Conference
08.05.2026
18:00
gnration (blackbox)
Moderated by: Nora O’ Murchú
Free
This conference will take place in English
The centrality of the issue of immigration, in the context of the populist narratives that have emerged across Europe, has led to a reevaluation of the importance of borders in political discourse, as well as to the use of hostile deterrence strategies based on cutting-edge technology. An example of this is the Talos project, funded by the European Union, which enhances border surveillance and security in the European context by using semi-autonomous robots.
Drawing on the experiences of choreographer, performer, and researcher Arkadi Zaides—with the TALOS project—and researcher, artist, and curator Margarida Mendes—with her work in the Białowieża Forest, on the border between Poland and Belarus—the reality of these liminal zones will be the subject of discussion in a conversation moderated by curator and writer Nora O’Murchú.
Arkadi Zaides
Arkadi Zaides works as a choreographer, performer, and researcher. His multidisciplinary projects navigate between spaces where structural violence gives rise to specific forms of social choreography and the artistic space where these are questioned, displaced, and reconfigured through bodily interventions, performative translation, and hybrid staging. He holds a master’s degree from the AHK Academy of Theatre and Dance in Amsterdam, a PhD in Arts (Dance) from the University of Antwerp, and a PhD in Arts (Theater) from Ghent University, where he is also a visiting professor.
Margarida Mendes
Margarida Mendes is a researcher, artist, curator, and educator. Her practice explores ecological mediation, focusing on the intersection of visual arts, experimental film, sound practices, and environmental humanities. She holds a Ph.D. from the Centre for Research in Architecture at Goldsmiths, University of London, is a visiting professor in the Geo-Design Master’s program at the Design Academy Eindhoven, and is an affiliated researcher at ICNOVA.
Nora O’ Murchú
Nora O’Murchú is an Irish curator, writer, professor, and researcher whose work examines how digital infrastructures shape culture, politics, and collective life. Her practice addresses the ontology of computing, tracing how technical systems organize power, extract value, and shape social and affective experience. From 2020 to 2024, she served as Artistic Director of transmediale in Berlin, where she developed a curatorial framework encompassing exhibitions, publications, and public programs.