An international festival for society, electronic art and open-source code and technological freedom. This year festival focus on the vital connections between ecology, technology and art. We’re presenting special programs, exhibitions, and happenings that move between soil regeneration, digital ecologies, sonic experimentation and much more.
Join us in bringing this vibrant event to life by volunteering in one of the following areas:
Rigging
Camera/Documentation
Exhibition Hosts
Kitchen (simple serving)
Runners/Tech Support
If you’re ready to dive in and be part of something special, we’d love to have you on board!
PIKSEL25 20-23 Nov – Bergen – Norway
Piksel is an international festival for electronic art and technological freedom and involves participants from more than a dozen countries exchanging ideas, coding, presenting art and software projects, doing workshops, performances, and discussions on the aesthetics and politics of free technologies.
You will receive a festival pass with full access to all our events, a festival t-shirt and poster, a work certificate, and an experience for life!
Perma/Soils invites you to discover how communities from Asia, Latin America, and the North (un)save their soils — through a vibrant program including a seminar, an exhibition, and a happening at the Piksel Festival.
What can the taste of an oyster possibly tell us about the health of a forest? Why on earth do we call it “data mining” — and what is it really mining at all? So, how are other cultures actually healing their soils — and what can we learn from them?
Developed in collaboration with the University of Oslo and based on the Anthropogenic Soils research project, this seminar brings together artists, architects, and researchers to explore how soils—living, stratified, and deeply interconnected—link ecology, technology, and culture.
Soils are archives of care and pollution, witnesses to both human damage and resilience. Through interdisciplinary perspectives, our speakers reveal how the infrastructures that underpin our digital lives are built on the same extractive logics that deplete our land.
Seminar
From agricultural runoff and algae blooms (Ewen Chardronnet) to migration and belonging in Punjab’s soils (Dr. Davina Kaur Patel); from fermentation as ecological healing (Maya Minder) to the architectures of data extraction and storage (Marina Otero Verzier), Perma/Soils maps the porous boundaries between soil and system, nature and network.
The seminar also pays tribute to Shigeatsu Hatakeyama (1943–2024) — oyster farmer, environmentalist, and author of “The Forest in Love with the Sea.” His life’s work reminds us that the vitality of marine life begins inland, in the forests and rivers that feed the sea.
Happening
A seaweed and oyster tasting happening at the festival’s opening day will kick off this reflection through flavor, celebrating the symbiosis between ecosystems, species, and human sensibilities.
Exhibition
At Studio 207, the Perma/Soils exhibition brings together works that explore the entanglements of soil, ecosystems, and technology: Cecilia Jonsson investigates the historic Litlabø pyrite mines and their severe water contamination; sorlar4Rain (NSA Collective, Maite Cajaraville & Gisle Froysland) connects two distant ecological systems in a solar-powered sci-fi narrative of renewable energy exchange; Marina Otero Verzier presents her installation Compost Computacional, recently awarded a Special Mention at the S+T+ARTS Prize 2025, critically examining the environmental cost of digital infrastructures; and the Norwegian premiere of Umi No Oya (ウミノヲヤ) – The Mother of the Sea by Maya Minder & Ewen Chardronnet traces the legacy of British phycologist Kathleen Drew-Baker and her discovery of red algae life cycles, which transformed nori cultivation in postwar Japan.
Perma/Soils places living soil at the heart of our ecological and digital imagination, asking us how we can restore balance, from the soil to the sea, from matter to data. Join us in Bergen. Let’s get to work! Let’s reflect on our roots.
25.piksel.no | November 20–23 | PIKSEL 25 – Perma/Soils
No tagsComments Off on Perma/Soils – Interdisciplinary Strategies for Soil Recuperationmore...
We are excited to announce the call for projects for the 23nd edition of the Piksel Festival!
Piksel will again go hybrid this year, so we welcome ideas for both online and physical collaborative activities. We are also interested in projects that involve the virtual gallery IDLE. If you are a 3D artist, live coder, or feel inspired by the virtual environment IDLE (Inclusive Digital Laboratory for Experimental Art), we would love to hear your ideas. IDLE includes a virtual gallery that mimics the physical Piksel Studio 207 and is connected to the IDLE IoT system, with lights, screens, and a sound system controlled by the internet (Internet of Things system). Learn more at https://idle.piksel.no/.
To make the most of our resources and create a more sustainable event, we are extending the exhibition period from the festival dates until mid-December. We encourage you to present art installations that can be built in Bergen to minimize international transport, aligning with our green strategy. Due to limited resources, we will prioritize projects from individual artists or artist collectives that can explore a specific theme through multiple artworks and workshops. We warmly encourage artists to apply to different open tracks, as this will help us better understand the full scope of your work.
Please feel free to submit your projects to any of the open tracks: presentations, workshops, concerts, installations, and PikselSavers.
Piksel offers travel to Norway, accommodation, and meals during the festival and the setup days in advance to help you realize your project.
We look forward to receiving your submissions!
!!!!!!!!!! Deadline — October 31st 2025 !!!!!!!!!!
For the exhibition and other parts of the program we currently seek projects in the following categories:
1. Installations Projects to be included in the exhibitions. The works must be realized by the use of free and open source technologies. For Piksel25 we specially encourage projects in the field of DIY BIOart and renewable/sustainable technologies to apply.
2. Audiovisual performance Live art realized by the use of free software and/or open/DIY hardware. If you are a 3D artist/live coder or feel inspired by the virtual environment IDLE, Inclusive Digital Laboratory for Experimental Art, we would like to hear your ideas. IDLE consists of a virtual gallery, mimicking the physical Piksel Studio 207 and the IDLE IoT system, lights, screen and sound system controlled by internet (Internet of Things). https://idle.piksel.no/
3. Presentations Innovative DIY/open hardware and audiovisual software tools or software art released under a free/open license. (Also includes presentations of artistic projects realized using free/open technologies.) For Piksel25 we specially encourage projects in the field of DIY BIOart and renewable/sustainable technologies to apply.
4. Workshops Hands on workshops utilizing free software and/or open/DIY hardware for artistic use. For Piksel25 we specially encourage projects in the field of DIY BIOart and renewable/sustainable technologies to apply.
5. PikselSavers Video and software art based on the screensaver format – short audiovisual (non)narratives made for endless looping. Possible thematic fields includes but are not limited to: sustainable resource allocation, renewable technologies, energy harvesting, fair trade hardware, free content, open access, open data, DIY economy, shared development. The works must be realized by the use of free/open source technologies.
—
Piksel is an international festival for electronic art and technological freedom. Part workshop, part festival, it is organised in Bergen, Norway, and involves participants from more than a dozen countries exchanging ideas, coding, presenting art and software projects, doing workshops, performances and discussions on the aesthetics and politics of art and free technologies. Piksel25 is supported by the Municipality of Bergen, Arts Council Norway, Vestland Fylkeskommune and others.
Piksel is proud to present DIY Thread, a curated exploration of the do-it-yourself tradition in electronic art, at STWST48x11: FOG MANIFESTO. The program premieres during Ars Electronica, September 3–7, in Linz, Austria.
DIY Thread traces connections between art, activism, and technology by revisiting 23 years of the Piksel archive. It highlights projects where artists took tools into their own hands—modifying, reinventing, or even destroying technology to open new cultural and political perspectives.
From the playful to the critical, DIY Thread reveals how artists engage with media, software, and hardware as materials for experimentation and resistance.
Themes from the Archive
The showcase is organized around thematic strands that reflect the breadth of Piksel’s history:
DIY Radio – hands-on broadcasting and independent media
Performative Coding & Code Art – live code as performance and artform
DIY Bioart – merging biology with creative practice
Self-Destructive Hardware – devices that resist permanence
Radical Networks – alternative infrastructures and community-driven systems
Electronic Literature & Critical AI – writing machines and questioning algorithms
Together, these works highlight how critical art, joy, and science continue to intersect within the Piksel community.
Huge thanks to everyone who came out yesterday for the opening of Solar4Rain: an atmospheric PUNK symbiosis!
The exhibition is now live and welcomes all curious minds from Thursday to Sunday, 12:00–17:00.
Can we send rain to Spain and get the sun back to Bergen?
Solar4Rain is not just an exhibition—it’s a sci-fi vision of a world where humanity embraces equitable, sustainable, and symbiotic relationships with nature and technology.
Step into this atmospheric PUNK narrative and imagine a future that flows differently.
Exhibition – “Solar4Rain, an atmospheric PUNK symbiosis”, by the artist collective NSA, Maite Cajaraville and Gisle Frøysland
23MAY – 29 JUNE Opening hours during the exhibition: Thursday–Sunday, 12–17h at Studio 207 / Piksel Strandgaten 207, Bergen
For special visits: info@piksel.no
Piksel is excited to welcome you to the opening of Piksel Fest Spill next Friday, May 23, at Studio 207, Bergen, 18h — where Solar4Rain will begin to unfold, evolve, and grow over the coming weeks.
What if sunlight and rain learned to speak to each other? Solar4Rain is an art installation, It’s a living lab. A speculative fiction. A climate ritual in the making.
Created by the Norwegian-based collective NSA, with artists Maite Cajaraville and Gisle Frøysland, this site-specific piece blends data, storytelling, and public imagination into a world where energy flows ethically, and cooperation becomes infrastructure.
Save the date! Join us at Strandgaten 207 / @studio207 #Solar4Rain #AtmosphericPunk #SpeculativeFutures #PikselFestSpill
About Solar4Rain, an atmospheric PUNK symbiosis
Solar4Rain is a site-specific art installation in the form of a living lab, hosted at Studio 207, Strandgaten 207, Bergen, as part of Piksel Fest Spill. This atmospheric PUNK symbiosis symbolically connects the solar-rich South with water-rich Norway, visualizing the exchange of resources through dynamic displays of light, sound, and networked technologies.
Combining data visualization, speculative storytelling, and audience participation, Solar4Rain explores a future of ethical cooperation and balanced resource distribution. Through an engaging sci-fi narrative, the project invites us to imagine a world where humanity adopts equitable, sustainable, and symbiotic relationships with nature and technology.
But Solar4Rain is not merely an art project—it’s a call to action. Inspired by Solarpunk aesthetics and permacomputing principles, it challenges audiences to rethink global resource dynamics and embrace sustainability, equity, and innovation.
The installation is an ongoing experiment. From May 23 to June 29, the artists will continuously evolve the space, transforming Piksel Studio into a hybrid zone: a biolab, DIY electronics workshop, IoT experimentation space, and AI prompting unit. These interactive layers encourage visitors to reflect on their personal relationships with energy and resources, while engaging with broader issues of climate change and global inequity.
Solar4Rain uses real elements—water pipes, solar panels, sensor-equipped plants—to take partial control of the environment, triggering lights, sounds, and mechanical systems (including Piksel Studio’s internet-controlled infrastructure).
Drawing from the hopeful, resilient vision of Solarpunk, and the low-energy, culturally mindful ethos of permacomputing, Solar4Rain offers a glimpse into alternative futures where technological innovation and ecological care are not at odds, but deeply intertwined.
Join us for the opening this Friday 23rd at 18:00h. Opening hours during the exhibition: Thursday–Sunday, 12–17
NSA is a collective art project initiated at 2014 by Maite Cajaraville (Spain) and Gisle Frøysland (Norway). Their first world premiere was held at Digital_IA, Poland. Since then they have exhibit together and individually in many festivals and galleries.
Maite Cajaraville is a multidisciplinary artist, specialized in electronic art, audiovisual performance and installation. She has exhibited her artistic projects at the Centro Pompidou (Málaga), Cáceres Abierto, Matadero Madrid, African Photography Initiatives (Cameroon), Pikslaverk (Iceland), Digital IA (Poland), RIXC (Riga), Centro Centro Centro (Madrid), Arte Alameda (Mexico City), Museo Nacional de Arte Reina Sofía, among others.
For more than two decades, 220hex / Gisle Frøysland (Bergen, Norway) has been one of the key figures of the electronic arts scene in his country. Since the early 1980s, he has worked as a musician, VJ and visual artist. He is a founding member of BEK, the Bergen Electronic Art Centre, and founder and director of the Piksel festival for electronic art and free technologies, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2022.
No tagsComments Off on Solar4Rain, an atmospheric PUNK symbiosismore...
We want to express our gratitude to Ars Electronica for their letter of support for the Piksel Festival. Ars Electronica is a leading festival and center at the intersection of art, science, technology, and society—both in Europe and possibly worldwide. Thank you, Ars Electronica!
Linz, 09.12.2024
Letter of Support PIKSEL Festival
To whom it may concern Ms. Veronika Liebl
DECLARES
To Gisle Frøysland and Maite Cajaraville, Piksel Produksjoner, Strandgaten 207, 5004 Bergen, Norway (hereinafter referred to as PIKSEL), that our institution supports the work of PIKSEL as a pivotal organisation in the field of digital arts.
Ars Electronica brings forward a comprehensive approach in confronting techno-cultural phenomena and enjoys a worldwide reputation for excellence. It its four divisions as a major festival producer, museum operator and R&D lab, Ars Electronica has amassed tremendous knowhow at the nexus of the digital transformation, science and technology, society and the arts.
Since 1979 we celebrate once a year the Ars Electronica Festival. More than 1,000 artists, scientists, developers, designers, entrepreneurs and activists are coming to Linz, Austria, to address central questions of our future. For five days, everything revolves around groundbreaking ideas and grand visions, unusual prototypes and innovative collaborations, inspiring art and groundbreaking research, extraordinary performances and irritating interventions, touching sounds and rousing concerts.
We are convinced that PIKSEL is one of Europe’s leading partners in bridging arts, science and technology, leading to novel ways of innovation as well as societal and environmental change. The knowledge created here over the past decades nurtures an important dialogue on European level and supports not only artists but contributes also to digital literacy.
Yours faithfully,
For Ars Electronica Linz GmbH & Co KG Veronika Liebl Managing Director
The letters of support keep coming in. Our dear partner in Linz, Stadtwerkstatt, has sent us a heartfelt message. Thank you, @stwst_linz
Stadtwerkstatt (STWST) is a cultural center in Linz, Austria, founded as an artists’ collective in 1979. It has played a key role in media history through significant new media projects and continues to foster artistic and citizen-generated content. The center includes four departments—New Art Contexts, Discursive Media, Club Culture, and Cafe Strom—and hosts initiatives like servus.at, focusing on hacktivism and Open Culture, and Radio FRO, which produces citizen-driven radio shows. Operating as a networked society, Stadtwerkstatt actively explores and experiments with alternatives to current network challenges.
We want to share our heartfelt thanks to David ‘Jhave’ Johnston (Nov 22nd, 2024), Postdoctoral Researcher at the Center for Digital Narrative, University of Bergen (https://cdn.uib.no/), for his invaluable support letter.
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing to strongly advocate for the continued support of the Piksel Festival. As a Canadian postdoctoral researcher currently working at the University of Bergen, I bring an international perspective to the value of this unique cultural institution.
Even a decade before arriving in Bergen, I was aware of Piksel’s reputation from Canada. While digital arts and open-source software development are not my primary field of practice, Piksel’s influence extends far beyond these domains, speaking to its extraordinary impact on global creative and technological communities.
In our current global context, where corporate interests often dominate technological
development, Piksel stands as a beacon of alternative possibilities. The festival demonstrates how technology can serve the common good through open collaboration and shared knowledge. The dedication of Piksel’s community to open-source software and art represents more than just technical innovation – it exemplifies a path toward cooperative human flourishing in our digital age.
Bergen’s support of this modest yet influential festival yields remarkable returns in international prestige and cultural significance. Consider:
● Piksel’s reputation for combining technical excellence with artistic vision
● Its role in promoting collaborative, open-source practices
● The festival’s contribution to Bergen’s identity as a forward-thinking cultural center
● Its demonstration of Norwegian commitment to innovative, accessible technology
The impact of Piksel extends far beyond what can be quantified in traditional metrics. Through its dedication to open-source principles and unselfish sharing of knowledge, Piksel helps position Bergen as a visionary city that values both technological advancement and social responsibility.
For a relatively small investment, Bergen gains recognition as a hub for progressive
technological arts and collaborative innovation. The festival serves as a model for how cities can foster cultural initiatives that have global resonance while remaining true to values of openness and cooperation.
As you consider future funding allocations, I urge you to recognize Piksel’s unique role in enhancing Bergen’s international reputation and its contribution to the global dialogue about technology’s role in society. Supporting Piksel is an investment in Bergen’s future as a leader in cultural innovation and cooperative technological practices.
Sincerely,
David ‘Jhave’ Johnston, (Nov 22nd 2024) Postdoctoral Researcher. Center for Digital Narrative. University of Bergen https://cdn.uib.no/
As some of you heard, Piksel’s city funding was suddenly cut without warning. Please sign our petition. Feel free to write a comment, a support letter and/or share the petition. https://www.change.org/…/petition-for-continued-support…
No tagsComments Off on Letter of Support: David ‘Jhave’ Johnston, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Center for Digital Narrative, University of Bergenmore...
It is with deep disappointment that we have learned of the Bergen City Council’s plans to withdraw funding from Piksel Festival, effective from next year. Piksel has been a pioneer of digital art and technological experimentation in Bergen for over two decades, contributing significantly to both the local and international cultural landscape.
Over the years, Piksel has aligned closely with the City Council’s stated goals of promoting cultural diversity, fostering Bergen’s international profile, and engaging the public in innovative forms of media and electronic arts. Contrary to these priorities, however, the proposed discontinuation of funding not only threatens Piksel’s future but also jeopardizes Bergen’s reputation as a forward-thinking city that embraces cutting-edge artistic forms.
The withdrawal of financial support for Piksel sends a message at odds with Bergen’s vision of a diverse and vibrant cultural sector. It stands to dismantle years of carefully nurtured networks, programming, and practices developed with the Council’s support, which have brought over 1,000 international artists to a diverse audience to Bergen. Piksel’s model of collaboration has been instrumental in providing space for experimental art and in strengthening the city’s reputation as a European hub for creative digital and media arts.
In the 22 years of its existence, Piksel has successfully bridged art and technology through events and installations, broadening cultural participation by pioneering programs for kids to learn electronics in creative ways, or by making digital art accessible to individuals with limited mobility through the Inclusive Digital Laboratory for Art Experimentation (IDLE), a project supported by the Council and Kulturdirektoratet for more than three years and now at risk of disappearing.
We firmly believe that the abrupt removal of funding will disrupt the progress Bergen has made towards establishing a lively and innovative cultural scene. The loss of Piksel is likely to diminish the visibility and growth of Bergen’s cultural sector, limiting opportunities for emerging artists and creatives whose contributions have made Bergen’s culture richer and more diverse.
We urgently ask the Bergen City Council to reconsider its decision and continue its support for Piksel, recognizing it as a key partner in realizing the city’s goals for cultural innovation and community engagement. Without Piksel, Bergen’s cultural ecosystem risks becoming narrower and less representative of the diverse voices that have made it a thriving hub for contemporary arts.
Please sign this petition to call on the Bergen City Council to secure a future for Piksel and, with it, the diverse and dynamic cultural identity of Bergen.
An international festival for society, electronic art and open source computer and technological freedom. This year festival focus on: global media chaos, geopolitical tensions, open knowledge, environmental awareness, new developments in remote performance using IoT, millitary AI, surveillance and much more.
Join us in bringing this vibrant event to life by volunteering in one of the following areas:
Rigging
Camera/Documentation
Exhibition Hosts
Kitchen (simple serving)
Runners/Tech Support
If you’re ready to dive in and be part of something special, we’d love to have you on board!
PIKSEL24 21-24 Nov – Bergen – Norway
Piksel is an international festival for electronic art and technological freedom and involves participants from more than a dozen countries exchanging ideas, coding, presenting art and software projects, doing workshops, performances, and discussions on the aesthetics and politics of free technologies.
You will receive a festival pass with full access to all our events, a festival t-shirt and poster, a work certificate, and an experience for life!
Or send an email to prod (AT) piksel.no with the subject line “Volunteer Piksel Festival 24.”
Looking forward to hear back from you!
No tagsComments Off on PIKSEL24 FESTIVAL looking for volunteers!more...
Piksel25November 20-23 2025Bergen, Norway Dear friends, We are excited to announce the call for projects for the 23nd edition of the Piksel Festival! We look forward to receiving your submissions! !! Deadline -- October 31st 2025 !! Please use the online submit form at: https://pretalx.com/piksel25/
🌫✨ FOG MANIFESTO at STWST84x11 Piksel’s DIY Thread premieres during Ars Electronica 2025 in Linz, Austria (Sept 3–7). Thanks to STWST for inviting Piksel 🤝Stadtwerkstatt explores fog as material, medium, and network — Piksel responds with a deep-dive into 23 years of DIY electronic art, tracing radical practices from DIY radio to critical AI installations. This is a journey through Piksel’s archive — a living history of critical art, joy, and science.Check: piksel.no & https://newcontext.stwst.at/!stwst48x11/en/diy_thread
🎛✨ Electropixel15 — We’re excited to share that from August 27–30 in Nantes, Piksel’s Maite Cajaraville (Madrid) and Gisle Frøysland (Bergen) are joining an international constellation of artists exploring care ethics, counter-narratives, and creative resistance.🌱 Workshops, forums, and performances will connect artistic practice with the politics of technological freedom.📍 More info: https://electropixel.orgCOST-funded Action TOOLKIT OF CARE (TOC)#Electropixel15 #ToolkitOfCare #PikselArt
We want to share a look back at the First Supper Symposium, where we joined an inspiring day of talks and perspectives on how AI is affecting artists today — from appropriation to obfuscation, from closed to open models.As Piksel, we brought forward the work of artists who have exhibited with us and whose practices go beyond generative image AI — engaging ith AI in more intimate, critical, and often unexpected ways. We shared works by Laura McCarthy, Marta Revuelta and Scott Rettberg.#aiart
