Conference
09.05.2026
15:00
gnration (blackbox)
Moderated by: Mariana Pestana
Free
This conference will take place in English
Contemporary life relies on a vast array of systems that ensure services, logistics, communication, trade, and, ultimately, the comfort of a portion of the planet’s population. In “Systems Ultra”, a book published in 2024, British artist and writer Georgina Voss uses an analysis of these infrastructures to dissect power relations and the role of technology in shaping our reality. Nicolas Maigret, drawing on his work with the collective DISNOVATION.ORG, also addresses systems of power through the lens of the energy and material conditions of life in the Anthropocene, investigating how computing, industry, and the economy depend on extractivist logics and finite resources. In this session, moderated by architect and curator Mariana Pestana, Maigret and Voss will present their current lines of research at the intersection of power and technology, which will serve as a starting point for a broad discussion.
Georgina Voss
Georgina Voss is an artist, writer, and educator whose work explores the presence and politics of large-scale technologies and heavy industry through performance, multimedia installation, visual art, and writing. She has exhibited and performed at institutions such as transmediale, STUK, the V&A in London, the Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin, and Tate Modern, among others. Voss holds a PhD from SPRU at the University of Sussex and is currently a visiting professor in the Department of Science and Technology Studies at UCL.
Nicolas Maigret
Nicolas Maigret is an artist, curator, educator, and co-founder of the art collective DISNOVATION.ORG. This platform combines contemporary art, research, and hacking to critically translate complex eco-social debates into operational and provocative exhibitions. His exhibitions, books, and videos have permeated the cultural landscapes of various countries, fostering critical dialogue at the intersection of artistic, political, and scientific research.
Mariana Pestana
Mariana Pestana earned her degree in Architecture from FAUP in 2001. She completed her studies at Central Saint Martins (MA in Narrative Environments, 2011) and at the Bartlett School of Architecture (PhD in Architectural Design, 2019). She has co-curated exhibitions such as “The Future Starts Here” (V&A, 2018), “Eco Visionaries” (MAAT, Matadero, Royal Academy, 2019–20), and at the MAC CCB Architecture Center (2023–24). At the Institute of Interactive Technologies, Pestana serves as the Arts and Culture Coordinator for Bauhaus of the Seas Sails and as the local principal investigator for Tidal ArtS, two EU-funded projects.