Inspiration: 8 Examples of Innovation in Artistic Creation

Implementation of Innovation

Chagall - Technology to Make Music

As a singer, Chagall often performed with a piano and laptop but sometimes missed the connection with her audience. Digital offered a solution; by using MiMu gloves (sensor gloves), she can control her voice, beats, and effects with her fingers. This makes each performance unique and the experience for her fans more special. The audience can fully immerse themselves in the performance as something new happens each time with her voice, lights, and music. According to Chagall, this technology adds an exhilarating layer and unique human intimacy to electronic music.

Ivo van Hove and Jan Versweyveld – Film as a Set

Film and theater continuously influence each other. In their work, theater director Ivo van Hove and scenographer Jan Versweyveld turn this intertwining into an art form in itself. During a play, cameras on stage record the performance live and project it onto a screen above the stage. This way, visitors experience the film and the play simultaneously.

Engaging the Audience in Your Creation

Smartphone Orchestra - Gaming to Determine the Score

The Smartphone Orchestra is an example of how you can involve your audience in the performance. The audience had the opportunity to lead the orchestra with their smartphones. This influenced their experience and made it unique. By involving your audience in the creation process, you keep their attention and interest; they want their note to be played!

Dead Centre - The Director in Your Ear

During a play, it’s often silent as you listen to the story. This was different with Chekhov’s first play by Dead Centre; as an audience member, you could hear the backstage via headphones. This showed the reality of how everything unfolds and adds a new dimension to the experience. As a spectator, you followed the director’s commentary, making you feel involved in the production. Even when things went wrong, you could hear it through the headphones—the panic of the actors and backstage crew was all part of the experience. This offers a different experience than usual and changes the perspective on the creators.

Unique Experiences via Augmented Reality

Clouseau - A Concert in AR

Do you think we can also reach the audience at home with a live performance? This must have been the question the Belgian band Clouseau asked themselves before they came up with their AR concert. During COVID, Clouseau became the first band to create a digital version of their performance with Dutch Rose Media. Fans could watch the performance via their phone screens, wherever they were.
How? Dutch Rose Media is a studio where people are filmed and transformed into a digital version, like a hologram. This hologram can then, as with Clouseau, be placed anywhere via AR. For example, in your living room!

The Dirty Denims - A Living Album Cover

Selling a concert with an album right away? The Dirty Denims did it via AR. You could scan their album cover to see a performance on that very cover. The band also used this technology in the venue. Fans could scan the backdrop behind the stage and see extra AR objects related to the song being played at that moment through their phone screens. This piques the audience’s curiosity and adds an extra layer to the concert. It’s not just about listening and dancing during a performance but also being surprised by a dynamic set design.

Collaborating for New Innovations

ASML/Glow Eindhoven

GLOW is an international light art festival in Eindhoven that collaborates with 30 light artists from home and abroad. The festival is sponsored by ASML, a chip manufacturer. Through this collaboration, they can create spectacular shows, such as a projection on Eindhoven Central Station. Additionally, visitors could stand in front of a screen where their silhouette was projected and moved along. By collaborating with partners experienced in the digital world, GLOW continues to amaze its audience.

Ulrike Quade (in collaboration with UU, HKU, and VU)

Ulrike Quade Company is a theater company with a history of combining acting, dance, scenography, music, and literature with puppetry and now also digital tools. In collaboration with Utrecht University, the Utrecht School of the Arts, and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the company explored what happens when you bring technology and theater together.

The complexity of working with technologies is that it changes the rhythm and logic of your creative process, as you’re adding a new component. However, it also provides new artistic freedom and the opportunity to offer your audience a unique experience every time.