- Neïl Beloufa – Artist (France)
- Giulia Bini – Head of Arts, CERN (Switzerland)
- Carl Cheng – Artist (USA)
- Stuart Comer – The Lonti Ebers Chief Curator of Media and Performance, MoMA (USA)
- Michael Connor – Executive Director of Rhizome, New Museum (USA)
- Michelle Cotton – Artistic Director, Kunsthalle Wien (Austria)
- Maria Rosario Jackson – Professor, Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, Arizona State University and Former Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts (USA)
- Rattanamol Singh Johal – Professor of South Asian Arts and History of Art, University of Michigan (USA)
- Alex Klein – Head Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, The Contemporary Austin (USA)
- Michelle Kuo – Chief Curator at Large and Publisher, MoMA (USA)
- Christophe Leclercq – Art Historian (France)
- Nicola Lees – CEO and Artistic Director, Aspen Art Museum (USA)
- Courtney J. Martin – Executive Director, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation (USA)
- Julie Martin – Director of Experiments in Art and Technology (USA)
- W. Patrick McCray – Writer and Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara (USA)
- Bernardo Mosqueira – Founder and Artistic Director, Solar dos Abacaxis (USA / Brazil)
- Nancy Perloff – Curator of Modern and Contemporary Collections, Getty Research Institute (USA)
- Mara Polgovsky Ezcurra – Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Art, University of London (United Kingdom)
- Paul Purgas – Artist, Musician (United Kingdom)
- Val Ravaglia – Curator, International Art, Tate Modern (United Kingdom)
- Legacy Russell – Executive Director and Chief Curator, The Kitchen (USA)
- Francine Snyder – Director of Archives and Digital, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation (USA)
- Nina Wexelblatt – Art Historian (USA)
The Lesser-Known Experiments in Art and TechnologySymposium
The Tower
Auditorium, Level 1
From
to
Bringing together close to twenty curators, artists, and academics, the symposium offers a critical re-examination of Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.).
The symposium explores the foundational manifestations of E.A.T., its lesser-known social innovation projects across the globe, and a number of pivotal yet often overlooked contributions to its famed history. By contextualizing E.A.T. within an international legacy of initiatives fostering collaborations between artists and engineers from the 1960s to the present, The Lesser-Known Experiments in Art and Technology seeks to expand the understanding of the celebrated organization.
The Lesser-Known Experiments in Art and Technology is held in conjunction with Sensing the Future, the first comprehensive exhibition in France to showcase the landmark movement. Organized in collaboration with the Getty Research Institute, the exhibition is on view at LUMA Arles through January 11, 2026.
Dates and Times: Friday, November 21 (5:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.) / Saturday, November 22 (2:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.)
Location: LUMA Arles, Auditorium, 1st floor of The Tower
Admission: Free, booking required
Note: The event will be conducted in English.
Symposium Program
Friday, November 21: 5:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Creating, Countering, Echoing: An Introduction to E.A.T. and its Legacy
5:00 p.m.: Welcome speech
• Vassilis Oikonomopoulos, Artistic Director, LUMA Arles (France)
5:10 p.m.: Introduction
• Courtney J. Martin, Executive Director, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation (USA) [video]
• Simon Castets, Director of Strategic Initiatives, LUMA Arles (France)
• Julie Martin, Director, Experiments in Art and Technology (USA) [video]
5:30 p.m.: Creating
• Nancy Perloff, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Collections, Getty Research Institute (USA)
• Francine Snyder, Director of Archives and Digital, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation (USA)
• Christophe Leclercq, Art Historian (France)
6:30 p.m.: Break
6:40 p.m.: Video excerpts
• Hans Haacke, Artist (USA)
• Marta Minujín, Artist (Argentina)
• Ming Tsai, Conservation Director, Tsai Art and Science Foundation (USA / Switzerland), on Wen-Ying Tsai, Artist
6:45 p.m.: Countering
• Carl Cheng, Artist (USA)
• Alex Klein, Head Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, The Contemporary Austin (USA)
7:15 p.m.: Echoing
• Michael Connor, Executive Director of Rhizome, New Museum (USA)
Saturday, November 22: 2:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Historicizing, Constellating, Decentralizing, Reinventing: A Blueprint “to Avoid the Waste of a Cultural Revolution”
2:00 p.m.: Historicizing
Introduction
• Billy Klüver, Engineer and founder of Experiments in Art and Technology (USA), in discussion with Hans Ulrich Obrist, Senior Advisor, LUMA Arles (France) [archival video]
• W. Patrick McCray, Writer and Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara (USA) [video]
Panel discussion
• Michelle Kuo, Chief Curator at Large and Publisher, MoMA (USA)
• Maria Rosario Jackson, Professor, Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, Arizona State University, and Former Chair, National Endowment for the Arts (USA)
3:00 p.m.: Break
3:10 p.m.: Constellating
Introduction
• Legacy Russell, Executive Director and Chief Curator, The Kitchen (USA) [video]
Panel discussion
• Val Ravaglia, Curator, International Art, Tate Modern (United Kingdom)
• Bernardo Mosqueira, Founder and Artistic Director, Solar dos Abacaxis (USA / Brazil)
• Michelle Cotton, Artistic Director, Kunsthalle Wien (Austria)
4:15 p.m.: Break
4:25 p.m.: Listening
• Paul Purgas, Artist, Musician (United Kingdom)
5:00 p.m.: Decentralizing
Introduction
• Mara Polgovsky Ezcurra, Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Art, University of London (United Kingdom) [video]
Panel discussion
• Paul Purgas, Artist, Musician (United Kingdom)
• Rattanamol Singh Johal, Professor of South Asian Arts and History of Art, University of Michigan (USA)
• Nina Wexelblatt, Art Historian (USA)
6:00 p.m.: Break
6:10 p.m.: Reinventing
Introduction
• Nicola Lees, CEO and Artistic Director, Aspen Art Museum (USA) [video]
Panel discussion
• Giulia Bini, Head of Arts, CERN (Switzerland)
• Neïl Beloufa, Artist (France)
• Stuart Comer, The Lonti Ebers Chief Curator of Media and Performance, MoMA (USA)
Speakers
The exhibition
E.A.T. was founded in 1966 in the U.S.A. by Billy Klüver and Fred Waldhauer, engineers at Bell Telephone Laboratories—then the world’s leading center for electronic innovation and telecommunications research—together with artists Robert Rauschenberg and Robert Whitman. Integrating theater, visual arts, multisensory environments, and groundbreaking technology, E.A.T’s pioneering cross-disciplinary efforts extended beyond the art world into social issues such as education and environmental sustainability. Echoing LUMA’s long-term research interest in the artist-led use of technologies, Sensing the Future provides unique insights into a foundational initiative whose influence on generations of artists continues to be central today.
Organized in partnership with the Getty Research Institute, the exhibition revolves around key elements of E.A.T.’s fabled history.
This project is supported by the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. LUMA Arles joins an international roster of institutions commemorating the artist's 100th birthday. Rauschenberg’s conviction that engagement with art can nurture people’s sensibilities as individuals, community members, and citizens was key to his ethos. The Centennial celebrations seek to allow audiences familiar with him and those encountering the artist for the first time to form fresh perspectives about his artwork.
A year of global activities and exhibitions in honor of Rauschenberg’s Centennial reexamines the artist through a contemporary lens, highlighting his enduring influence on generations of artists and advocates for social progress. The Centennial’s activation of the artist’s legacy promotes cross-disciplinary explorations and creates opportunities for critical dialogue.
Organized by
Simon Castets, Director of Strategic Initiatives
Vassilis Oikonomopoulos, Artistic Director
Martin Guinard, Curator
Fabian Gröning, Project Manager for Strategic Initiatives
Special thanks to Stella Tabachnikoff