ROBOT Festival

ROBOT brings electronic music and digital arts into venues across Bologna. Founded in 2008 by the cultural association Shape, it developed around the relationship between people, machines and artistic expression, with Marco Ligurgo and Antonio Puglisi directing its early editions. Concerts and DJ sets sit alongside audiovisual performances, screenings, installations and workshops. Palazzo Re Enzo has been part of its geography since the first edition, while clubs, theatres and repurposed industrial spaces give different parts of the programme different settings. Its history includes performances by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Alva Noto, Pan Sonic and Carl Craig. Each edition takes a theme as a starting point for the programme. The festival also has a learning strand, ROBOT Learn, extending its interest in digital culture into practical and educational activities.