Labs | VIFF Institute

Overview
Events
Guests

sound as body + interface as skin

This year VIFF Labs is presented in collaboration with MUTEK and Chapel Sound. This two-day program explores VIFF Live’s theme of reworlding: remaking relations where sound, body, and system meet. Saturday’s Sound as Body looks at sound as an embodied force, from Honeydrip’s sound system practice to Kiran Bhumber’s spatial audio workshop. Sunday’s Interface as Skin turns to systems and connection, from MIIIA’s live hardware masterclass to a TouchDesigner workshop with Jonny Ostrem and TDYVR.

The events will take place on the second floor of the SFU Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre at 149 W Hastings St.

Saturday, Oct 3 — "Sound as Body"

1:00-1:45 pm | Low End Love Story with Honeydrip

Presented by Chapel Sound & MADEBYWE

Low End Love Story explores bass as an embodied, relational, community-building force. Drawing on dub and sound system culture, Honeydrip shares lessons from founding MORPH Sound System, Montreal’s femme and queer sound system collective, and how building sound together creates connection and collective agency. Registration required.

2:30-5:30 pm | Introduction to Spatial Audio Using MaxMSP and SPAT by Kiran Bhumber

Presented by Chapel Sound & INTER/MEDIATE

This workshop covers spatial audio fundamentals, from psychoacoustics through listening and discussion to panning algorithms, effects, and rendering formats (including binaural) using IRCAM’s SPAT, a real-time spatial audio processor, in Max/MSP.This workshop prioritizes women and gender diverse people. Registration required.

6:30-7:30 pm | Artist Opportunities in Immersive Creation

Presented by Chapel Sound and Society for Arts and Technology [SAT]

This networking session, led by Mourad Bennacer, introduces the global ecosystem for immersive creation and opportunities at Montreal’s Society for Arts and Technology (SAT), including residencies and cross-disciplinary research. It aims to open channels for exchange between Vancouver’s and Montreal’s digital arts communities. Registration required.

Sunday, Oct 4 — "Interface as Skin"

1:00-2:00 pm | Planning Live Performances and Producing Music Using Hardware by MIIIA

Presented by Chapel Sound and Notebook Platform

This masterclass covers building and performing live electronic music with hardware, from structuring a set to designing a setup that supports spontaneity on stage. Covering synthesizers, drum machines, sequencers, and signal routing, it’s for musicians moving from production to live hardware performance. Registration required.

2:30-5:30 pm | Transmissive Substrates: Networked Media Artworks with Jonny Ostrem + TDYVR

Co-presented by Chapel Sound and INTER/MEDIATE

Transmissive Substrates explores the next generation of media art: hybrid, networked interfaces built by users and communities. Using TouchDesigner, sensors, and network devices, participants will discuss and build a shared work that receives, emits, and participates in a network of humans, light, and data. Registration required.

Photo by ZULEYYMA2

Labs Program Curator

This year Labs is curated by Nancy Lee, and co-presented by MUTEK and Chapel Sound. Nancy Lee is an interdisciplinary media artist based in Vancouver who has been building equitable pathways into electronic music and art through programming, mentorship, advocacy, and community spaces.

Guests

Honeydrip

Honeydrip is a Montreal bass music producer, DJ, and speaker builder who hosts workshops for women and LGBTQ+ artists in sound system culture. Inspired by dub, reggae, and dancehall, she has toured across Europe, the UK, South America, and Canada, and released on labels including Banoffee Pies Records, Woozy, and Early Reflex.

Kiran Bhumber

Kiran Bhumber is a Vancouver-based media artist, composer, and educator whose interdisciplinary practice explores movement, touch, and cultural memory through emerging technologies and spatial audio. Her projects include Telepresence (Western Front), sound design for the NFB’s Tidal Traces, and a SAT Montreal Dome residency adapting UNION. She is co-founder of INTER/MEDIATE and has presented at IRCAM Paris, SXSW, MUTEK, and ISEA.

Photo by Jen Xu

Mourad Bennacer

Mourad Bennacer works on SAT’s creation and development team, building immersive practices through partnerships and residency programs, and curates SAT Fest and the Substrat concert series. A multidisciplinary artist and educator specializing in immersive media, spatial audio, and digital archiving, he performs as [indistinct voices over PA] and has shown work at MUTEK, Akousma, and Tasmeem.

MIIIA

MIIIA, also known as N3ZHA, is a Shanghai-to-Vancouver electronic artist known for psychedelic soundscapes blending futuristic technology and cybernetic themes. Her radio show Trip Out Session led to international gigs including MUTEK, Sonar HK, ADE, and Red Bull Music Academy Bass Camp, where she shared stages with Benji B and Hudson Mohawke.

Jonny Ostrem

Jonny Ostrem is a Vancouver-based technologist, artist, and filmmaker building community systems that enhance human ways of relating through interface. He co-directs Z-Space Arts + Technology Society and INTER/MEDIATE, with experimental media work shown at NFF, Basscoast, Animafest Zagreb, OIAFF and TD-Mutek Tokyo.

TDYVR

TDYVR is a community-led TouchDesigner user group hosting monthly presentations and study clubs in downtown Vancouver since February 2024, expanding in 2027 to host live A/V performances and presentations spanning new-media technologies.

VIFF Labs

Co-Presented by MUTEK + Chapel Sound