The #rp26 Off Stage Programme

Whether it's an AI church or a political coffee machine: off the re:publica stages, there are plenty of interactive experiences waiting for you.
Foto einer Installation aus dem Off Stage Programm auf der republica. Zu sehen sind Screens mit Gesichtern und lilafarbenes und grünes Licht.

Offstage, you’ll once again find our “interactive adventure playground” at this year’s re:publica festival ground, featuring installations, interventions, DIY activities, screenings, and games. Here, you can sing, play, or tinker or try out vending machines that dispense more than just gum.

From language models to facial recognition: Try out how AI shapes our reality and join the discussion on where it distorts, controls, or needs to be reimagined. Dive into the web from yesterday to tomorrow: Explore virtual spaces, create digital identities, and work together to take action against hate and for civil courage – as well as a better internet. Become part of initiatives, utopias, and performative spaces: Exchange ideas, develop concepts, and further explore social questions together.

Come by, let yourself be carried along, and discover the many projects throughout STATION that invite you to interact.

You can find more details about the off stage programme here.

 

Events

Join our guided off stage tour with our curatorial team and artists on 20 May 2026 from 1:45 pm. Starts at the Homebase.

 

Off Stage Programme Highlights

Here are some of the more than 40 projects you definitely won’t want to miss:

🤖 AI War Cloud
What happens when the technology behind the robot vacuum that maps your apartment is also used for military purposes? Sarah Ciston’s installation highlights the eerie intertwining of commercial and military AI. A taxonomy of AI decision-making systems that shows how they are used in a wide variety of contexts and which nations, corporations, and individuals are collaborating in the process.

👥 Doppelgänger:Apparatus
Have you ever wondered what your digital self would actually look like if it were standing in the room next to you? This mixed-reality experience lets you encounter your own digital double. Based on psychoanalytic concepts, the boundary between physical reality and the digital data body is radically stretched here.

⛔ Entering the Manosphere
Behind memes and irony often lies deep online hatred. This interactive installation by the Rainbow Pill Collective peels away the sarcasm to reveal the raw misogyny of the “Manosphere”. Understand the mechanisms of radicalization to defend a humane digital culture.

☕ Coffee Machine
Don’t worry, this coffee machine isn’t just a typical break-time fixture. At re:publica, even the coffee is political, technically playful, or simply an experiment in AI interaction. Keep your eyes and ears open (and your recycling cups ready) for this unconventional way of getting your energy boost.

💬 Meme-tivism Station
Laugh off the costs of AI? Artificial intelligence consumes vast amounts of energy – but instead of feeling guilty, we’re using humor. At the Meme-tivism Station, you’ll use sarcasm and memes to raise awareness about the environmental impact of AI. Browse through the digital meme library or use the toolkit to create your own viral message for a more sustainable internet.

💫 Church of AI
Are you ready for a controversial thought experiment? At the Church of AI, you’ll test your faith in humanity. Do we blindly worship the new “machine gods” or do we retain control? Between an AI altar and an apocalyptic escape game, you decide: submission or resistance?