shapeshift 2025
:Radical
imaginations:
Sofia,
TOPLOCENTRALA
April 25–27
SHAPESHIFT 2025 is approaching—a three-day festival by Next-DC featuring an immersive lineup of talks, workshops, exhibitions, screenings, and music. The festival explores the dynamic relationship between humanity, creativity, and innovation in a time of constant transformation. Join us from April 25 to 27 at Toplocentrala, Sofia.
This year’s theme, Radical Imaginations, envisioned by theme curator Magda Mojsiejuk, invites us to imagine a more humane world beyond the boundaries of our current reality and encourages us to seek new ideas and confront the challenges of the present—because it is there that we find the seeds of the future we want to build.
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Talks
:speaker:
Constantin Prozorov
{DE/FR}
Digital Collage Artist
CONSTANTIN Prozorov is a German artist based in Paris who specializes in digital collages blending luxury fashion, mythical creatures, and surreal textures.
After studying Fashion and Communication Design in Munich and working for Condé Nast in Paris, he moved to Berlin to launch a solo career before settling in Paris.
Prozorov is renowned for collaborations with luxury brands such as MONCLER, GUCCI, BMW, and LOUIS VUITTON. His distinctive style has earned recognition in prestigious publications like VOGUE, Harper’s BAZAAR, and L’OFFICIEL.
:speaker:
soyun park
{KR/NL}
Аrtist, researcher and educator
Soyun Park is a South Korean artist, researcher, and educator based in The Hague, Netherlands. She explores how technology shapes our perceptions and physical embodiment through video, installations, performances, and new media.
As the founder of RGBdog, she is dedicated to connecting with people and creating collective art experiences. Her work has been featured at festivals like Rewire Festival (NL), Ars Electronica (AT), CTM Festival (DE), and Jeonju International Film Festival (KR), where her film Wunderkammer 10.0 won a Special Jury Prize in 2022.
Soyun is currently a researcher at the Netherlands Film Academy, where she studies the intersections of art, technology, and cinema.
:speakers:
N O R M A L S
{FR/DE}
Design and strategy collective
N O R M A L S is a design and strategy collective that challenges conventional ideas about the future. Founded in 2012 and based in Berlin, they create immersive prototypes, speculative narratives, and experimental worldbuilding to push beyond expected futures.
Their work has been commissioned by organizations such as SPACE10 (IKEA’s innovation lab), the European Commission’s Policy Lab, Evonik, and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
:speaker:
Iskra Velitchkova
{ES/BG}
Generative Artist, researcher
Iskra Velitchkova is a generative artist who explores the intersection of technology, data, and human intuition. With a background in data visualization and philosophy of technology, her work investigates whether machines can reveal deeper human truths. Using algorithms, randomness, and structure, she creates digital and physical artworks that challenge our perception of distance, emergence, and contemporary landscapes.
Her pieces have been exhibited worldwide, from Art Basel and Sotheby’s New York to Ars Electronica, Unit London, and Bright Moments. She has collaborated with Gucci, Christie's, and pioneering digital art platforms, continuously pushing the boundaries of generative aesthetics.
:speaker:
Marieke van Erp
{NL}
AI & Digital Humanities Researcher
Marieke van Erp is an AI and digital humanities researcher exploring how artificial intelligence interacts with culture, history, and language. Based in Amsterdam, she leads the Digital Humanities Research Lab at the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and is a co-founder of the Cultural AI Lab, where she develops AI systems that better understand the complexity of human culture.
Her work examines how technology shapes knowledge, whether through AI models that decode historical texts, databases that track the evolution of smells over centuries, or ethical AI systems designed to remove bias from digital archives.
:speaker:
Jorge Christie
{CL/DE}
Specialized generalist
Chief Product Technologies Officer of Strong by Form
Jorge Christie is a specialized generalist. He has been trained as an architect but has also experience in graphic design, art, music production, programming, and structural design. He holds a MAS in Architecture and Digital Fabrication from ETH Zurich, and an MSc. in Integrative Technologies and Architectural Design Research from the University of Stuttgart, where he is realizing a PhD in Engineering. Jorge is currently the Chief Product Technologies Officer of Strong by Form where he creates and develops lightweight wood-based composite materials, products, and technologies.
:Our New Co-Curator:
Magda Mojsiejuk
{PL/ES}
Creative director, designer, futurist and researcher
Magda is a designer, futurist, and creative director.
She develops prototypes for future products and services, currently as an Artist in Residence within the EU S+T+ARTS ecosystem, she is developing prototypes for the future of food and farming. Formerly the Lead Artifact Designer and Creative Director at Futurity Systems, a Barcelona-based consultancy offering "Futures-as-a-Service", she initiated inTENSE, a sci-fi magazine exploring hypothetical lifestyles after 2030.
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Workshops
:Jamshid Alamutie:
Cultivating Radical
Imagination
To tackle big challenges and seize new opportunities, you need curiosity, disruptive thinking, and a future-focused strategy. This workshop explores the foundations of radical imagination, how to cultivate it, and how to integrate it into innovation management. Walk away with a clear plan to embed this mindset in your organization and drive real change.
:Soyun Park:
Repurposing Discarded Images
Instead of generating images from scratch, this workshop explores how to breathe new life into discarded visuals using generative AI. Through creative reflection and collective brainstorming, you’ll uncover unexpected storytelling possibilities. Then, with the help of AI, you’ll transform them into fresh sources of inspiration, opening up new creative directions. Bring your forgotten files and give them a second chance.
: N O R M A L S :
Future Fishing Workshop 101
Get acquainted with the power of design fiction and learn how to create captivating and unconventional visions of the future. This practical and accessible session with N O R M A L S will introduce you to creative techniques for building futuristic scenarios and challenging contemporary norms through speculative design.
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Exhibitions
“Radical Imaginations” – a group exhibition showcasing exceptional works by:
Constantin Prozorov {DE/FR}A globally recognized digital artist who has worked with Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Moncler, and BMW, blurring the boundaries between fashion, surrealism, and digital art.
Iskra Velitchkova {ES/BG}A generative artist whose work explores the relationship between technology, data, and human intuition. She has collaborated on projects with Gucci, Unit London, and Zach Lieberman.
Futures Garden - N O R M A L S {FR/DE}A selection of works from the visionary platform redefining the future of policymaking in Europe, merging speculative design, creativity, and analytical insight.
Dialogue with the Deep SpaceAn interactive installation featuring images from deep space and dark matter research, based on photographs from the European Space Agency’s Euclid space mission.
25-27 April
Natfiz Stefan Karadza str. 20
Free Admission
screenings
party
{partners and sponsors}
Explore the past editions of the festival
Check out SHAPESHIFT 2024
