Kissing robots and dancing with drones: Meet Canberra’s newest festival, Uncharted Territory

Posted on 30 June, 2023

Robots in love, dancing drones, 3D printing and finally finding out what the heck Blockchain is.

These are just some of the highlights you can look forward to at Uncharted Territory, Canberra’s newest festival. Taking place at the Australian National University’s (ANU) inner-city campus and various satellite venues across Canberra from 7 to 16 July, Uncharted Territory is, at its heart, a festival about innovation and everything new, cutting edge and futuristic.

Across the week, experts and thought leaders from across the city will come together to unpack issues of the day like artificial intelligence, drones, blockchain, cyber security, clean energy and robotics and how these intersect with art, dance and human relationships.

For Festival Director Yolande Norris, given the rapid innovation forced into existence by COVID-19 and the rise of AI as a global conversation, there’s never been a better time to unpack the concept.

“A lot of us have got a new relationship to the concept of innovation because of the pandemic. I think it’s shown us collectively how to think outside the box and there are so many very topical developments that are moving very quickly.”

“This festival is happening at a time when people are very open to thinking differently, not necessarily just about technology and advancements in those fields, but also about themselves.”

But if that sounds a little, well, technical, Yolande urges all Canberrans to take a closer look.

“There are a number of events for people who are not necessarily working in those fields or sectors to wrap their heads around some of this stuff that they might not be familiar with or comfortable with,” she explains, adding that as someone coming from an arts background, this is “really exciting”.

“I want to understand a lot of these new technologies and the ways that the world is changing. Sometimes it can feel like [technology] is going too fast or it’s framed in the scariest possible way—so some of the events ensure that anyone can join this conversation.”

So, what can you expect from this celebration of all things cutting-edge? Here are just a few highlights—you can explore the full program here.

I Heart Robots

Artificial intelligence is the phrase on everyone’s lips these days, as we ponder our human existence alongside the potential benefits—and risks—of creating machines that think for themselves. At the heart of this debate are questions of humanity and the human condition—an idea that is explored through the poignant First Kiss: A Robotic Pas de deux, an interdisciplinary collaboration between renowned choreographer Melanie Lane and University of Canberra robotics lab.

On display in the foyer at Kambri Cultural Centre during the festival, First Kiss “offers audiences a space to reflect on their relationship with technology, in an era where human encounters are increasingly mediated by digital platforms and tools that complicate experiences of intimacy”.

Want to interact with AI yourself? Pepper the Robot, the world’s most advanced retail robot, will be making her Canberra debut in Kambri Foyer during the festival for A Conversation with a Robot. Visitors of all ages are welcome to interact with Pepper to “experience the limitless potential of human-robot interaction”. What will you ask?

Dancing with Drones

The marriage of technology and humanity will also be explored at Canberra Theatre Centre during the festival, in what promises to be a breathtaking—and ground-breaking—new work.

Lucie in the Sky is a collaboration between Australasian Dance Collective, World of Drones Education and the Australian National University’s School of Cybernetics, that will see six dancers and five drones partner for a mesmerising performance.

There will also be an entire conference of dance happening nearby at the National Film and Sound Archive. Familiar with the work of Restless Dance Theatre, Marc Brew, Riana Head-Toussaint, Chris Dyke, the Chamaeleon Collective and the Diverse Abilities Dance Collective? You will be after attending I Dance II, a conference that celebrates and explores a diverse array of films centred around, or created by, dance artists living with a disability in Australia.

Blockchain, explained

 If someone once tried to explain the concept of Blockchain to you and your brain slowly melted out one ear (just me?), the Block Unlock two-day conference at Kambri aims to decipher “the potential of blockchain technology and its groundbreaking impact on the digital landscape”.

Tech-lovers, entrepreneurs, programmers and investors welcome—as well as anyone who doesn’t fit into those categories.

Get your hands dirty

Naturally, with innovation comes physical technologies, and you can experience some of these cutting-edge (pun intended) machines first-hand at ANU’s MakerSpace Pop Up. A lab usually reserved for ANU students and researchers, why not learn how to manufacture your own 3D printed design at their 3D Printing Workshop or make yourself something beautiful (and wearable!) at the Laser Cut Jewellery Workshop?

What does cybersecurity actually ‘look’ like?

Another way that Uncharted Territory seamlessly blends innovation and art is evident in Something you know, Something you have, Something you are, an artwork created by Dr Baden Pailthorpe, Senior Lecturer at the Australian National University School of Art & Design. Displayed on an LED wall at Kambri, Yolande explains this artwork will explore what cybersecurity looks like, in a visual sense.

“Baden has taken on the challenge of trying to give visual language to cybersecurity,” she explains. “When we hear about the threat of cybersecurity, everything can be really scary and feel really threatened—but how do we actually understand the breadth and depth of cybersecurity as one of our biggest challenges?”

“The work itself is very engaging and probably not what you’d expect…it’s really special to have something created just for the festival.”

Feature image: Lucie In the Sky. Credit: David Kelly