Status: Completed
From 2009 onwards, Siuli Ko led the Cinekid MediaLab for eleven editions, including a special international edition in Shanghai, China. As Europe’s largest and most influential exhibition for playful media, Cinekid MediaLab brings together renowned international creators and emerging talent to explore the intersections of art, technology, and imagination. Over the years, the platform has become a birthplace for countless pioneering interactive works, reflecting the evolution of media art for younger audiences and families.
During her tenure, Siuli collaborated with leading artists and studios such as Theo Watson, Zach Lieberman, Kyle McDonald, Marshmallow Laser Feast, Daniel Ernst, and Monobanda, commissioning projects that pushed the boundaries of interactivity and embodied digital experience.
Selected Commission Highlights include:
Marshmallow Laser Feast – Treehugger: Wawona
Co-commissioned with STRP, Southbank Centre, and Migrations, Treehugger: Wawona stands as one of the largest and most ambitious Cinekid MediaLab projects. Through virtual reality, the installation immerses viewers in the inner life of a giant sequoia tree, visualising the flow of water from its roots to its canopy. A profound exploration of nature and empathy through technology, Treehugger went on to win the Tribeca Storyscapes Award (2017) and the Best VR Film Prize at the VR Arles Festival (2018).
Kyle McDonald & Ranjit Bhatnagar – Highsight (2015)
Co-commissioned by Cinekid MediaLab and STRP Eindhoven, Highsight invited participants to experience a virtual bungee jump through real space. Wearing an Oculus Rift connected to a live camera suspended from the ceiling, visitors saw through the “eyes” of the camera as it drifted through a handcrafted diorama before plunging into the crowd below. This groundbreaking work marked the first-ever live VR connection using an external camera feed — a moment of playful innovation and technical audacity.
YesYesNo – Superfeel (2014)
Created by Zach Lieberman and Molmol Kuo, Superfeel transformed human energy into a tangible force. Participants wore specially designed bracelets that amplified subtle gestures into waves of wind, vibration, and fog — turning emotion and motion into a shared sensory experience.
Eyewriter 2.0 (2010)
Building on the seminal Eyewriter project by the Free Art & Technology Lab, Graffiti Research Lab, and OpenFrameworks teams — including Zach Lieberman, Theo Watson, Evan Roth, James Powderly, and Chris Sugrue — Eyewriter 2.0 extended the technology’s creative potential. Commissioned for Cinekid, the project introduced a robotic arm that allowed participants to “write” using only their eyes, offering a poetic and empowering demonstration of accessible creative technology.
Design I/O – Puppet Parade (2011)
One of the highlights of Siuli’s time at Cinekid was Puppet Parade, created by Design I/O — the award-winning creative studio founded by Theo Watson and Emily Gobeille, recipients of the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Digital Design (2020) and co-founders of openFrameworks. The installation offered children an interactive motion experience, inviting them to perform alongside colourful digital puppets projected on the wall. The result was a joyful fusion of play, performance, and creative technology, embodying the spirit of Cinekid MediaLab.
Through these and many other collaborations, Siuli Ko helped shape Cinekid MediaLab into a cornerstone of experimental media culture, a space where art, play, and technology converge to spark wonder and critical reflection.
And many more:
