From July 10 to 12, Rome will host the ninth edition of the Festival of Vision and Digital Culture. Immersive installations, live performances by Apparat, Mace, and Populous, virtual reality, video art, and over fifty events will transform the Gazometro into an international laboratory dedicated to water.
Videocittà chooses water as the language of the future. From July 10 to 12, Rome’s Gazometro will once again be transformed into one of Europe’s largest laboratories dedicated to digital culture, immersive art, and audiovisual experimentation. The ninth edition of the festival, titled Videocittà Watercult 2026, brings over fifty events to the heart of the capital’s industrial heritage, including monumental installations, live performances, virtual reality, video art, electronic music, talks, and international projects, reaffirming an event that over the years has forged a unique identity within the Italian cultural landscape.
Conceived by Francesco Rutelli, with artistic direction by Anna Lea Antolini and creative direction by Michele Lotti, the festival returns with the support of Eni, the event’s main partner, choosing water as its central theme. After dedicating previous editions to the Moon, the Earth, the Galaxy, and the Sun, the theme now focuses on water as a primordial element representing the birth of life, but also as a strategic resource, an environmental asset, and a cultural symbol that transcends peoples, civilizations, and territories. This topic is explored not in a didactic manner, but through artistic expressions, immersive technologies, and reflections on the present—ranging from climate change to the geopolitics of water resources.
The Ostiense Gasometer once again takes center stage at the event. The historic industrial complex—now one of the capital’s most evocative cultural spaces—is transformed into an immersive experience where each structure offers a different interpretation of water. Warehouses, factories, gasometers, and green spaces host works that engage with the site’s industrial heritage, striking a balance between historical heritage, technological innovation, and artistic exploration.
Among the most spectacular installations is UNDA, the new site-specific light installation conceived by Visioni Parallele and Niulab and produced by Eni for Videocittà. For the first time, the G4 Gasometer becomes a work of art visible exclusively from the outside. Laser beams and waves of light traverse the gigantic metal structure, following the perpetual movement of the water, transforming one of the symbols of the Roman skyline into a constantly evolving contemporary beacon. The installation does not alter the Gazometro’s architecture but uses it as a gigantic three-dimensional canvas capable of engaging with the city.
Inside Opificio 41, “In Lympha”—one of the most ambitious productions of the 2026 edition—is taking shape. The installation interprets water as a generative principle, as a force that nourishes all living things. The immersive experience engages visitors through monumental images, soundscapes, and projections that take the audience on a sensory journey. Adding to its exclusivity is the participation of German composer and producer Apparat, who has reinterpreted his famous track “Black Water” to mark the song’s fifteenth anniversary, creating a previously unreleased version designed specifically for this experience. The music becomes an integral part of the installation, blending with the images and architecture.
Apparat’s appearance is one of the most significant highlights of the entire event. The Berlin-based musician, known internationally for composing the soundtrack to Mario Martone’s film *Capri Revolution*, which won a David di Donatello Award, as well as for the music for the series *Dark* and his Grammy-nominated album *LP5*, will also headline a special DJ set on Saturday, July 11, on the Main Stage at the Gazometro. The performance is designed as a space of total creative freedom, where electronic, ambient, and experimental music will interact with the festival’s visual design.
Water continues to be explored through *Water: always the same, always different*, a multidisciplinary installation housed in the G2 Gasometer. Artist Giuseppe La Spada weaves a narrative composed of images from oceans, rivers, and rainfall collected from various parts of the world. His visions interact with the electronic sounds of Francesca Heart and the physical exploration of Brazilian performer Amanda Lana, giving rise to a performance in which movement, music, and images become a single artistic entity. La Spada, who has long been engaged in exploring the relationship between humans and nature, reaffirms his status as one of the most compelling Italian artists on the digital art scene.
Among the international guests, Cao Yuxi—considered one of the most influential emerging figures in China’s new digital art scene—is making his debut. The artist presents the Italian premiere of *Nature’s Computility*, an impressive digital waterfall generated by sophisticated algorithms that analyze and reinterpret the behavior of water, transforming it into dynamic, ultra-high-definition images. The work is on display at Opificio 60 Nord, the new PlaceTech Lab opened in collaboration with eFM, becoming one of the meeting points between artistic research, technological innovation, and scientific experimentation that characterize this edition of the festival.
While the installations are the visual heart of Videocittà, music is its beating pulse. The 2026 edition features a Main Stage program that brings together some of the most influential names in the international electronic music scene with audiovisual projects created specifically to engage with the theme of water. These are not mere concerts, but performances in which sound, images, lights, and architecture merge into a single immersive experience.
The opening on Friday, July 10, will feature Sara Persico and Mika Oki, winners of the 2025 Videocittà Awards in the AV Performance category. The two artists will present a live performance that blends sound art, experimental electronic music, and vocal experimentation. Their performance kicks off the music program at 11 p.m., followed by one of the festival’s most anticipated events. At midnight, Mace—a producer and DJ who is among the leading figures in contemporary Italian music—takes the stage. Fresh off two sold-out shows at the Forum and his appearance at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony, he presents an audiovisual DJ set developed in collaboration with the creative studio Sugo Design. The project transforms sound into images through generative visuals, natural landscapes, and digital textures that change in real time, bringing to life a sensory narrative inspired by the relationship between humans and nature.
On Saturday, July 11, the festival really gets underway with an evening featuring some of the most interesting figures in the new European electronic music scene. Apparat will open the Main Stage with an exclusive DJ set scheduled from 10:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. The Berlin-based producer—one of the most influential artists on the international electronic music scene over the past two decades—is creating a brand-new performance for Videocittà that spans ambient, techno, experimental music, and cinematic soundscapes, while maintaining the distinctive style that has made him famous far beyond the club scene. His participation takes on even greater significance because it also accompanies the immersive installation *In Lympha*, for which he has created the soundscape through a new version of *Black Water*.
The evening continues with Nziria, an artist born in Ravenna to a Neapolitan family who, in recent years, has captured the attention of the Italian independent music scene thanks to her original sound, which blends neomelodic culture, hardcore gabber, electronic music, and contemporary club culture. On stage, she presents *Syysma*, an album that breaks with the conventions of traditional musical genres and forges a personal sonic identity, suspended between experimentation and folk roots.
Starting at 12:30 a.m., it’s time for Populous, a musician, producer, and sound designer who is among the pioneers of Italian electronic music. Accompanied by visuals by Furio Ganz, he presents *Isla Diferente*, an album created during a long stay in Lanzarote. The atmospheres of the volcanic island are transformed into images, colors, and soundscapes that depict the ongoing dialogue between the ocean, the wind, and the land, offering a perfect harmony with the central theme of Watercult 2026.
The festival’s closing day, Sunday, July 12, maintains the same artistic intensity. FREEFALL, the new audiovisual project by the transmedia studio Liminal State, will open the Main Stage. It is a completely improvised performance in which electronic music, generative visuals, lighting, and sound are created and transformed live. The concept of free fall becomes a metaphor for creative freedom, with a continuous dialogue between digital technologies and performative improvisation.
The grand finale features Voices From The Lake, a project born from the collaboration between Donato Dozzy and Neel, two of Italy’s most internationally acclaimed producers. Their live performance explores ambient, techno, and experimental territories, crafting deep soundscapes that evoke aquatic environments, submerged ecosystems, and natural realms. Their musical exploration, recognized at major international festivals, represents one of the most refined expressions of contemporary electronic music and serves as the perfect conclusion to Watercult’s artistic journey.
Next to the Main Stage, the entire festival continues to come to life through numerous experiences spread across the various spaces of the Gazometro. The Amphitheater hosts *In Pinus*, a new Italian virtual reality production dedicated to the Italian stone pine and created by Impersive in collaboration with the Castelporziano Presidential Estate as part of the European CO VISION project. Directed by Guido Geminiani, with a script by Simone Arcagni, featuring performer Delfina Stella, and music by Vincenzo Pizzi, the work takes the audience inside a natural ecosystem explored through the immersive language of VR.
Also in the virtual reality section, four international productions are being presented in their Italian premieres by the French company Diversion. *Jellyfish* by Mélodie Mousset, *Biolum* by Abel Kohen, *Plastisapiens* by Edith Jorisch and Miri Chekhanovich, and *The World Came Flooding In* by Van Sowerwine and Isobel Knowles explore the relationship between water, biodiversity, climate change, and the future of the planet. Rounding out the program is *Sweet End of the World!*, a virtual reality documentary by Stefano Conca Bonizzoni selected from Rai Cinema’s VR library, reaffirming Videocittà’s focus on immersive technologies as a new narrative language.
Alongside the installations and music, Videocittà reaffirms its cultural mission through a program that weaves together contemporary art, scientific research, and reflections on the future. The Video Art section, curated by Damiana Leoni and Rä di Martino, brings together some of the leading figures on the international scene. The works address the theme of water from different perspectives, including memory, climate change, migration, landscape, and identity. Among the featured artists are Shahzia Sikander, who reflects on trade routes and colonialism; the Milan-based collective FLATFORM, with a work dedicated to rising sea levels; Cecilia Bengolea, with a study on the relationship between atmospheric electricity and movement; Monira Al Qadiri with a work dedicated to the tradition of pearl diving in the Persian Gulf; and Adrian Paci, the featured artist on the second day, who will lead a discussion on his video installations exploring labor, migration, and cultural identity.
Water also becomes a subject of scientific study. The Ocean Suite project, developed by the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change in collaboration with Nova System Academy and Planetaria, translates over seventy years of climate data on the El Niño phenomenon into an immersive soundscape. This work uses music to make the balance between the ocean and the atmosphere perceptible, demonstrating how scientific research can be transformed into an artistic experience. Also part of this initiative are “Invisible Ecologies: Tevere” by Tommaso Cherubini, which uses environmental data from the Tiber River in Rome to create a constantly evolving digital ecosystem, and “Confluence,” a European project dedicated to Europe’s largest floodplain forest.
The festival also devotes significant space to discussion. The AQUA Talks, conceived by Francesco Rutelli, are back, addressing the topic of water from environmental, historical, and geopolitical perspectives. On July 10, the discussion will focus on climate risk prevention, the management of extreme rainfall, and so-called “sponge neighborhoods,” with the participation of Giulio Boccaletti, Erasmo D’Angelis, and Marco Lombardi, among others. On July 11, the focus shifts to the legacy of ancient Rome, with an in-depth exploration of the aqueducts, thermal baths, and hydraulic systems that enabled the Caput Mundi to supply millions of people as far back as two thousand years ago. On July 12, the discussion will turn to the present and the future, addressing topics such as the geopolitics of the seas, security, undersea resources, and new international shipping routes.
These events are complemented by the AQUA Talks curated by Simone Arcagni, who engages in dialogue with artists, creatives, and public communicators such as N.A.I.P., Valentina Tanni, Siamounmagazine, Valerio Ferrara, Elisabetta Modena, Matilde De Feo, and Federico Ferrazza, offering the public opportunities to discuss new digital languages and the transformations of the contemporary imagination.
Another highlight among the new initiatives is Agorà, the professional program dedicated to the cultural industry and creative technologies, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ICE. International buyers, festivals, institutions, curators, creative studios, and companies come together to develop collaborations and promote “Made in Italy” in the fields of immersive audiovisual media and digital art. Following the success of the previous edition, Agorà is further expanding its international reach by involving over forty foreign industry professionals and consolidating Videocittà’s role as a European platform dedicated to cultural innovation.
The artistic journey continues with the third edition of *Arte al Gazometro*. The site-specific exhibition *Riflessi*, curated by Marco Capasso in collaboration with the galleries Il Sole, Orma, and Eidos, features installations and site-specific works that interpret water as an element of transformation and as a force capable of making the invisible energy of matter visible. This project engages with the industrial architecture of the Gazometro and rounds out the festival’s exhibition experience.
Videocittà also showcases young talent through installations created by students from IED, NABA, RUFA, Saint Louis College of Music, and the Rossellini Institute. The works, designed specifically for the festival, underscore the event’s commitment to the education and experimentation of the younger generation.
From an organizational standpoint, the festival takes place from July 10 to 12 at the Gazometro Ostiense, with the entrance at Via del Commercio 9/11. The gates and ticket office open daily at 7:00 p.m. The public is encouraged to reach the venue preferably on foot or by sustainable transportation. The installations will remain open until 1:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, while on Sunday, closing time is moved up to midnight. The music program also takes place in the evening, with live performances and DJ sets scheduled between 9:30 p.m. and 2:00 a.m.
To encourage even broader participation, Videocittà is introducing a new accessibility policy. A one-day ticket costs 20 euros, while a pass valid for the entire event is available for 50 euros. Admission is free for children under twelve. People with disabilities who require an attendant may request a free ticket for their attendant in accordance with the festival’s guidelines.
The lineup features three evenings, each with its own distinct character. On Friday, July 10, Mace, Sara Persico, and Mika Oki take center stage. On Saturday, July 11, the Main Stage hosts Apparat, Nziria, and Populous. On Sunday, July 12, Liminal State will close the festival with FREEFALL and Voices From The Lake. Surrounding these events is a program featuring over fifty experiences, including monumental installations, virtual reality, video art, talks, performances, scientific research, and contemporary art. This program reaffirms Videocittà as one of Europe’s leading events dedicated to the convergence of creativity, technological innovation, and digital culture, once again transforming the Gazometro into a place where industrial heritage engages with the future.
