How Tech is Reshaping the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center
▼ Summary
– Lincoln Center’s Collider Fellowship supports artists exploring how emerging technology can transform live performance and the performing arts.
– The program has selected its second class of six fellows who work in areas like virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and immersive sound systems.
– Lincoln Center’s vice president views technology as a beneficial tool for artists and emphasizes inclusivity, citing an example where tech helped underrepresented groups see themselves in technology.
– Fellows receive nine months of studio space, a financial stipend, and staff support without being required to complete a final project.
– The fellowship aims to support artists in non-transactional ways and could help Lincoln Center rethink how to reach global audiences through technology.
Amid widespread concern over technology’s influence on creative fields, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is taking a proactive stance with its innovative Collider Fellowship. This initiative invites multidisciplinary artists to investigate how cutting-edge technologies can revolutionize live performance and expand the boundaries of the performing arts. Rather than resisting change, the program embraces experimentation, positioning technology as a creative partner rather than a threat.
The renowned New York institution has just unveiled its second cohort of Collider Fellows, six forward-thinking creators whose practices span virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and immersive audio systems like the 4DSound System. Jordana Leigh, Lincoln Center’s vice president of programming, emphasized the fellows’ thoughtful approach, noting that they consider not only their individual projects but also how their work contributes to broader dialogues at the intersection of art and innovation.
Leigh describes herself as an “eternal optimist” when it comes to technology’s role in the arts. Addressing common anxieties about AI, she expressed enthusiasm for artists who treat it as just another tool in their creative toolkit, comparable to a sound mixer or a paintbrush. She observed that in many cases, “technology is finally catching up to their vision,” enabling ideas that were once impractical or impossible to realize.
A recent commission, Nona Hendryx’s Dream Machine, serves as a powerful example. By blending AI, VR, and augmented reality, the piece immerses visitors, particularly those from BIPOC communities, within Afrofuturist landscapes. Leigh highlighted how such works can help people who rarely see themselves represented in tech narratives, especially Black and Brown women, to envision new possibilities for inclusion and expression. “The more diverse voices we have in the conversation,” she noted, “the richer and more meaningful that conversation becomes.”
Image Credits: Lawrence Sumulong/Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Selected through a nomination process, the new fellows will receive studio space at Lincoln Center and Onassis ONX, along with financial support and mentorship over the next nine months. Unlike many residencies, the Collider Fellowship does not require a finished product. Leigh explained that participants are free to use the time as they see fit, whether developing multiple prototypes or dedicating themselves to research and reflection. Both paths, she affirmed, are “completely acceptable ways to use this fellowship.”
Projects from the first cohort continue to develop, with some potentially being staged at Lincoln Center in the future. While Leigh expressed a strong interest in location-based experiences involving VR, AR, and extended reality, she also sees the fellowship as an opportunity to explore new models for global audience engagement. “We’re not closing the door to anything right now,” she remarked, signaling an open and adaptive curatorial vision.
The six new Collider Fellows bring a wide range of experimental practices, each exploring how technology can deepen, disrupt, or reimagine the future of performance.
(Source: TechCrunch)
