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SHAPESHIFT FESTIVAL 2026: THE HUMAN ALGORITHM
For its 4th consecutive year, the international festival for technology, science, and contemporary culture gathers global innovators and artists in Sofia. This year's lineup includes experts from
Apple, Amazon, ETH Zürich, Twitch, and Adidas, as well as Emmy and Cannes Lions winners.
From April 24 to 26, 2026, Toplocentrala Sofia will host the fourth edition of SHAPESHIFT:a three-day international festival that brings together culture, science, innovation, and technology.
This year’s theme, "The Human Algorithm," explores hybrid intelligence and poses a vital question: how do we keep human ethics, creativity, and empathy at the center of an increasingly automated reality?
"SHAPESHIFT doesn’t offer ready-made answers. The festival creates a meeting space – a place where we can understand transformation as it happens," says Maria Todorova, Curator of SHAPESHIFT and Founder of Next DC. "It is an invitation not just to observe change, but to learn how to be a part of it – not as spectators, but as shapeshifters."
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS & KEYNOTES:
LECTURES: SHAPESHIFT Festival April 25 (Saturday)
Start: 10:00 AM Toplocentrala, Sofia
The festival is curated by Maria Todorova alongside co-curators Maciej Zasada and Karol Góreczny (UXMachina): some of the most prominent professionals in the global tech industry.
● MACIEJ ZASADA {Poland} (Tech Innovator & Product Designer) & KAROL GÓRECZNY {Poland} (Visionary & Art Director) – CO-CURATORS: Maciej is an Emmy and Cannes Lions winner recognized for innovative projects for giants like Google, Amazon, Nike, and the BBC. Among his most significant achievements is the world-renowned interactive project “Star Wars: Lightsaber Escape,” created with Disney and Google, which turns a user's phone into a Jedi weapon. Karol is a leading Art Director with over a decade of experience creating visual experiences for Meta, Nike, and Formula 1. In Sofia, they will present "The Hand and the Hardware: Designing With Care," focusing on "care" as a leading design discipline that ensures technology remains in service of human dignity.
● YINONG DONG {China/UK} (Product Innovation Lead, Amazon): YiNong works at the intersection of product, technology, and digital culture. With leadership experience at Twitch, UNIT9, and McCann, and currently serving as an Innovation Officer at Amazon, she has contributed to pioneering projects involving AI, AR/VR/XR, and interactive storytelling. In Sofia, she will offer an "insider" look at how platforms and algorithms influence our attention and what is required to keep human judgment in the loop.
● ALEXANDRE MBALLA-EKOBENA {Cameroon/Germany} (Senior Manager, Advanced 3D – Adidas Originals): In his lecture "Creativity, Rules, and Logic," the head of 3D processes at Adidas will analyze how algorithms guide the creative process and how the rules we create for technology reshape our perception of innovation.
● STEPHAN BISCHOF {UK} (Creative Director & Founder, Brave Duck & Robots): Former Creative Director at The Mill and UNIT9, Stephan will provoke the audience with his thesis "Immersive is Dead in the Era of Experiential," arguing that "interactivity" is no longer enough for an audience seeking true physical connection and meaning beyond the visual spectacle.
● KAREN ANTORVEZA {Colombia/Switzerland} (Biodesigner & Researcher, ETH Zürich): In her lecture "Machine & Microbe: Growing Architectural Materials," this biodesigner from ETH Zürich will present the future of regenerative design: a world where architecture is "grown" through the fusion of robotic fabrication and living biological processes. ● MEREL VAN HELSDINGEN {Netherlands} (Founder, Nxt Museum, Amsterdam): The founder of Europe’s first museum dedicated to interactive media art (with a background at Apple) will discuss how technological installations redefine human perception in her lecture "Redefining Perception in the Digital Age."
● MARTA DZURINA {Bulgaria/Germany} (Visual Artist): This panel, titled "The Human Algorithm: Light as Co-Creator," focuses on the work of visual artist Marta Dzurina, whose pieces are part of collections like the Berlinische Galerie and Eskenazi Museum of Art. In conversation with cultural strategist Vesselina Sarieva, she will explore what happens when natural forces like light and electricity become active participants in the creation of art.
From April 24 to 26, 2026, Toplocentrala Sofia will host the fourth edition of SHAPESHIFT:a three-day international festival that brings together culture, science, innovation, and technology.
This year’s theme, "The Human Algorithm," explores hybrid intelligence and poses a vital question: how do we keep human ethics, creativity, and empathy at the center of an increasingly automated reality?
"SHAPESHIFT doesn’t offer ready-made answers. The festival creates a meeting space – a place where we can understand transformation as it happens," says Maria Todorova, Curator of SHAPESHIFT and Founder of Next DC. "It is an invitation not just to observe change, but to learn how to be a part of it – not as spectators, but as shapeshifters."
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS & KEYNOTES:
LECTURES: SHAPESHIFT Festival April 25 (Saturday)
Start: 10:00 AM Toplocentrala, Sofia
The festival is curated by Maria Todorova alongside co-curators Maciej Zasada and Karol Góreczny (UXMachina): some of the most prominent professionals in the global tech industry.
● MACIEJ ZASADA {Poland} (Tech Innovator & Product Designer) & KAROL GÓRECZNY {Poland} (Visionary & Art Director) – CO-CURATORS: Maciej is an Emmy and Cannes Lions winner recognized for innovative projects for giants like Google, Amazon, Nike, and the BBC. Among his most significant achievements is the world-renowned interactive project “Star Wars: Lightsaber Escape,” created with Disney and Google, which turns a user's phone into a Jedi weapon. Karol is a leading Art Director with over a decade of experience creating visual experiences for Meta, Nike, and Formula 1. In Sofia, they will present "The Hand and the Hardware: Designing With Care," focusing on "care" as a leading design discipline that ensures technology remains in service of human dignity.
● YINONG DONG {China/UK} (Product Innovation Lead, Amazon): YiNong works at the intersection of product, technology, and digital culture. With leadership experience at Twitch, UNIT9, and McCann, and currently serving as an Innovation Officer at Amazon, she has contributed to pioneering projects involving AI, AR/VR/XR, and interactive storytelling. In Sofia, she will offer an "insider" look at how platforms and algorithms influence our attention and what is required to keep human judgment in the loop.
● ALEXANDRE MBALLA-EKOBENA {Cameroon/Germany} (Senior Manager, Advanced 3D – Adidas Originals): In his lecture "Creativity, Rules, and Logic," the head of 3D processes at Adidas will analyze how algorithms guide the creative process and how the rules we create for technology reshape our perception of innovation.
● STEPHAN BISCHOF {UK} (Creative Director & Founder, Brave Duck & Robots): Former Creative Director at The Mill and UNIT9, Stephan will provoke the audience with his thesis "Immersive is Dead in the Era of Experiential," arguing that "interactivity" is no longer enough for an audience seeking true physical connection and meaning beyond the visual spectacle.
● KAREN ANTORVEZA {Colombia/Switzerland} (Biodesigner & Researcher, ETH Zürich): In her lecture "Machine & Microbe: Growing Architectural Materials," this biodesigner from ETH Zürich will present the future of regenerative design: a world where architecture is "grown" through the fusion of robotic fabrication and living biological processes. ● MEREL VAN HELSDINGEN {Netherlands} (Founder, Nxt Museum, Amsterdam): The founder of Europe’s first museum dedicated to interactive media art (with a background at Apple) will discuss how technological installations redefine human perception in her lecture "Redefining Perception in the Digital Age."
● MARTA DZURINA {Bulgaria/Germany} (Visual Artist): This panel, titled "The Human Algorithm: Light as Co-Creator," focuses on the work of visual artist Marta Dzurina, whose pieces are part of collections like the Berlinische Galerie and Eskenazi Museum of Art. In conversation with cultural strategist Vesselina Sarieva, she will explore what happens when natural forces like light and electricity become active participants in the creation of art.