Ariana Grande performing as a digital game character, ABBA touring as holograms, and Reinier Zonneveld going back-to-back with his own AI. It’s clear that live performance is entering a new era. Technology is opening the door to immersive, boundary-pushing experiences that blur the line between artist and audience. But while these innovations are exciting, they’re not always accessible to everyone working in the music industry. That’s where Open Culture Tech comes in. From February to June 2026, three artists in residence will experiment with open source tools to test their relevance for the sector.

 

 

Open Culture Tech is driven by a straightforward idea: the latest technology should be available to all artists, not just those with the biggest budgets. Through residencies, concerts, tools, and free workshops, the programme shares knowledge and creates opportunities for experimentation across the music industry. Working closely with a network of tech companies, design studios, and live venues, it supports artists in transforming ideas into immersive experiences that connect with audiences in new and meaningful ways.

 

From February to June 2026, three artists will extend their own music practice by using open-source tools from the Open Culture Tech Toolkit, exploring how emerging technologies can become part of everyday creative practice rather than something reserved for a select few.

 

From Avatars to Augmented Reality: The Toolkit

 

The toolkit itself is the result of several years of development, bringing together insights from past residencies where artists were invited to experiment and create new tools for live performance. Refined during the 2024 edition of the programme, it offers a set of accessible and open source AI and immersive technologies.

 

With Avatar Mixer, artists can easily create and animate 3D avatars, syncing them to body and facial movements in real time. Whether using built-in characters or uploading a personal 3D scan, performers can shape entire digital identities, complete with customizable environments, outfits, and live visual elements.

 

AR Synth opens the door to augmented reality by allowing artists to build interactive experiences directly in the browser. Images and videos can be placed into virtual space, enhanced with animation and visual effects, and shared instantly via a simple QR code — making immersive content accessible to anyone with a smartphone, without the need for additional apps.

 

For sound creation, Prompt Sampler introduces a new way of working with audio. This AI-powered plugin transforms text prompts into original music samples, enabling artists to move quickly from idea to sound. Whether imagining a “gritty lo-fi drum loop” or an “ethereal ambient pad,” the tool generates high-quality audio that can be directly integrated into a production workflow.

 

More info on the Toolkit >

 

All of these tools are available as free hosted versions, and their full source code can be accessed on GitHub under a Creative Commons license. This open approach reflects Open Culture Tech’s commitment to collaboration and transparency, encouraging artists not only to use the tools but also to adapt, modify, and build upon them.

 

Three Artists in Residency

 

To explore how accessible and adaptable these technologies truly are, three artists have been invited into the Tech Residency to experiment with the toolkit and develop new ideas for their practice.

 

LASHAAWN

 

 

LASHAAAWN (They/Them She/Her) self proclaimed Amsterdam’s Sweetheart is a drag performance artist. A fantasy world builder who in her work critically and comedically reflects on themes such as queerness, colonialism and The Real Housewives of Atlanta™.

 

Inspired by epic fantasy game culture she will use the Open Culture Tech Avatar Mixer to envision God as a typical Surinamese auntie. This to celebrate Surinamese culture, black women (in positions of power and authority) as well as to provide comedic relief.

 

NDA/

 

 

NDA/ is the Rotterdam-based audiovisual duo of media artist Niki Scheijen and coder-musician Den Ree. Their debut A/V performance Machine Music fuses live-coded music and real-time visuals into an energetic, genre-blending live act ranging from hyperpop to techno and breakbeat, telling the story of technology's lifecycle. The result is a live audiovisual set that moves both mind and body.

 

During their residency, they will use the Open Culture Tech AR Synth to experiment with a new interactive layer to their live show. Using augmented reality on their phone, the audience can explore the story and themes behind the performance and share the experience beyond the physical event.​

 

BASJE

 

 

BASJE is the stage persona of Bas Mastboom, a Dutch queer and non-binary performance maker working at the intersection of pop, cabaret, music theatre and multimedia. Their work is musical, hilarious, self-critical and lightly absurdist, blending sharp social commentary with glitter, vulnerability and self-mockery. Trained originally in architecture at TU Delft, BASJE creates performances that explore identity, perfection, queerness and the tension between human messiness and digital fantasy, including the new theatre-pop project PopGPT.

 

During the residency, BASJE will use Open Culture Tech’s Avatar Mixer to further develop PopGPT, a live performance in which they share the stage with a digital double. The central artistic question is: what happens when the audience helps shape not only the avatar’s look and personality, but also the outcome of the story itself?

 

The tech residencies kicked off at the end of February and will continue to June 2026.