BRANKOPOPOVICBLOG: STRP Festival 2024: A Matter of Freedom

Hanna Haaslahti

It had been on my wish list to visit for several years. But this year I was finally able to attend the STRP Festival that took place in Eindhoven from April 11 to 13. This time in Microstad (former KPN building).

The program with exhibitions, dialogues, a music and performance program and a broad education program, STRP delves deeper into the theme of this 2024 edition: A Matter of Freedom. What does freedom mean? How free are we to be who we want to be? Can we really say what we want in a polarized society? The artworks at STRP reflect on the relationship between freedom and technology: how is technology used to restrict freedoms, activate imagination or learn to look at yourself critically? STRP highlights freedom from different perspectives, cultures and angles.

STRP offers a high-quality and innovative cultural program, including the festival, the relationship between art, technology and major social issues. In addition, there are daily Artist Talks where artists discuss their practice and the work exhibited in more detail.
I attended the opening of the exhibition where 12 works could be seen and experienced.The opening speech not only emphasized the theme but also their strong focus on participation, especially of young people. STRP succeeds in showing complex themes and works in an accessible way. The interactivity of the works gives you as a visitor the opportunity to actually experience the works. Some are more effective or more intrusive than others, which certainly depends on your areas of interest.

All works explore the theme of freedom through art and technology. For example, Carrie Chen wonders how free children are if their behavior is monitored by technology. In Ling Tan's game you learn to play with the rules of democracy with your own body. Bianca Carague takes you through a liberation ritual in which you can let go of your obstacles.
One of the works that impressed me was ‘WE ARE BECAUSE OF THOSE THAT ARE NOT’ by Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley where the freedom of Black Trans people in a game situation is explored. Another work that really struck me was Captured by Hanna Haaslahti, it is a narrative simulation about social injustice where your Digital Double has a role to play. It was intense to see my double in the metaverse and get hit. The presented works not only explore the positive aspects of technology, some give you an ominous feeling of powerlessness and an irreversible future that you as an individual cannot do much about.
STRP invites you to play along and determine the experience of the work. And ask yourself: what does freedom mean for me and others?

www.strp.nl
IG @strpeindhoven