by InTrieste
Since 2021, the port city of Trieste has hosted an annual gathering that sits squarely at the intersection of art, sound, and code. The New Electronic Arts Trieste Festival—known simply as NEAT—has become a magnet for artists and audiences eager to explore the frontiers of digital culture.
Equal parts concert, exhibition, and laboratory, NEAT brings together electronic musicians, visual artists, experimental filmmakers, and technologists for a multidisciplinary program of live audiovisual performances, cutting-edge new media installations, and workshops. Each edition is curated with an eye toward discovery, pairing established international figures with rising talent, particularly artists under 35 who are reshaping the language of performance through technology.
The festival has also become an important platform for students. Every evening opens with a showcase of works from young composers and creators enrolled in the electronic music and new technologies programs of the Conservatories of Trieste and Padua, turning academic experimentation into public performance. From there, audiences move into immersive shows designed to captivate both seasoned followers of digital art and curious newcomers.
For Alberto Novello, NEAT’s artistic director, the festival has always been about creating new cultural ground in a city with a tradition of experimentation but few platforms for new media.
“We set out to bring something new to Trieste: an audiovisual and new media art festival that goes beyond the traditional format,” Novello said.
Alberto Novello by Erin McKinney
“A playground where art, science, and technology speak to each other—and to the public. This festival introduces the city to the genre of live audiovisual performance, expanding Trieste’s connection with experimental cinema while offering a much needed platform dedicated to young local digital creators. I’ve been working as an artist in this field for over 20 years, and I’ve had the opportunity to watch curiosity grow—both among practitioners and the public. It was a real pleasure to curate this edition and to bring together some of the most relevant and innovative artists working in this space today.”
Workshops form another cornerstone of NEAT’s identity. Rooted in the do-it-yourself ethos, they offer participants practical tools to build their own hardware and software, underscoring the festival’s mission of accessibility and open experimentation. A national call each year also awards an artistic residency, supporting the development of a new work that premieres at the following festival.
Behind the scenes, NEAT is directed by Novello alongside Irene Capasso and Erin McKinney, whose vision has secured the support of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region and the backing of partners including the Municipality of Trieste, Teatro Miela, and the Conservatories of Trieste and Padua.
For Trieste—a city long defined by its crossroads identity, perched between Central Europe and the Adriatic—the festival represents both a cultural laboratory and a window into the future. As technology reshapes the way we make and consume art, NEAT offers a rare chance to experience that transformation live, in real time, and often for the first time in Italy.
More information: neatfestival.it
