Ghent Winter Circus: Creative Technology for People and Culture

Visual artist and programmer Bjorn StaI have my first exhibition in Ghent Circus Winter Arena After opening in September 2024. “Interwoven” is a digital art installation that combines robotics, generative algorithms and digital interaction. The Winter Circus has already achieved its goal of “manipulating” art, culture, technology, creativity and innovation and has become part of the fabric of the city.

The artist explains that the installation was developed specifically for this space:

“You can put it in the middle of the building and look at it from all kinds of angles from there. It's a very forgiving space to show installation art. I also find the contrast between the old building and this high-tech installation very interesting.”

I want people to see that technology can be used creatively, perhaps in ways it wasn't intended. The one thing that's important for this building is how technology can be used to bring people together, rather than being something that maybe divides us more because people are staring at their screens all the time.

Cool environment

Experiencing the building itself, walking through all these wonderful spaces – the cafes and restaurants and also this communal space where you can sit and work, and knowing that these were the stables where the horses and elephants were. This is an interesting wallpaper for this room.

It was a beautiful synergy working with the people and knowledge in this space and creating something unique to this building. It's a very cool environment where you meet a lot of people who are interested in technology and have deep knowledge of it. “