Intercult Academy: Digital on Stage – Highlights and takeaways

At the end of August 2025, Intercult organised “Intercult Academy: Digital on Stage” – a four-day journey exploring how digital technology is reshaping performance and storytelling. The academy was a part of the Creative Europe project Digital on Stage, and hosted within the framework of the Stockholm Fringe Festival (STOFF 2025). The Academy offered an inspiring blend of workshops, talks, and showcases –  all free of charge – designed to empower performing-arts practitioners to experiment with new tools and languages for the digital stage. Let’s look back on this eventful week in August and enjoy some pictures.

The Kick-off – creativity, community and curiosity

Before the Academy’s workshops began, Intercult hosted an energetic Kick-off evening on 26 August at its headquarters on Nytorgsgatan 15. The gathering introduced the Digital on Stage project, the Academy’s concept, and its European partners – setting the tone for an inclusive week of learning and collaboration. The evening also featured a presentation of the new handbook “Scenkonst i förvandling”, with tutorials by Adam Wittsell, offering practical insights into how artists can integrate digital tools into performance. The launch became an informal mini-festival in itself, filled with mingling, drinks, and conversations between artists, technologists, and cultural producers.

A festival in full swing

The Kick-off seamlessly led into the official opening of Stockholm Fringe Festival 2025 at Scala Teatern, headlined by the comedian Hazel Brugger. With this high-energy opening night, the city’s stages came alive with experimentation – and the Academy became one of the festival’s key professional programmes, linking digital performance research with STOFF’s long-standing mission to push artistic boundaries.

Programme highlights – day by day

From 27 to 29 August, the Academy took place at Värmeverket, Elements/Arts Dynamics, and Rumtiden Idea Lab – each venue reflecting the hybrid spirit of physical-digital creativity. Participants engaged not only as learners but as collaborators, shaping content in real time through motion capture, coding, AI, and storytelling experiments. 

Day 1 – Värmeverket: Liminal Spaces (Workshop and showcase led by Nicole Chufi)

The Academy began with the hacklab “Liminal Spaces”, a body-based exploration of the boundary between physical presence and virtual extension. Participants used motion tracking and interactive projection tools to experiment with hybrid embodiment, turning the stage into a shifting interface of light and gesture. The showcase that followed upon the workshop allowed participants to test their discoveries live, performing short pieces where technology became both mirror and partner in front of an audience. 

Foto: Victoria Zahmatkesh

Day 2 – Elements: 

VRonStage (Workshop led by Jonas Myrstrand)

VRonStage offered an introduction to VR and 360° film as immersive dramaturgical spaces. Participants worked hands-on with spherical cameras, learning how perspective, movement, and rhythm change in a virtual environment. Jonas Myrstrand (film director and producer) shared creative insights from his own VR productions, illustrating how filmmakers and theatre directors can choreograph presence inside a digital world. Artists left inspired to treat VR as an extension of the stage – not a distraction from it.

Virtual Dreams (Workshop led by Arash Anbari & Alicia Karhunen Larsson)

In Virtual Dreams, the participants explored a poetic interplay between dance and technology. Using hand-tracking VR systems, they created responsive environments where every movement generated light, sound, or shape. The facilitators encouraged collaboration between dancers, coders, and designers, demonstrating that immersion is as much about intuition as it is about interface.

AI Tools for Storytelling in the Performing Arts (Workshop led by Anne Carlsson Hellandsjö)

Arts Dynamics Entrepreneur Meetup (Moderated by Sofie Marin)

As part of the Arts Dynamics Meetup Community, this special edition was held in collaboration with Intercult Academy – Digital on Stage. We gathered at Elements to explore the fast-growing intersection of AI and VR within the performing arts. The meetup brought together several Digital on Stage workshop leaders as panelists, sharing insights from their practice. Moderated by Sofie Marin, Founder & CEO of Arts Dynamics, the discussion blended inspiration and strategy, highlighting how emerging technologies can unlock artistic potential while fostering sustainable careers and entrepreneurship.

Day 3 – Rumtiden Idea Lab: 

The Mobile as Aesthetic Interface (Workshop led by Nea Landin & Gabriel Widing)

In the morning of day 3, the participants got the chance to reimagine smartphones as creative instruments rather than distractions by using sensors, sound, and AR tools! During the workshop the participants tried out some situations from Nea and Gabriel’s previous performances (such as Mobilized) as well as develop their own scenario. The workshop questioned how personal devices mediate intimacy and agency — proposing a future where every audience member might hold part of the performance in their hands.

ARTificial: AI Audiovisual Universes (Workshop led by Yoryos Styl)

This lab explored real-time AI generation of images and sound, merging human intuition with algorithmic output. Participants produced hypnotic, data-driven compositions that blurred the line between performance, installation, and live cinema. The experience highlighted both the power and unpredictability of creative AI, framing it as an artistic collaborator capable of expanding sensorial worlds. The session concluded with reflections on artistic authorship, practical applications, and ethical considerations, highlighting how AI can expand, rather than replace, the human element in performance-making.

Theatrical Streaming as Aesthetic and Activism (Workshop by Stina Kajaso & Ebba Petrén)

This session challenged traditional ideas of liveness by exploring Channelle, Skärmteatern’s performative streaming platform tool. Participants tested ways to use livestreaming as both an artistic medium and a tool for civic engagement. The workshop was held both online and at Intercult’s office for increased accessibility and dissemination. Through discussion and improvisation, they examined how digital presence can be political – turning remote audiences into active participants in creative dialogue.

Rumtiden Idea Lab – Afterwork 

The Academy closed with an open after-work at Rumtiden Idea Lab, where participants, facilitators, and festival-goers exchanged reflections and future plans over informal mingling and drinks. The evening focused on the future of culture and performing arts in the age of AI and the program included, media art, interactive installations, a robot DJ, performances, presentations, live music, and key takeaways from the week. The audience got the chance to enjoy art works by Elias Shapiro, multi instrumentalist from SKH and the Cyr wheel artist Alva Harju Janssom, as well as the specially written/composed AI remix of Greek drama by Rumtiden’s artistic director Håkan Lidbo and artist in residency Yoryos Styl. The evening concluded with a panel discussion about the future of digital performing arts, where the artists Erik Rosales, Ebba Petrén, Nea Landin, Gabriel Widing and Max Valentin gave their perspective on the subject. 

Reflections from participants

“The best thing was being able to workshop together with other creatives! To learn and connect with everyone – I loved the day so much.”

“As a teacher, I really enjoyed the interest of the participants and the feeling of doing the workshop at the most appropriate space”

“The whole programme was friendly and inclusive – loved it!”

“A truly inspiring dive into virtual performance — creative, hands-on, and full of surprises – I had so much fun!”

“The two panel discussions (At Elements and Rumtiden) added depth and alternative creativity to the already awesome Stockholm Fringe lineup.”

Final thoughts and future plans

Looking back, Intercult Academy: Digital on Stage stands out as a highlight for Europe’s digital-performance community, not because it presented finished products, but because it celebrated process, play, and partnership. From the kick-off at Intercult to the final mingling at Rumtiden Idea Lab, the week formed a living bridge between theatre and technology, local roots and global visions. For anyone curious about the future of the stage, it offered a clear message: The stage is evolving – and it’s open to all.

The conversations sparked – around AI ethics, accessibility, and creative economies – and will continue within the larger Digital on Stage project, a three-year European collaboration developing residencies, co-productions, and artist-exchange labs. By connecting Stockholm’s local innovation scene to a wider European network, Intercult ensures that the Academy’s spirit of openness and experimentation endures beyond a single week.

Intercult Academy: Digital on Stage couldn’t have been possible without our amazing partners: Stockholm Fringe Festival, Värmeverket, Elements, Art Dynamics, and Rumtiden. A huge thank you for your energy, collaboration, and support. And a huge thank to all workshop leaders and participants!

Click here, to see to discover a video with highlights from the Academy on Instagram.

Intercult is organising numerous other activities as part of the Digital on Stage project!
To stay informed, follow us on the project’s website, Facebook and Instagram.

FUNDED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION. THE OPINIONS AND VIEWS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR(S) ALONE AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THOSE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION OR CREATIVE EUROPE. NEITHER THE EUROPEAN UNION NOR THE GRANTING AUTHORITY CAN BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THEM.