The cycle of International Lectures with Visiting Scholars, Cross-sector skills in the cultural and creative industries: technologies, research methodologies and approach to digital technology, will explore the role of digital technology and artificial intelligence in the cultural and creative industries.
The digital revolutions of the last 30 years have radically changed the ecosystem of professions, skills, and production processes in the labour market. The world of cultural and creative industries has also been affected by this transformation: VR, 3D, and artificial intelligence have been integrated into artistic and creative languages of entertainment, while also stimulating renewal in the technical field.
While these innovations have brought opportunities and developments to the sector, they have also revealed certain risks and fragilities. Some European research projects have highlighted how skills related to new technologies are multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral: they are “transferable skills” that can be applied in multiple sectors, allowing people to work effectively in different contexts and integrate knowledge from different disciplinary areas.
All these aspects will be explored in depth, dividing the topic into three clusters:
- Trends and topics of digitalization and AI developments
Artificial Intelligence and the skills system: towards a new paradigm. What challenges does the new digital revolution present us with, and what tools can we equip ourselves with to avoid becoming victims? What new skills are needed to deal with the job market from an upskilling perspective, and how can these be combined with existing skills in a cross-sectoral approach that can guarantee new paths of growth and resilience? How can positive strategies be inspired in policy makers regarding the correct use of AI?
- Research methodologies and projects related to digital technology in cultural and creative production
Practice-based research. The Canon project methodology. The Canon project researches the history of technical theatre and design based on an active "research by doing" methodology. The project uses a multilingual, collaborative, visualised database to support this. The methodology is based on the way we develop creative ideas and solutions in theatre and encourages an active learning style, based on experiencing and discovering rather than a solely theoretical approach. It enhances a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach with a 360 view. A methodology for whom "history is a verb".
Emerging competences in Cultural and Creative Industries: the INSPIRE learning platform. The INSPIRE project strives for upscaling the green, the digital, entrepreneurial, soft and resilience skills of existing and prospective performance managers, designers, technicians. It provides a cross-sectorial perspective by focusing on those skills which are cross-cutting to different industries. To do this, it is now developing an online learning platform which will allow students/professionals to face 5 different modules through online training, with the remote assistance of trainers belonging to the partnership. The lecture will particularly focus on sustainability in performing arts productions, as a key competence for nowadays professionals.
- Examples of digital innovations in contemporary performing arts and future perspectives
Physical and digital innovations in contemporary performance. The panel explores the intersections between body, space, digital innovation, and emerging technologies, with particular attention to sensorimotor and aesthetic preservation as contemporary artistic practices. It examines how embodied perception, sensory intelligence, and corporeal timing can be sustained and reactivated within hybrid physical–digital performance contexts shaped by AI. The discussion will also consider the evolving demands placed on artists and how institutions might adapt to support these transformations.
The Expanding Stage – Emerging technologies and live performance. New technologies, video, LED walls, digital tools, AI, multimedia design, VR, and 3D, have now become an integral part of contemporary stage design, stimulating new creative processes and technical solutions that were unthinkable just a few years ago. This lecture will explore the evolution of stage design through its ongoing dialogue between tradition and innovation and examine the possibilities that emerging technologies offer for reimagining the boundaries of space, storytelling, and interaction in live performance.
Im/material Theatre Spaces. Theatre has always been a pioneer for the development and application of new technologies, and it is a place for artistic and technical innovation, experimentation, and research. How can immersive technologies such as virtual and augmented reality unfold their potential in front of, behind, and on stage, as a creative design tool, as a construction aid for virtual building rehearsals, as a teaching and learning space, or as an extended stage for the arts? Franziska Ritter will present different approaches and possibilities based on the research project “Im/material Theatre Spaces” by digital.DTHG, the digital competence centre of the Deutsche Theatertechnische Gesellschaft.
Accademia complies with standards and guidelines for the European Quality Assurance System. The course cycle responds to the internationalisation and to the development of didactic innovation objectives defined in the Strategic Plan.