A full day dedicated to the encounter between videogames and performing arts, where digital languages and contemporary artistic practices intertwine within a multidisciplinary programme. Ultra Club: Game Day is an opportunity to explore video games not only as entertainment, but as a critical, political, and creative space. Through interactive simulations, live performances, workshops, talks, and showcases, the audience is invited to immerse themselves in universes that reflect on transformations of labour, social dynamics, and the aesthetics of the present. The event brings together artists, collectives, researchers, and independent platforms, creating an ecosystem in which experimentation and participation become central.
Delivery Dancer Simulation – Ayoung Kim
Game simulation – duration: approx. 12 min
An interactive experience that transports the audience into a futuristic and labyrinthine version of Seoul, where they take on the role of a rider within the gig economy. Through an immersive simulation, the work reflects on the precarious conditions of contemporary labour, the gamification of capitalism, and the difficulty of empathising with the invisible dynamics that govern these systems.
Delivery Dancer’s Sphere – Ayoung Kim
Screening – duration: approx. 25 min
A film that expands the narrative universe of the simulation, constructing a dystopian Seoul governed by algorithms and optimisation logics. Through parallel realities, temporal loops, and multiple identities, the work explores themes such as algorithmic labour, hyper-surveillance, and the forms of relationship possible in alternative worlds.
Red Redemption – Total Refusal
Live performance
A guided tour inside the video game Red Dead Redemption 2, analysing class relations and the economic mechanisms of capitalism through NPCs and digital environments. The performance turns the video game into a tool for social critique, revealing the invisible structures that govern the world.
World at Stake – Total Refusal
A film shot entirely within sports video games, subverting the logics of competition and performance. Through absurd situations and suspended scenarios, the work reflects on contemporary political impotence, the role of the spectator, and the collapse of traditional dynamics between action and observation.
Modding Workshop – 2girls1comp
A hands-on workshop dedicated to modding, the practice of modifying video games as an artistic and critical gesture. The duo will explore how to intervene in game codes and structures to create new narratives and performative happenings, highlighting the social and economic implications of the videogame industry. Participants are required to bring a recent Windows laptop.
Talk with Matteo Lupetti, Federica di Pietrantonio and Daniela Cotimbo
A moment of dialogue and critical reflection with artists, curators, and professionals from the field, including Matteo Lupetti, Federica Di Pietrantonio, and Daniela Cotimbo. The talk will offer a critical perspective on contemporary practices at the intersection of art, video games, and society.
Parcours and Showcase – Galleria delle Vasche open
An exhibition and performative space dedicated to the world of independent video games. The parcours hosts showcases, live sessions, and project presentations, offering the public the chance to explore emerging productions and languages. Among the participants are also students from the Accademia Italiana Videogiochi (AIV), presenting their works in a professional and open-to-dialogue context.
