November 03 - 04

Blend Festival | Amsterdam

^{In-person Event}

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

^{Organized by: Playgrounds}Plan your trip

For more than 15 years, Playgrounds has showcased artists, designers, and filmmakers who push the boundaries of their discipline and cut across genres. In the BLEND festival, Playgrounds focuses on artists who are the forerunners in motion design and the post-digital image: a visual culture that is no longer digitally driven, but moves from analog to digital and back again. During BLEND, the most innovative creators in the field of post-digital image take the stage, creators who do not fit within a traditional box and use mediums interchangeably to tell their story.

With an international line-up and supported by more than 15 years of experience and network, BLEND offers a unique program in the Netherlands where creative makers from all disciplines can meet, inspire and push each other. Confirmed for this visual walhalla are: Le Cube (ES/AR/BR) – BLEND Amsterdam With offices all over the world, this multidisciplinary studio shows that they both master classical techniques and seamlessly implement the latest technologies in their work. With a wide range of styles, they work for Nike, Uber, Spotify, Cartoon Network and Magnum. Zeitguised (D) – BLEND Amsterdam Physical and digital images blend together hare imperceptibly at Zeitguised. The studio is constantly exploring and redefining the borderland between digital abstraction and realism. Their "genre" if you will has set the tone for media and assets like Instagram and NFTs. They work with clients like TheFoundSpace, Creative Review, Damn, Yuz Talk and Meisterrat. Back on our stage again after a fantastic talk in 2014. Ngadi Smart (Ivory Coast) – BLEND Breda + Amsterdam Illustrator and photographer Ngadi Smart documents black identity from an African perspective, deconstructing existing norms of beauty and "normal”. She mixes and blends disciplines but also combines different media. She has photographed for CNN, Vogue Italia, Atmos Magazine, ID Magazine and illustrated for Eastpak, The Atlantic, Time Out London and The Guardian, among others. Lorenzo Fonda (I) – BLEND Breda + Amsterdam Multi-disciplinary creator known for his unconventional way of storytelling. Known for the groundbreaking film ‘Megunica’, Muto, music videos for Caribou, Scissor Sisters and commercials for World AIDS Day, National Geographic and MTV. Christian Borstlap (NL) – BLEND Amsterdam Maker specializing in concept development and experiences. Conceiving, creating and producing all happens in his studio and is a unique and new way of making. Worked for Rijksmuseum, Artis, Louis Vuitton and Dior. Ari Weinkle (USA) – BLEND Breda + Amsterdam Fragmenting various entities such as the human figure, typography, geometric and organic forms, Weinkle constantly searches for new and unique combinations of forms, colors and patterns, creating surprising juxtapositions. His work is usually experimental, often digital and usually strange. Working for NOWNESS, Johnny Walker, Apple and most recently London Symphonic Orchestra. Weinkle is speaking in the Netherlands for the first time. Fons Schiedon (USA/NL) – BLEND Breda + Amsterdam BLEND could be his middle name as Schiedon has created video content for Beyoncé’s Formation World Tour, collaborated with FKA Twigs on her Live experience, made an animated graphic novel of Mozart’s Magic Flute, and directed music videos for international recording artists such as Action Bronson, Groove Armada, Marshmello x Halsey and Jaimeo Brown. He was the team lead for the title sequence to Sony/Marvel’s Venom as well as responsible for the design for Michelle Obama’s Netflix Documentary Becoming. And true Playgrounds fans will recognize him as our host for over 10 years. Studio DRIFT (NL) – BLEND Breda Founded in 2007 by Dutch artists Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta, DRIFT works with a multi-disciplinary team of 64, on experiential sculptures, installations and performances. DRIFT manifests the phenomena and hidden properties of nature with the use of technology in order to learn from the Earth’s underlying mechanisms and to re-establish our connection to it. DRIFT has realized numerous exhibitions and (public) projects around the world. Their work has been exhibited at The Shed NYC (2021), Stedelijk Museum (2018), Art Basel (2017, 2021), Burning Man (2018, 2021) and Biennale di Venezia (2015) amongst others. During Blend, Playgrounds welcomes Sarah Schulten, Director of Global Communications at DRIFT. BLEND Breda BLEND Amsterdam