Sónar+D is Sónar Festival’s international meeting of art, science and technology, where creativity is explored as the driving force for change in the 21st century.
The 30th anniversary of the mythical Sónar Barcelona festival starts celebrations on the 31st of March, 1st and 2nd of April in Lisbon.

After the full musical lineup was disclosed and the times and stages of all Sónar Lisboa 2023 performances were revealed, the Sónar+D programme was finally presented today. It will be taking place at Estufa Fria, within Parque Eduardo VII, which will be the convergence point of the festival’s entire programme, during this 2nd edition.
Following the success of its first edition, Sónar+D Lisboa 2023 once again asserts itself as an essential meeting point for professionals and fans from all creative industries, with emphasis on art, music, science and technology, who are affirming themselves as the driving force for change in the 21st century. Admission to Sónar+D Lisboa 2023 is free upon presentation of a ticket for Sónar’s musical programme.

Sónar+D – Sediment Nodes and Clothilde exhibition

During the second edition of Sónar Lisboa, the ‘Sediment Nodes’ exhibition will take over the impressive Estufa Fria, throughout its three distinct gardens: estufa fria, estufa quente and estufa doce.
The space will host this piece by Lisbon-based Entangled Others Studio, an experimental practice set up by Feileacan McCormick, generative artist, and Sofia Crespo, neural artist. ‘Sediment Nodes’ will be presented on various led screens throughout the Estufa Fria and explores the connections and interconnections of what we assume inert, yet disturbed, of the complexities of colour and light hidden from us by the scale and the diffusion of light and osmosis within a liquid medium.
Rounding off this proposal will be a musical response by Clothilde and her machines, as she likes to call them (modular machines built from scratch so the artist can create her unique ambiences). It is a soundtrack with the ability to unify the space and create a unique journey available to all audiences during the festival.
This exhibition falls under the global theme of ‘Enhanced Natural Realities’ and will be looking at different aspects of sensory amplification as an integral part of electronic music culture. Our aim is to explore how technology and artificial intelligence can expand our perception of the world in an immersive audio-visual experience that creates new links between us, technology, and the natural world.

Sónar +D – AV Shows

A space within the Estufa Fria, called Nave, will host the second component that composes Sónar+D: the AV shows; live musical experiences that arise from the interaction between creativity, music, technology and innovation. With a deep audiovisual and technological component, the shows will allow contact with artists who explore the intersections between science and technology using digital resources.

31st of March – META by CLON and Ana Quiroga

Spanish composer, producer and sound designer Ana Quiroga, and British-Spanish artist Estela Oliva, both based in London, will be coming to Sonár+D to present META.
META is an immersive audiovisual journey to future and unknown worlds, performed live as a game simulation with a soundtrack also created in real time. Inspired by science fiction narratives and cyberpunk aesthetics, the show invites the audience to explore fictional settings depicting interconnected utopian and dystopian worlds. The performance is presented in FPV (first person view), allowing the audience to feel fully immersed in the simulated game and its narrative, and embody a transient traveller of virtual space. During the show, CLON takes a live trip through a speculative world, consisting of 5 scenes, using video game tools and techniques.

1st of April 1 – I CHOOSE NOT TO DIE by GLOR1A

GLOR1A is a multidisciplinary artist rooted in music and technology laced visual art, who creates worlds both in reality and for online audiences. Through her work, she challenges the underrepresentation of Black females in sci-fi and myth.
GLOR1A’s work has featured in many online, print and radio platforms including The Wire Clash Magazine, The Metro, and BBC. She has supported major artists, including Green Tea Peng, and performed at venues and festivals such as Glastonbury, Mutek Montreal, and Somerset House.
Last year GLOR1A premiered a piece as part of the British Council Amplify Artist Residency, with the aim of developing technology laced live art. She also started Nine Nights TV, alongside 3 established Black British artists, a Black-owned music production company that programs 35 artists worldwide, spanning Black music, visual art, film and performances, and receives donations for black-focused charities.

I CHOOSE NOT to DIE – Augmented Reality

I CHOOSE NOT TO DIE is an innovative live musical performance that uses augmented reality to superimpose an ancestral digital world where nature propagates and recolonizes the foundations of the performance itself.
This project uses the traditional white cube to create an innovative multi-layered performance experience, accompanied by a web based AR experience accessible to a global audience. Unique QR codes projected on the screen invite the audience to participate in the show through their phones. This performance premiered at Mutek, in Argentina, in September 2022, and contains images by Canadian artist Frances Adair.

Bridges between Barcelona and Lisbon

Within the framework of Sónar Lisboa, one of this year’s novelties is the installation Plaça de Barcelona, an initiative promoted by the Barcelona City Council to create bridges between major European cities, and which has chosen the Portuguese capital for its international premiere.
The itinerant and interactive installation will be located at the foot of the Eduardo VII Park, in the Marqués de Pombal Square, and will become a point of connection between Lisbon and Barcelona.
The economic dynamism driven by technology companies from Barcelona and Lisbon will be the main protagonists of the program, which will also feature round tables and conversations to share ideas, opinions, and opportunities in this sector.
The activities, on start-ups, video gaming, creative industries, green deal, and gastronomy, will start on Friday, March 31 at 12h and will extend throughout the weekend.