Algoritmi Musicali (Musical Algorithms)
Wunderkammer Festival, Trieste, Italy 03 October / 11 November 2022

Early Music can be interactive.
Can’t it?!

As we live in a digital era, being analogical is not an option. Participation, engagement,
involvement are the new keywords. Videos, reels, podcasts are essential, and culture
is not an exception. If we want Early Music to strengthen, communication has to deal with
different languages, to involve old and new audiences easily, and effectively.
To engage the youngest is the mantra of every communication team involved in Early Music.

The challenge of Wunderkammer Festival is to rethink traditional tools – such as posters,
or programs – with a partecipative approach. Programs become carnets de voyage,
to be filled by the public. In 2022 the Festival went further, merging online and offline
tools, transforming each printed tool in an analogical version of an Instagram story.
We conceived a series of stickers/ reactions to customize programs, posters, and postcards.
Why? Because of the theme!

ABSTRACT
Algorithm: any scheme or systematic (calculation) procedure.
“The Festival is an algorithm. A design project can be considered an algorithm.”
Algorithms control networks, social media and the way we interact with them.
“We think we choose what to see or follow but it’s not really up to us.”
Luckily, music (art) is different. There’s something that can’t be controlled a priori: soul, talent,
human touch, can’t be forced into a scheme.

CONCEPT
Inspired by John Maeda’s considerations on simplicity/ complexity, by Pinaffo-Pluvinage’s
Château d’eau video, by John Cage’s Concert for Piano and Orchestra music sheets
and by Marco Fusinato’s works of art, the design project focuses on the human perspective
behind every systematic procedure. It investigates imperfection rather than perfection.
It searches for interaction. Geometric paths – which recall to organ pipes, staffs or
geometric figures – has been designed, neatly. Arrows highlight the route to follow.
White spheres, falling from the outside, follow these geometric shapes in a potentially
never-ending loop. Typography is black, bold, simple. Letters are musically split in blocks.
Every “a” looks like an alpha: music is based on math, and math can produce music.

AN INTERACTIVE PROJECT
The layout looks rich yet essential. Public can rate each concert from 1 to 5 stars,
“virtually” push pause or play buttons, answers questions, add reactions. Each set
of stickers provided with the program includes reactions, stars, hearts, positions
(Trieste, of course!) and keywords related to math or music. This way, each poster,
each program is absolutely unique, and interactions turn each concert into an experience.
Since the Festival communication happens mainly online, we create a series of 15’’ animations
to promote the events on our social media channels. Posters had their moving version, too.

Info MAKING-OF VIDEO

Info WUNDERKAMMER FESTIVAL TRIESTE


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