Our queen of production, Radina Aleksandrova, has been with Nxt since the beginning – covering three exhibitions, a pandemic, marathon ADE weekenders and breathtaking industry events.

For our Humans of Nxt series, we discuss memorable moments, new media art and working with cutting edge tech in art…

Hey Radina! What it’s like to work at a new media art museum?

It can be both exciting and challenging, as we showcase art that uses cutting-edge technology in new, creative ways. As part of the production team, I’m involved in bringing artworks to life, which is fulfilling on a creative and intellectual level. Because new media art is often so dynamic and interactive, we need to be adaptable so that we can respond to last-minute adjustments or updates to the installations and the artists’ creative concepts. Plus, as a producer you often need to troubleshoot technical issues you’ve often never encountered before, to ensure that artworks function as intended throughout the guests’ entire experience.

‘Life in a Different Resolution’ has been live for just over six months now. Is there a particular work that stands out?

‘Living Room’ is one that stands out to me, as it incorporates dynamic lighting and audio systems to enhance the immersive experience of the visitor. It’s pretty mesmerising to see this changing environment on a daily basis, and to understand how the artist’s programming, together with the visitor interaction, makes this magical space come to life.

As part of the exhibition’s opening night, we wanted to surprise our guests with a beautiful dance performance in the ‘Living Room’. However, the concept around the performance had to be created before the space was even finished, which was quite the challenge.

Thankfully we worked with an amazing team of talented performers, and they managed to come up with an incredible piece of choreography before even stepping into the finished space. The performance ended up being the highlight of the opening night!

Alongside exhibitions, Nxt also hosts events with brands and businesses. Any highlights so far?

Each event we work on is interesting in its own way, considering the scale of the shows we produce and the amount of people involved into the delivery of creative projects from start to finish. 

For the Asics Uplifts @ Nxt Museum event for World Mental Health Day, we helped Asics take over the entire museum and created bespoke artworks for their community visiting the space. Constructed as an immersive display across the dedicated spaces, the experience aimed to give visitors a feel for an audio-visual activation connected to the  ‘Sound Mind, Sound Body’ motto of Asics that exemplifies how movement can increase positive mental health and wellbeing, with contemporary dancers performing against the floating digital graphics. 

For the show, we had to transform seven different spaces into a completely new experiences, in the span of just 3 days. Together with Karte Blanche Agency, BAM Agency and their teams, we managed to accommodate all of the client’s needs as well as their creative vision – and that’s ultimately the best reward when producing such a big show. 

What do you think sets Nxt apart as a space for events?

For one, the scale of spaces across the museum, in combination with the in-house tech and production team, is something you can’t really find anywhere else. Our clients – be it ADE, Audemars Piguet or Youtube to name a few – enjoy a one-of-a-kind experience that they can’t recreate anywhere else in The Netherlands.

Nxt Stage is one of the most incredible spaces you can encounter as a producer, and clients are often taken back by its scale. When they see their concepts and visuals projected on our 370m floor-to-wall surface, you can see that something in their eyes just changes! Suddenly the biggest smiles appear on their faces as they realise how impactful their show is going to be.

It’s beautiful to see how inspirational one space can be and the effect it can have on so many different people.

Aside from the current exhibition, which work has blown you away?

Working on ‘SpaceTime Helix’ with Michela Pelusio, back in 2022 was one of the most memorable moments that I’ve been a part of at Nxt. The work of the Italian artist combines elements of sculpture, light, sound, and interactive technology to create a magical spectacle for those lucky enough to be in the audience.

Finally, art at Nxt Museum always focuses on emerging technology. Which piece of tech do you find most exciting to work with?

For me, the conversation around AI is an interesting one, as we’ve had to deal with it in almost every exhibition we have worked on. It presents exciting opportunities for innovation and creativity for artists, but it also comes with its challenges.

We’ve seen how AI-based works can exhibit biases and discriminatory behaviours, reflecting underlying biases present in the training data or the design of the algorithm itself. Often as producers, we need to be vigilant about identifying and mitigating biases to ensure that AI applications produce fair and equitable outcomes.

Introducing AI-driven artworks to museum audiences may require efforts to educate visitors about AI technologies, their capabilities, and their implications for society. At Nxt we strive to develop strategies for engaging audiences with AI-driven artworks, fostering curiosity, critical thinking, and dialogue around the intersection of art and technology.

Have an event or project in mind? Get in touch.