabeth Noever-Ginthör, Alice Smith, Heinz Wolf. Theme Music by Hell Mutang.

The potential of DAOs in artistic and cultural practices For this season’s final episode of The Culture and Technology podcast we are joined by Penny Rafferty to re-think the ways we organize ourselves. Now that the initial hype around DAOs has cooled off, Penny and Severin took the opportunity to meet in Penny’s Berlin studio to discuss what worked, what didn’t and what’s next for using blockchains and other emergent technologies as a tool for radical imagination. GUEST Penny Rafferty (she, her) is an independent writer and theorist based in Berlin, Germany, where she co-initiated the art collectives Omsk Social Club and Black Swan DAO. Her work stands for a social, collaborative, and open-ended, unpredictable approach to technology and advocates for putting culture before structures. HOST Severin Matusek is a cultural theorist and founder of co—matter, a creative studio exploring the cultural and societal impact of new technologies. IDEAS AND PEOPLE IN CONTEXT Radical Friends: Decentralised Autonomous Organisations & the Arts http://torquetorque.net/publications/radical-friends/ Furtherfield brings together art + tech for eco-social change. https://www.furtherfield.org/ Black Swan is a Berlin-based collective pursuing horizontal and decentralised approaches to art making. https://blackswan.support/ Omsk Social Club is a radical experiment at the intersection of art, politics, and life. https://omsksocial.club/ CREDITS The Vienna Business Agency supports new companies, projects and products that develop Vienna's creative industries further. Find out more at viennabusinessagency.at. Editorial Team (in alphabetical order): Carina Dala, Kesia Inkersole, Severin Matusek, Elisabeth Noever-Ginthör, Theresa Reimann-Dubbers, Alice Smith, Heinz Wolf Theme Music by Hell Mutang.

Alice Bucknell, an innovative artist and writer in Los Angeles, discusses the intersection of game engines and speculative fiction. They explore the politics of world-building in crisis, particularly through projects like E-Z Kryptobuild, critiquing societal inequities and climate issues. Bucknell also dives into interactive narratives like 'The Alluvials,' addressing water scarcity in Los Angeles. Challenging anthropocentrism, they highlight non-human intelligence and the role of AI in creating unique storytelling experiences that reshape narrative engagement.

How does our body interact with virtual experiences? GUEST Paula Strunden (she, her) is a transdisciplinary artist with a background in architecture. She pursued her studies in Vienna, Paris, and London and gained professional experience at Raumlabor Berlin and Herzog & de Meuron Basel before undertaking her PhD at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna as part of the European network TACK: Architecture and its Ways of Knowing. https://paulastrunden.com/ HOST Severin Matusek is a cultural theorist and founder of co—matter, a creative studio exploring the cultural and societal impact of new technologies. IDEAS AND PEOPLE IN CONTEXT Rhetorical Bodies is a collaborative extended reality (XR) installation by Paula Strunden that transcends the boundaries of physical and virtual reality. https://metamorf.no/2024/paula-strunden/ XR Atlas is an interdisciplinary collection of applied and research-oriented projects revolving around virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), and augmented reality (AR). http://www.xr-atlas.org/about Osmose (1995) is an immersive interactive virtual-reality environment installation with 3D computer graphics and interactive 3D sound, a head-mounted display and real-time motion tracking based on breathing and balance. https://www.immersence.com/osmose/ Unity Software is a platform for creating and operating interactive, real-time 3D content. https://unity.com/ CREDITS The Vienna Business Agency supports new companies, projects and products that develop Vienna's creative industries further. Find out more at viennabusinessagency.at. Editorial Team (in alphabetical order): Carina Dala, Kesia Inkersole, Severin Matusek, Elisabeth Noever-Ginthör, Theresa Reimann-Dubbers, Alice Smith, Heinz Wolf Theme Music by Hell Mutang.

Dragan Espenschied, a net artist, discusses preserving digital art and the challenges of archiving in changing software environments. He explores 'emulation as a service' for accessing old software, the evolution of Rhizome in digital art preservation, and the comparison between Rhizome and Internet Archive. The podcast also touches on preserving online art platforms and using low-tech systems for modern art creation.