Mónica Rikić

I’ve been awarded with the Catalan National Culture Award 2021 (Premi Nacional de Cultura de Catalunya 2021).

My works are part of the National Contemporary Art Collection of Catalonia, .NewArt {collection;} and Colección DKV.

I focus my practice on creative coding and electronics, combining them with non-digital objects to create interactive projects, robotic installations, and handcrafted electronic devices.

The general interest of my artistic practice lies in the development of alternative technologies through creative coding and electronics. My proposals merge technology and philosophy through art, creating technological artifacts far from the need of any functionality or productivity, just for the sake of building critical devices that trigger collective thinking and discussion. Formally, my practice it is based in producing handmade electronics objects and robots, that perform different concepts of my research scope, presenting themselves as theatrical devices. With this devices, I want to offer experiences that propose alternative ways of thinking about technologies, robotics and open hardware.

With my projects I have participated in different art festivals and institutions around the world such Ars Electronica (AT), Manifesta Biennial, ISEA, Creative Tech Week (NY), Robotronica (AUS), Loop Festival (SP), Sónar Festival (SP), Festival de la Imagen (COL), Laboral (SP), FILE (BR), ADAF (GR), CCCB (SP), Arts Santa Mónica (SP), La Capella (SP), among others.

I have been awarded with the Catalan Culture Award 2021, and also at the Japan Media Arts Festival, AMAZE Berlin, the Margaret Guthman Musical Instrument Competition in Atlanta and with a BBVA Foundation Leonardo grant. I have participated in artistic residencies at S+T+ARTS program, Technoculture, Arts and Games in Montreal, European Media Artists in Resicence Exchange (EMARE-EMAP) in QUT (Australia) and Hexagram (Montreal), Medialab Prado in Madrid, Platohedro in Medellin and Etopía in Zaragoza, as part of the European ARTificial Intelligence Lab program.

Currently, I’m conducting artistic research in critical robotics in collaboration with the Barcelona’s Institute of Industrial Robotics IRI UPC-CSIC and I’m part of the Creative Board of La Capella (Barcelona).