shapeshift festival 2026

24-26th april

:The Human Algorithm:

Over three days in Sofia—through exhibitions, talks, workshops, films, and the messy joy of collaboration—we’ll ask how to build systems that don’t just process data but reflect our values. The Human Algorithm is a call to turn technology into a mirror of our best selves, and to design futures that are as humane as they are innovative. Consider this your invitation—not to watch the future unfold, but to help write it.

Talks : Workshops : Exhibition : Screenings :

Every day, our lives run on patterns. Some are cultural, some are computational. Together, they shape what we notice, what we choose, even how we imagine the future. But those patterns aren’t fixed. They learn from us as much as we learn from them. Which raises the question: when machines shape our decisions, how do we keep the human voice—our creativity, our ethics, our empathy—at the core of the loop? This year, SHAPESHIFT treats humans not as end-users of technology, but as algorithms in our own right: makers of meaning, writers of rules, co-authors of possibility.
We’ll explore hybrid intelligence where soft skills matter as much as software, where human care is built into every design, and where augmentation flows both ways—humans teaching machines, machines provoking humans.

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Announcing Our New Co-Curators:
Maciej Zasada, Karol Góreczny

Our new Co-Curators for SHAPESHIFT 2026
We’re pleased to welcome technologist-designer Maciej Zasada and immersive-experience lead Karol Góreczny — founders of the creative studio U x Machina—as co-curators of the upcoming edition.

Maciej’s work—spanning Google, Amazon, and Disney—often turns emerging tech into everyday tools. Karol, formerly Head of Design at UNIT9, guides projects for Meta, Nike, and Formula 1 that blur the line between physical and digital space.

Together, as co-founders of U x Machina, they merge design precision with technological imagination. At SHAPESHIFT 2026, they’ll shape a programme that asks how design and technology can move from prototype to lived experience—details to follow in the months ahead.

{speakers announcement}

Stephan Bischof

Stephan’s award-winning work for brands and cultural institutions places the audience at the heart of every story. As Brave Duck & Robot’s creative compass, he blends narrative and interaction to move ideas beyond spectacle and into experience. Formerly Executive Creative Director of Experience (Europe) at The Mill and Head of Creativity at UNIT9, Stephan has a long record of pioneering new forms of immersive storytelling. With an engaged community of 35k on LinkedIn, he continues to share insights that influence the future of creative technology. He has previously spoken at the Creative Industries Summit, Creative Expo Taiwan, and the Global Innovation Festa in Korea.

Alexandre Mballa-Ekobena

Alexandre (Sasha) Mballa-Ekobena links architecture, computation, and product design. At adidas Originals, he steers 3D workflows and future-collection strategy; earlier, he bridged concept and fabrication for artists and advanced-manufacturing studios. With training in architecture, integrative technologies, and an Executive MBA in progress, Sasha joins SHAPESHIFT 2026 to show how cross-disciplinary teams move speculative sketches into market-ready objects—and what that shift means for design’s next chapter.

Marta Djourina & Vesselina Sarieva

Marta Djourina studied Art History at Humboldt University and TU Berlin, and Fine Arts at UdK Berlin, where she is now a guest lecturer. Since 2024, she has been Artist in Research at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp.

Her works have been shown internationally, including at MNAHA Luxembourg, Berlinische Galerie, Sofia Arsenal – Museum of Contemporary Art, and Haus am Kleistpark, and are part of major collections such as the Berlinische Galerie and Eskenazi Museum of Art. She is the recipient of the EMOP Arendt Prize (2025), BAZA Award (2021), and Marianne Brandt Prize (2022), among others.

At SHAPESHIFT 2026, she will join gallerist and cultural strategist Vesselina Sarieva for an inspiring conversation on art, light, and everything in between.

Karen Antorveza

Karen Antorveza works where biology meets computation. A Colombian biodesigner and researcher at ETH Zürich’s Chair of Digital Building Technologies, she explores how living materials can reshape the way we build and design. Her work merges biotechnology, digital fabrication, and architecture to reduce embodied carbon and reimagine construction materials.

Her work has been shown internationally, including at the Venice Architecture Biennale, Milan Design Week, the Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin, Open Design – Makea Tu Vida in Barcelona, and the 3D Pioneers Challenge in Germany.