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AI Performance Playground 2026Apply now to join our AI & Music Hacklab - powered by S+T+ARTS - at Sónar+D 2026. Deadline: 29/03
An event like no other
Where you don’t sit downWe might be a conference, but we think like a concert or club night, with talks and panels side-by-side with radical performances and interactive exhibits.Where you meet people you won’t meet anywhere elseDifferent worlds collide at Sónar+D, the conference that thinks like a festival. Our participants and audience are a unique mix of backgrounds, interests and expertise.Where you’'ll find ideas you can useWe don’t separate the future from the present, which is why our programming balances imaginative ideas and bold thinking with practical content and networking opportunities.Tickets Sónar+DSee more
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Sónar+D: rebooted
Today we’re rebooting Sónar+D for 2026, revealing our new venue in the centre of Barcelona – Llotja de Mar – and announcing the details for our 2026 Open Call for Exhibitors. Read on to find out how we're planning to make Sónar+D 2026 an event like no other, and the most accessible edition of our conference/festival yet.
Always the same, always different
Even though we're moving venue, you’ll still find the same four elements – Talks, Exhibition, Community, and Performance – present throughout two days of activities on Thursday 18 and Friday 19 June.
Even though we're moving venue, you’ll still find the same four elements – Talks, Exhibition, Community, and Performance – present throughout two days of activities on Thursday 18 and Friday 19 June.
We’re committed to keeping Sónar+D 2026 ‘an event like no other’: the only place you’ll find scientists and researchers next to musicians and dancers, where interactive exhibits share a space with ground-breaking performances, and where the local community meets members of the creative and technological sectors from around the world.
Antònia Folguera, who’s served as Curator of Sónar+D since 2015, and Cris Checa, who’s led the development of Sónar+D’s exhibition programme (as Project Area) since 2023, will curate this year’s programme. They’ll be supported by a select panel of experts and collaborators, maintaining continuity but also widening the vision of Sónar+D as it evolves in 2026 and beyond.
More details on the full programme will be revealed in the coming weeks, but the schedule is designed to intersect with Sónar at Fira Gran Via, running from 10am until 8pm each day, so you’ll be able to combine both events. And in a brand-new addition this year, Sónar+D will also be present at Fira Gran Via, curating a series of digital art experiences.
Be a part of Sónar+D 2026: Open Call for Exhibitors
Sónar+D is a springboard for creativity, and we want you to get involved. Have you got a project, prototype or product that spans art, (digital) creativity, and technology that you think could be exhibited at Sónar+D? Then you’ll want to apply to our annual Open Call for exhibiting at Sónar+D, which returns again in 2026. And if you’re an artist, creator, or part of a collective project, we’re even offering funding to help get you to Barcelona this June. We’re now accepting applications – you have until 22nd February – so head here to read the full submission guidelines and submit your project via the application portal.
The most open edition of Sónar+D to date
We want more people to attend Sónar+D in 2026, so as well as staying in centre of Barcelona, we’re making it easier and more affordable than ever before.
We want more people to attend Sónar+D in 2026, so as well as staying in centre of Barcelona, we’re making it easier and more affordable than ever before.
As well as the SonarPass+D (now on sale here) - which gives you access to both days of Sónar+D as well as all three days of Sónar at Fira Gran Vía - we’ll be launching individual, standalone tickets for each day of Sónar+D 2026, as well as a two-day pass. Both will be affordably priced, with the aim of opening up Sónar+D to as many people as possible.
More information on tickets will be available soon.
Sónar+D and Fundación Sónar
Starting this year, Sónar+D will be managed entirely by Fundación Sónar, a not-for-profit entity. This foundation was established in 2023 , with the goal of supporting and promoting R+D activities related to culture and creativity, as well as sustainability, inclusivity and accesibility initiatives related to live events.
This change recognises Sónar+D’s status as Sónar’s R+D Lab, and supports our two main goals: the promotion of creativity as a tool for innovation within art and technology, and our position as a platform for local cultural and creative initiatives. In the near future, we’re also going to create an advisory panel featuring leading voices from Barcelona’s creative, cultural and technological sectors, who'll help us keep Sónar+D an event like no other. For our public, there won’t be any visible difference, and this will still be the same Sónar+D as ever.
AI is now ubiquitous across many creative domains, including music making. In an era of transformation, artists who wish to push boundaries and explore these tools must think outside of the box and engage critically with the implications surrounding their use. Important questions concerning data governance, transparency of processes, human-centric creativity, and the empowerment that comes with custom-made software and hardware, cannot and must not be ignored. What new possibilities for human-AI co-creativity do these tools offer? How might entangled collaborative practices of human-AI agencies challenge and expand this emerging field? Think you can help answer these questions? Then we want to read your application for the 2026 edition of the AI Performance Playground, which returns to Sónar+D as part of this year’s AI & Music powered by S+T+ARTS programme, with support from La Salle-URL. Across three days,our collaborative hacklab will bring together different selected participants from different backgrounds to explore AI and machine learning tools for performance. Between 17th and 19th of June, as part of Sónar+D 2026 in Barcelona, selected participants will take part in three intensive collaborative sessions, first at La Salle-URL’s IASLab; and then at Sónar+D in Llotja de Mar. It all takes place under the watchful eyes and careful tutelage of experimental music producer/researcher Anna Xambó and renowned music producer/sound designer Ben Cantil, who’ll help you prepare a final collaborative performance that will be open to all Sónar+D attendees. Worried, you’re not qualified? Don’t be. We want to have a diverse range of participants from different backgrounds. You might be an experienced AI coder or researcher, or you might be an electronic musician, instrumentalist, or singer with little working knowledge of AI. What is important is your mindset: we want open-minded, critical thinkers who relish the opportunity to combine their skills and make unexpected new things. Please remember when applying that this is a collaborative workshop, with a focus on experimentation and sharing. You won’t be working on individual or existing projects, but instead creating something entirely new with the rest of the group.
You’ll also have the opportunity to experience plenty of Sónar+D and Sónar, with one of the world’s most forward-thinking music festivals serving as the perfect inspiration and backdrop for the three sessions. You’ll need to be in Barcelona between 17th and 19th June, as there’ll be sessions on all three days, followed by a short ensemble performance on the final day. In order to make the most of the three sessions, some limited coordination and exchange will be necessary before the event: this will be organised virtually via a dedicated Discord server. The deadline for applications is midnight (CEST) on Sunday 29th March. You can read the full guidelines and submit your application here. All applications will be reviewed personally and individually by Anna and Ben, with selected participants notified by mid-April. We’re looking forward to reading your applications!
You’ll also have the opportunity to experience plenty of Sónar+D and Sónar, with one of the world’s most forward-thinking music festivals serving as the perfect inspiration and backdrop for the three sessions. You’ll need to be in Barcelona between 17th and 19th June, as there’ll be sessions on all three days, followed by a short ensemble performance on the final day. In order to make the most of the three sessions, some limited coordination and exchange will be necessary before the event: this will be organised virtually via a dedicated Discord server. The deadline for applications is midnight (CEST) on Sunday 29th March. You can read the full guidelines and submit your application here. All applications will be reviewed personally and individually by Anna and Ben, with selected participants notified by mid-April. We’re looking forward to reading your applications!
