Videocittà 2026: When Rome's Industrial Heart Becomes a Digital Ocean
Founded in 2017 under the presidency of Francesco Rutelli—former Mayor of Rome and Italy's Minister of Culture—Videocittà was born with the vision of connecting Rome's cultural heritage with the frontiers of digital art, immersive experiences and technological innovation. This year, that vision is more alive than ever.
Taking place from July 10–12, the ninth edition transforms the Gazometro—one of Europe's largest industrial archaeology sites—into an immersive playground of light, sound, and water under the theme Watercult 2026. Having welcomed more than 500,000 visitors since its launch, the festival has established itself as one of Europe's leading platforms for digital culture and immersive arts.
This year's programme explores water as the origin of life, a climate imperative, and a universal creative force through a rich lineup of installations, performances, talks, and professional networking events.
The programme features the monumental immersive installation In Lympha inside Opificio 41, with German electronic musician Apparat's iconic track Black Water reimagined to mark its 15th anniversary, alongside UNDA, a breathtaking light installation that transforms the G4 gasometer into a luminous urban beacon, visible from outside for the first time. The audiovisual performance lineup includes Apparat's DJ set, Mace, and Donato Dozzy & Neel's Voices From The Lake, while the VR programme presents several world premieres.
One of this year's key professional initiatives was Agorà, the festival's international marketplace for creative technologies, developed and led by Guido Pietro Airoldi. Bringing together more than 44 delegates from 20 countries across five continents, the programme generated over 1,000 professional meetings through curated B2B sessions, pitch presentations, studio visits and networking activities. Participants included representatives from teamLab (Japan), the Barbican Centre (UK), Qatar Museums, and Art+ Shanghai, represented by Zane Mellupe, alongside Cao Yuxi Studio from China. Together, these institutions and creative leaders demonstrate how Agorà is becoming a growing international platform connecting Europe, Asia, the Middle East and beyond through digital art, immersive media, cultural innovation and creative technologies.
The festival also opened with a series of high-level conversations that framed Watercult through the lenses of climate, culture and innovation. Among the opening speakers were Francesco Rocca, President of the Lazio Region, and Giulio Boccaletti, Scientific Director of the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC), who introduced discussions around water resilience, climate adaptation and the relationship between environmental challenges and creativity. Contributions from experts including Erasmo D'Angelis, Marco Lombardi, Giovanni Milani, and Claudio Rosi further explored the intersections between science, technology, industry and culture. Their perspectives highlighted how digital creativity can foster dialogue between research, policy and the arts—reinforcing Videocittà's role as more than an arts festival, but as an international platform for interdisciplinary exchange.
The video art section, curated by Damiana Leoni and R? di Martino, explores water's symbolic power through works by international artists including Adrian Paci, Shahzia Sikander, and Monira Al Qadiri.
Beyond its artistic programme, Videocittà continues to position itself as a platform where art, science, technology and public space converge, fostering dialogue across disciplines, industries and cultures.
Through Videocittà and Agorà, Rome is increasingly positioning itself not only as a city of extraordinary cultural heritage, but also as an international meeting point for digital culture, immersive experiences and the future of creative technologies.
#Videocittà2026 #Watercult #DigitalArt #ImmersiveMedia #Rome #CreativeIndustry
Videocittà 2026：当罗马的工业心脏化作数字海洋
Videocittà 成立于2017年，由罗马前市长、意大利文化部长Francesco Rutelli担任主席，其创立愿景是将罗马的文化遗产与数字艺术、沉浸式体验和技术创新的前沿相连接。今年，这一愿景比以往任何时候都更加鲜活。
第九届Videocittà将于7月10日至12日举行，以Watercult 2026为主题，将Gazometro——欧洲最大的工业考古遗址之一——变身为一个由光、声音和水构成的沉浸式乐园。自创办以来，该艺术节已接待超过50万名观众，并确立了自己作为欧洲数字文化与沉浸式艺术领先平台之一的地位。
今年的节目以水为主题，探索水作为生命之源、气候议题的核心，以及普世的创造力源泉，通过丰富的装置、表演、对谈和专业交流活动展开。
节目亮点包括位于Opificio 41内的巨型沉浸式装置In Lympha，德国电子音乐人Apparat的标志性曲目Black Water在其15周年之际被重新演绎；此外还有UNDA，一件令人叹为观止的光影装置，首次将G4储气罐从外部点亮，使其成为一座璀璨的城市地标。视听表演阵容包括Apparat的DJ set、Mace，以及Donato Dozzy & Neel的Voices From The Lake，VR单元则带来多部全球首映作品。
今年重要的专业项目之一是Agorà——由Guido Pietro Airoldi主导开发的创意技术国际交流平台。该项目汇集了来自五大洲20个国家的44多位代表，通过策划的B2B会议、项目路演、工作室参访和社交活动，促成了超过1000场专业对接。参与机构包括teamLab（日本）、Barbican Centre（英国）、Qatar Museums，以及由Zane Mellupe代表的艺术上海国际博览会(Art+ Shanghai)，还有来自中国的Cao Yuxi Studio。这些机构与创意领军人物共同展现了Agorà如何成长为一个日益壮大的国际平台，通过数字艺术、沉浸式媒体、文化创新和创意技术，连接欧洲、亚洲、中东及其他地区。
本届艺术节还以一系列高端对谈拉开帷幕，从气候、文化和创新的视角来构建Watercult的讨论框架。开幕演讲嘉宾包括拉齐奥大区主席Francesco Rocca和欧洲-地中海气候变化中心（CMCC）科学主任Giulio Boccaletti，他们引入了关于水资源韧性、气候适应以及环境挑战与创造力之间关系的讨论。Erasmo D'Angelis、Marco Lombardi、Giovanni Milani和Claudio Rosi等专家的发言进一步探讨了科学、技术、产业与文化之间的交汇点。他们的观点突显了数字创造力如何促进研究、政策与艺术之间的对话——这进一步巩固了Videocittà不仅仅是一个艺术节，更是一个国际性的跨学科交流平台。
由Damiana Leoni和R? di Martino策划的视频艺术单元，通过Adrian Paci、Shahzia Sikander和Monira Al Qadiri等国际艺术家的作品，探索水的象征力量。
除了艺术项目之外，Videocittà继续定位自身为一个艺术、科学、技术和公共空间交汇的平台，促进学科、产业和文化之间的对话。
通过Videocittà和Agorà，罗马正日益定位自己不仅是一座拥有非凡文化遗产的城市，更是数字文化、沉浸式体验和创意技术未来在国际层面上的重要交汇点。
#Videocittà2026 #Watercult #数字艺术 #沉浸式媒体 #罗马 #创意产业
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