Cities and the Possible 

We are in a moment of accelerating global transformation. Technologies are not neutral: they reflect the priorities of those who design them and shape the way we create, communicate, learn, and govern. Power has been reconfigured and concentrated in entities we neither elect nor regulate, whose algorithms determine what is visible, audible, and thinkable. Returning decision-making power to citizens — through transparency, democratic participation, and collective responsibility in technological design — is one of the most urgent political tasks of our time.  

It is in this context that Braga Media Arts presents the third edition of INDEX, Biennial of Art and Technology, under the theme of Power. At a time when Artificial Intelligence has decisive benefits across multiple areas of social life, INDEX poses a necessary question: who controls these systems, who benefits from them, and at what human, political, and cultural cost? Putting technology at the service of all people, and not just those who control it is an ethical and political imperative. Art is still a field where these tensions become visible, where alternatives are imagined, and where citizen participation finds room for intervention.  

Cities today are central territories in this debate not only as engines of innovation, but as spaces where daily life and political decision-making intersect, allowing for the experimentation of governance models that are in tune with people’s needs.  

Since 2017, when it was recognized by UNESCO as a Creative City for Media Arts, Braga has affirmed culture as a tool for transformation. The “Braga Manifesto,” resulting from the 2024 Annual Conference of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, reinforced the urgency of a just transition to Artificial Intelligence, the regulation of digital platforms, and the safekeeping of cultural diversity. 

This edition of INDEX serves as a space where disciplines and ways of thinking converge. It brings together artists, thinkers, and researchers through an international exhibition, national premieres, conferences, and educational activities. What unites them is a shared question: to whom does the future we are building belong? That is precisely Braga’s commitment: to ensure this question is asked out loud.  

Joana Miranda 

Coordinator of Braga, Creative City for Media Arts by UNESCO