Beijing’s 798 Art District Debuts at Ars Electronica 2026

The centerpiece of the collaboration featured the performance Airy, a joint effort by new media artist Baoyang Chen and the TAO Dance Theater. The work utilized an industrial robotic arm to engage with dancers amidst shimmering silk and digital projections. By choreographing moments of hesitation and rhythmic misalignment, the performance forced a dialogue between machine agency and the human body, grounding abstract digital concepts in physical reality.

Beyond the stage, the festival served as a launching pad for long-term institutional growth. Baoyang Chen detailed the evolution of China’s art-and-technology ecosystem during the Expanded Conference, framing 798 as a living laboratory for robotics and artificial intelligence. This push for international integration continues with the newly announced 798 Multidisciplinary Residency Program, organized alongside BOUNDED SPACE. Under the inaugural theme Pre / Sense, the initiative invites global electronic musicians and creative collectives to develop projects within Beijing’s historic industrial landscape, aiming to move beyond temporary festival encounters toward a permanent framework for cross-disciplinary research.