Videocittà: Rome's audiovisual festival of digital culture

Source Summary

German electronic producer Apparat and monumental installations lead the 2026 edition of the digital culture festival at the Gazometro. Videocittà, the festival devoted to the most advanced forms of audiovisual and digital art, returns to Rome from 10-12 July 2026. The ninth edition of the annual event, which attracted more than 20,000 spectators last year, will take place once again at the Gasometro in the city's Ostiense district. The festival comprises three days of video art, talks, live music, dj sets, videomapping and performances by leading audiovisual artists. Held under the theme Watercult, this year’s event explores water as a natural, cultural, and technological force through an array of immersive installations, contemporary video art and electronic music. A highlight is the double participation of acclaimed German composer and producer Apparat (Sascha Ring). On Saturday 11 July, he will perform a DJ set on the Main Stage, spanning ambient and experimental electronic music. Additionally, a specially reworked version of his iconic track Black Water will soundtrack In Lympha, a large-scale immersive installation produced by energy giant ENI that interprets water as a generative principle of life. ENI is also producing UNDA, a monumental, site-specific light and laser installation that will transform the Gazometro G4 structure into a shifting urban beacon visible from the outside, mimicking the perpetual motion of the sea.The expanded Video Art section, curated by Damiana Leoni and Rä di Martino, features international artists addressing water-related themes, including Shahzia Sikander, the Milanese collective FLATFORM, Cecilia Bengolea, and Monira Al-Qadiri. Melding science with art, the OS Ocean Suite project by CMCC sonifies over 70 years of climate data into an immersive soundscape.Meanwhile, the festival’s professional wing, Agorà, features a collaboration with Filmmaster, where creatives will discuss using water as a narrative core for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Closing Ceremony. A series of panel discussions, dubbed AQUA and Aqua Talks, will further debate the environmental, geopolitical and historical implications of climate change. For attendees, daily tickets are priced at €20, with full three-day passes available for €50. For full programme details and ticket information see Videocittà website.