That Light Breeze – atomless, 2003
A shockwave piece from 2003, ported to run natively in any browser, That Light Breeze features a looped sample recorded from radio. In it we hear a women's voice and the faint rustle and rumble of an urban garden as she describes her personal expe...
booleanSequence – A modern yin and yang
booleanSequence is a real-time generative system built on a single rule that can run with different pairs of characters: plus and minus, zero and one, greater and less than. The system knows two values and nothing else.
[Re]Calibrating Identity – An autonomous walker explores mental maps of Lahore’s walled city
[Re]Calibrating Identity by Madhi Ur Rehman questions the map as a way of knowing a city. It builds an instrument that learns from people's mental maps and navigates by memory instead of by map.
Ocean of Dreams – A landscape of waves, sand, words, and collective imagination
Created for MIT Future Fest 2026, Ocean of Dreams is a public artwork by Behnaz Farahi & MIT Media Lab. It brought 430+ shared hopes to life, projecting handwritten text onto an interactive ocean landscape at MIT Kendall Plaza.
the_local_aura – A neighbourhood’s present, carried by those who cross it
the_local_aura is an interactive installation that turns the act of crossing a place into an encounter with its present by attaching real-time local news to the bodies of the people who walk past it.
Room as Instrument – Mathematical patterns in motion
Twelve wooden spheres move in changing patterns inside an illuminated freestanding wall, with music and projected visuals in sync.
Capture / Resemble – Simulating Self-Aware Machine Behaviour
Inspired by AI agents, processing and adapting to each unique interaction, Capture / Resemble captures the individual characteristics and facial expressions of the visitor and transforms them into abstract movements.
NOTUN – Designing for damage in cyclone-prone Bangladesh
NOTUN combines water-flow simulation, wind-responsive bamboo housing, bio-based embankment blocks and mixed-reality assembly into a repairable settlement strategy for coastal Bangladesh.
Drift of the Uncharted – Spectral agents of humanity
Drift of the Uncharted is a robotic installation, intertwining climate prediction, real-world landscape scanning, scene reconstruction, game engines, and virtual projection to unfurl a speculative world where urban landscapes bear the imprints of ...
V7 Development Log (09/2026) – HB*18
Today, CAN crossed the threshold into adulthood! 18 years in, we’re stepping into a new era with CAN V7. More than a visual refresh, V7 is both an engine & environment—rethinking how web publishing functions from the ground up.
Rill Sound – A family of four small AV instruments for Stick S3
Rill Sound is a family of four small audiovisual instruments that pair evolving music with generative visuals.
V6 Development Log (07/2026)
Two months, four big wins: Archives Browser rebuilt with a 3D Semantic Space, API docs reborn as an interactive browser with a new Search API, Activity turns one year old, hits 2.1.0 and gets faster with in-app Search + Liquid Glass.
Patternflow – An Open-Source LED Synthesizer Reinterpreting Participation TV
Patternflow, an open-source LED synthesizer by Seunghun Lee, reimagines Nam June Paik's Participation TV (1963) — four knobs reshape light patterns in real time, and others are already building and sharing their own.
Why Creativity Cannot Be Interpolated
AI systems can produce individually novel outputs, but novelty alone is not creativity. They argue that genuine creativity requires respect for constraints and that current AI systems lack this capacity.
Featured
Festival of Creative Computing
5th annual Festival of Creative Computing is coming to Peckham this October, bringing together a programme of artists, live performances, talks, workshops, installations and more.
KIKK 2026
KIKK, International festival of digital & creative cultures, returns later this year exploring the crossovers between art, science & technology. A limited batch of early bird tickets are now available!
The Island – Hito Steyerl
“The Island” is a site-specific project by artist Hito Steyerl presented at Osservatorio in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan. With “The Island,” Hito Steyerl delves into multiple narratives united by the recurring element of flooding, evoking urgent topics such as current authoritarian tendencies fostered by the use of AI,...
PNW Art & Tech Symposium
Connecting media artists, designers, and creative coders, this 2nd annual PNW symposium bridges physical art, generative code, and collaborative infrastructure. Across Seattle’s Cornish 9th Ave Gallery and xispa (MadArt Studio), the program offers workshops, talks, and a tech exhibition (thru Oct 31). Integrated throughout is 9e26—a community dialogue project honoring...
First Light – Robert Henke
FIRST LIGHT is an audiovisual surround sound performance, commissioned by the Barbican Centre, London. Its creator is controlling the machinery from within the audience, part facilitator, part observer. World première at the Barbican Concert Hall on November 7th 2026.
Topics
algorithmAlgorithm is a finite sequence of rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific problems or to perform a computation – Wikipedia.
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artificial-intelligenceArtificial Intelligence describes a field that develops and studies methods and software which enable machines to perceive their environment and uses learning and intelligence to take actions that maximize their chances of achieving defined goals – Wikipedia.
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cameraA camera is an instrument used to capture and store images and videos, either digitally via an electronic image sensor, or chemically via a light-sensitive material such as photographic film – Wikipedia.
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data-visualisationData visualisation is an interdisciplinary field that deals with the graphic (or physical) representation of data.
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environmentEnvironment, or built world, refers to the human-made environment that provides the setting for activity, ranging in scale from installations to buildings.
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filmA film is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere through the use of moving images.
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generativeThe term 'Generative' describes a process, in whole or in part, that is created using an autonomous system. An autonomous system in this context is generally non-human and can independently determine features that would otherwise require decisions made by the author/creator.
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installationInstallation describes large-scale, mixed-media constructions, often designed for a specific place or for a temporary period of time.
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interfaceAn interface is a shared boundary across which two or more separate components of a system of exchange information. The exchange can be between software, computer hardware, peripheral devices, humans, animal-world, nature and combinations of these.
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kinectKinect is a discontinued line of motion sensing input devices produced by Microsoft and first released in 2010. The devices generally contain RGB cameras, and infrared projectors and detectors that map depth through either structured light or time of flight calculations, which can in turn be used to perform real-time gesture recognition and body skeletal detection, among other capabilities.
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networkA network may describe any form of an interconnected group or system, whether in computation or nature.
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nftA non-fungible token (NFT) is a non-interchangeable unit of data stored on a blockchain, a form of digital ledger, that can be sold and traded. Types of NFT data units may be associated with digital files such as photos, videos, and applications.
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objectAn object is a thing that has physical existence but is not alive.
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particlesIn the physical sciences, a particle is a small localized object which can be described by several physical or chemical properties, such as volume, density, or mass. In computation, it is mostly used as a point that may have a position and vector.
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patternA pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner.
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projectionA projection is a design technique used to display a three-dimensional object on a two-dimensional surface. Similarly it describes a way of displaying two-dimensional information in a physical space by using light.
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roboticsRobotics is an interdisciplinary branch of engineering and science that includes mechanical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering, computer science, and others.
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screen
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sculptureSculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth.
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simulationA simulation is an imitative representation of a process or system that could exist in the real or speculative world.
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socialOn CAN we refer to things as "social" when they facilitate the creation, sharing and aggregation of content, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through different forms of communities and networks.
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theoryA theory is a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking.
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typographyTypography is the technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable and appealing when displayed.
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Mid/Senior Mechanical Engineer at Leva
This is a hands-on mechanical design role for an engineer who enjoys unusual problems, rapid prototyping, close collaboration with fabrication and motion-control specialists, and seeing one-off sys...
Mechatronics Engineer at Leva
Leva are looking for a proactive, hands-on Mechatronics Engineer who enjoys complex physical systems, makes sound decisions across disciplines and stays accountable for how the complete system perf...
Assistant or Associate Professor of Graphic Design (Tenure-Track) at Auburn University
The School of Industrial and Graphic Design at Auburn University invites applications for a tenure-track position in Graphic Design at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor commencing August...
Professorship in Illustration (W2) at Hochschule München University of Applied Sciences
We seek a Professor of Illustration & Drawing with strong analog/digital skills, storytelling ability, and AI software literacy. You will teach core concepts, guide student projects, and innovate a...
Mediated Matter – Design and Invention in the New Biological Age
A richly illustrated overview of the work of Neri Oxman, whose design approach embodies the union of technology and biology, as well as a future where we build with nature.
Digital Ensembles in Arts Education
Digital Ensembles in Arts Education provides insights into the five-year project currently underway at Berlin’s University of the Arts, combining cultural-historical and media theory considerations with artistic perspectives on art and the digital...
Autonomous Agents – Artists on Human-Machine Interaction
Autonomous Agents: Artists on Human-Machine Interaction captures a pivotal moment in AI’s impact on art and society through interviews with fifteen artists spanning diverse geographies, generations, and philosophies.
The Aesthetics of Machine Vision – Critical Terms and Ideas
The Aesthetics of Machine Vision brings together scholars, researchers, and artists who explore machine vision from various academic and nonacademic perspectives.
Ada Lovelace’s Notes on Babbage’s Analytical Engine
This book is a new typesetting and construction of Ada Lovelace’s extensive notes on the Analytical Engine Invented by Charles Babbage, from 1843.
Through Artificial Eyes – The inevitable cultural perspectives of NNs
Created by Richard Vijgen, 'Through Artificial Eyes' is an interactive installation that lets the audience look at 558 episodes of VPRO Tegenlicht (Dutch Future Affairs Documentary series) through the eyes of a computer vision Neural Network.
10 Most Memorable Projects of 2015
As 2015 winds down we look back at almost 200 extraordinary projects we’ve covered this year on CAN. And as is the case every year, picking the ten ‘best’ is hard if not impossible, a...
[BRDG020] Lilium – Kenichi Yoneda (Kynd) in collaboration with BRDG
Created by Kenichi Yoneda (Kynd) in collaboration with Tokyo 'visual label' BRDG, [BRDG020] Lilium is an audio-visual experiment that combines Kynd's research into water colour simulation with the music by Yopparigami/Yu Miyashita.
School for poetic computation (SFPC) – Call for the Fall 2014 term
School for poetic computation (SFPC) recently opened a new call for participants for the Fall 2014 term. In this post, Taeyoon Choi, one of the co-founders and teachers at the SFPC, looks back.
MIKMA – From human scale to the zero point of space
Created by Nadezda Suvorova, MIKMA an exploration game for iOS that uses computer vision and the sensors embedded in the device to call for new visual perspectives of world around us using scientific imaging.
Narciss – AI whose only purpose is to investigate itself
Created by Waltz Binaire, Narciss is a robot that uses artificial intelligence to analyse itself, thus reflecting on its own existence. Comprised of Google’s Tensorflow framework and a simple mirror, the experiment translates self-portraits of a d...
EGO – Between the real and symbolic
Created by Klaus Obermaier with Stefano D'Alessio and Martina Menegon, EGO is an interactive installation that explores the concept of 'mirror stage' objectification resulting in a conflict between one's perceived visual and emotional experience.
Oscilloscope Music / Jerobeam Fenderson and Hansi Raber
Created by Jerobeam Fenderson and Hansi Raber, Oscilloscope Music is an audio-visual album that uses old analogue oscilloscopes for displaying hand crafted waveforms as x-y plot.
Sleep Like Mountains – (Re-)discovering bodies in landscapes
reated by Lotta Stöver, "Sleep Like Mountains" enacts a process of digital embedding and embodying. The installation measures the topography of a human body and compares it to geodata sets of Earth, searching for a most similar location, where the...
Scribb by Mylène Dreyer – Pen-Paper-Mouse Interface
Created by Mylène Dreyer at ECAL, Scribb is a computer game in which the physical area scanned by the mouse is an integral part of the interaction. The player must draw black areas, detected by the mouse, to be able to evolve in the game, simultan...
THERO – Device to (physically) manage online privacy
Created by Román Torre and Ángeles Angulo (Rotor Studio), THERO is an object designed to allow users to manage and be aware of their data traffic in a (literally) physical way.
