Past Arts x Tech Labs
Find out more about the past editions of these 9-month Labs.
Last updated on 13 October 2026
About the Performing Arts x Tech Lab 2023/24
The Performing Arts x Tech Lab was a partnership between the National Arts Council and Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay (opens in new tab), with Keio-NUS CUTE Center (opens in new tab) as technology consultant. The Lab sought to support innovation and experimentation through seeding collaboration between arts and technology fields. It aimed to encourage arts practitioners to explore the possibilities of integrating technology into their practice.
The 2023 edition of the Lab supported practitioners who work in the performing arts or with performance in general (i.e. theatre, dance, music, inter or cross-disciplinary forms, performance practice), who wish to work with technologists for the purposes of experimentation, prototyping or research and development. Through the Lab, artists and technologists were able to collaborate to transform artistic creation, enrich artistic practice or explore new forms of expression.
Participants underwent a nine-month lab, from August 2023 to April 2024. This took place across two phases and culminated in an Industry Sharing where the participants presented their works-in-progress, prototypes or findings by way of a lecture, demonstration or public presentation. Each phase was shaped according to the level of readiness and needs of the participants and customised with consideration towards the participants’ proposals and ideas.
To find out more about the Performing Arts x Tech Lab, please refer to the resources below.
This enhanced edition of the Arts x Tech Lab saw an esteemed local and international advisory panel of experts in performance, arts and technology that offered guidance and consultancy to the project teams across the duration of the Lab:
Toby Coffey, Former Head of Immersive Storytelling Studio, National Theatre (UK)
Danny Yung, Founding Member and Co-Artistic Director, Zuni Icosahedron (HK)
Clarence Ng, Production Project Manager | Akiko Takeshita, Producer of Performing Arts | Mitsuru Tokisato, Artist and Video Engineer, Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media (JPN)
Ho Tzu Nyen, Artist (SG)
More about the Advisory Panel [PDF, 273.01 KB] (opens in new tab)
The Lab's Offerings
Funding Support to develop a seed idea or hypothesis
1-to-1 Consultations with technology consultants and an international Advisory Panel comprised of leading artists, designers and institutions who work at the intersection of arts, performance and technology
Networking opportunities with potential collaborators
Workshops by leading experts in their fields
Peer learning opportunities to learn from like-minded artists and technologists
Performing Arts x Tech Lab 2023/24 Participants
Theories of Motion by Alina Ling & Andy Lim
Deconstructing and mediating different perceptions of movement to generate sonic and visual expressions.
The inception of Theories of Motion can be traced back to the collaboration between multidisciplinary practitioners seeking to understand motion within performing arts. This collaborative effort involves a movement artist, an interactive designer and technologist, a sound designer, and a performance and technical director, utilising technology as a mediator to reconcile varying viewpoints. Considering the body as a central instrument, the project seeks to integrate projection, sound, and moving bodies, where refined physicality merges with digital and sonic realities. The primary objective was to explore how technology could seamlessly translate into or extend expressions in movement, or vice versa.
Dancing the Algorithm by Dapheny Chen & SERIAL CO_
Archival of movement and choreography by creating a system that can learn, generate movement scores through AI algorithm and motion capture technology.
The inception of Dancing the Algorithm (DatA) can be traced back to a simple question: ‘How do we dance collectively?’ By blending computer-generated elements and individually created movement sequences, this project explores the intersection of computational logic and human expression. Its goal was to expand dance-making and performance tools through a focused exploration of possibilities, rather than fixating on a final product.
DOTS 2.0 by Issy x Cher & Timothi Ellim
A digital experiment that reimagines interactive experience in theatre for young audiences (TYA).
Conceived for young audiences, DOTS 2.0 is a theatrical adaptation of the award-winning children’s book The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. Covering themes of creative empowerment and resilience, the story follows the artistic journey of a young girl who believed that she could not draw–until her art teacher advised her to “just make a mark and see where it takes you.” (Reynolds, 2003). This non-verbal adaptation seeks to inspire children to find confidence in physical expression while bringing out their inherent creativity through the process of making art.
Verge 2.0 by James Lye & Dr Noramin Farid
Gesture-responsive technology for dynamic multi-sensory performance experiences.
Verge 2.0 represents the latest iteration of an experimental project that has been evolving for over a decade, initially starting as a university project by creative technologist and project lead, James Lye. What began as a fascination with interactive sound art has matured through various stages of development, embracing multiple forms of presentation styles including interactive installations, multi-disciplinary performances, research initiatives, and now, in its current iteration, a performance-lecture.
The project's core aim has always been to explore the creative interplay between technology and human gestures. The collaboration with Dr. Amin Farid, a choreographer and dance researcher, since the early stages of this experiment in 2014, has enriched the project with invaluable insights, introducing a new dimension to the work.
The Sound of Stories by Kamini Ramachandran, Syafiq Halid & Chen Enjiao (Ernie)
Using AI to transform oral storytelling experiences to engage diverse audiences.
In The Sound of Stories, technology is perceived as an artistic ally, enhancing and safeguarding traditional oral storytelling practices to ensure its endurance in an ever-evolving world. Utilising deep learning and neural audio synthesis as creative tools, The Sound of Stories explores ways for storytelling to be delivered in numerous languages whilst maintaining the original voice and cadence of the human storyteller, offering possibilities for engaging multiple, diverse audiences in the same room, or for the storyteller’s unique delivery to be experienced even when they are not physically present.
perfor.ml by Feelers
Developing a new performance methodology to explore machine learning in performance.
perform.ml, where ‘ml’ refers to machine learning—is an ongoing project by Feelers, a research lab of artists and designers focused on the intersections of art and technology. It introduces a new performance methodology and investigates the possibility of integrating machine learning into performance, as if questioning, ‘on whose terms, and for what goals?'
Past Events
Find out more about the past programmes here (opens in new tab).
Performing Arts X Tech Lab Industry Sharing
The Industry Sharing was the culmination of the nine-month Performing Arts x Tech Lab which began in 2023. Audiences were able to gain insights into the six project teams’ experimentation process as they shared about their Lab journey, and how their experience has sparked discoveries through the intersections between performing arts and technology.
Get the programme booklet (opens in new tab)
The programme featured:
Exhibition & Guided Tours - The motivations and experimentation process of each project team was shared via a digitally enabled exhibition
Demo and Sharing Sessions - Audiences got to take part and interact with prototype demos, engage in discussions and hear from participants on their explorations integrating technology into their practice
Networking Opportunities - Lab Participants got to meet and connect with audiences as well as practitioners from the Arts x Tech community to share ideas and seed opportunities for collaboration
Audiences were able to learn first-hand about the projects and hear more from the project teams about their motivations, learnings and journey through the lab, as well as details on their projects that tap on technology such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning, neural audio synthesis, motion sensors, wearable devices and interactive projection technologies to transform their artistic creation and artistic practice.
Performing Arts x tech Conference-Unconference
The Performing Arts x Tech Conference-Unconference was a two-part symposium for practitioners interested in the possibilities, opportunities, and frictions between performing arts and various technologies.
In the Conference segment, audiences heard from experienced international and local performance-makers and creative technologists who have been developing and exploring different entry points into performance and technology, such as Toby Coffey (National Theatre Immersive Storytelling Studio, United Kingdom), Clarence Ng and Mitsuru Tokisato (Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media, Japan), Danny Yung (Zuni Icosahedron, Hong Kong), artist Ho Tzu Nyen, and more.
In the Unconference segment, it featured a host of breakout sessions in the form of artist presentations, demos, and group discussions. The Unconference was a friendly space for practitioners from the arts, design, and technology sectors to exchange and share ideas and to meet potential new collaborators. In addition to featured sessions by participants and panellists of the Performing Arts x Tech Lab, Unconference attendees were also able to submit other Arts x Tech topics for discussion on the event day.
Artist sharing session: Dramaturgies & Technologies in Performance
.jpeg)
This session featured Canada-based digital media artist Milton Lim and Taiwan-based new media artist-choreographer Su Wen-Chi who shared about their respective practices and development journeys in performance, including case studies of their work that weaved performance with technology, media, interactivity, participation and the body.
The second part of the session featured a dialogue among Milton, Wen-Chi and dramaturg Chong Gua Khee, discussing the intricacies of making such work and dramaturgical challenges and considerations.
About Arts x Tech Lab 2021/22
The inaugural run of the NAC Arts x Tech Lab took place in 2021. More information about the projects and key learnings from the first edition can be found in the e-publication below.
View Arts x Tech Lab Flipbook [PDF, 2.33 MB] (opens in new tab)
Contact Information
If you have any questions, please contact:
Catherine Tan : catherine_tan@nac.gov.sg
Chrystal Ho : chrystal_ho@nac.gov.sg