Digital tools are rapidly reshaping how we create, share, and experience art: the boundaries between presence and distance, narrative and play, performance and computation are constantly shifting. A singer can now lend their voice to others; critical issues can be explored in real-world gaming environments; and digital tools for music creation seem to defy the physical limits of traditional instruments.

In such a rapidly changing world — where no single “correct” path or fixed syllabus exists — we see the value in rhizomatic education and non-hierarchical dialogue. These approaches allow learning to grow organically, like a network of ideas and practices that constantly shifts, expands, and connects in new ways. They empower participants not just to absorb knowledge, but to co-create it together with peers, experts, and technology itself.

Rhizomatic education is a learning theory and practice that emphasizes interconnectedness, non-linearity, and the learner’s active role in constructing knowledge. Inspired by the biological metaphor of a rhizome — a plant root system with no central point, spreading in all directions — it challenges traditional, hierarchical models. Just as we do in CultTech.

By embedding these principles into the CultTech Lab Educational Program, we create a space where learning is exploratory, collaborative, and ever-evolving — reflecting the very nature of the technologies and cultural shifts we study

Throughout the program, participants engaged in hands-on sessions with diverse tech partners, exploring how emerging technologies can reshape artistic practice, storytelling, and audience engagement.

The Residency’s learning journey blends technical exploration, critical debate, and creative experimentation. Each session is designed to move fluidly between hands-on tool use, reflective discussion, and collaborative ideation — ensuring that participants not only understand how technologies work, but also why they matter in cultural and artistic contexts.

Our partners are an essential part of the residency’s collaborative ecosystem. They bring cutting-edge tools, unique creative approaches, and deep expertise in emerging technologies. Each partner contributes through live sessions, hands-on workshops, or collaborative challenges, giving participants direct access to the people shaping the future of culture and tech.

The program’s most valuable outcome extends beyond the workshops themselves: a living, evolving network of artists, technologists, and cultural practitioners who continue to exchange knowledge long after the sessions end.

• From Participants to Peers – Participants moved from learning about technologies to co-creating with them, positioning themselves as equal contributors in a horizontal network rather than passive recipients of expertise.
• Shared Knowledge & Practices – Each meeting generated practical know-how, ethical reflections, and creative prototypes that entered the community’s shared pool of resources. This collective library grows as members adapt, remix, and build on each other’s work.
• Cross-Pollination of Ideas – The diversity of disciplines represented in the cohort ensured that insights from one field (e.g., voice modelling ethics) could spark innovations in another (e.g., immersive storytelling).
• Sustained Exchange – A dedicated network map and participant directory (based on the Miro data) visualise ongoing connections, making it easy to find collaborators or revisit ideas from the residency.
• Empowerment Through Belonging – The program model reinforces that the residency is not a one-off event but an entry point into a wider movement where members shape the narrative of how culture and technology intersect.