Who determines the artistic potential of Artificial Intelligence? Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst answer this question using the audience’s voice in the “Starmirror” exhibition at KW Institute for Contemporary Art Berlin. This event is not just a performance; it transforms into a recording studio where viewers actively participate in AI’s training process.
These creative sessions take place on designated Sundays throughout the exhibition, with the first session starting on Sunday, November 2, 2025, at 4:00 PM. In these “Call and Response” sessions, participants sing hymns from a new songbook created by Herndon and Dryhurst. This songbook was trained by an AI modeled after the 12th-century scholar Hildegard von Bingen’s morality play Ordo Virtutum, which depicts a soul’s choice between good and evil. The artists draw inspiration by comparing Bingen’s vision of celestial order between humanity and the cosmos with today’s technological infrastructure.
The Power of Collective Voice and Artistic Participation
Every Sunday, a different Berlin-based choir, such as the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Chamber Choir, joins visitors in singing to form the ensemble. No prior knowledge or preparation is required to participate; only openness and enthusiasm for collective singing are sufficient. This is a direct and participatory experience that demonstrates how human contributions define AI.
The voices recorded in these sessions will later form a public choir dataset, and an AI “Berlin Chorus” trained with this dataset will give its debut performance at Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Düsseldorf.
Through this method, the artists offer audiences a way to actively engage in AI’s creation process rather than being passive consumers.
Event Information
Event Name: Starmirror Training Performance
Artists: Holly Herndon & Mat Dryhurst Ensemble
Venue: KW Institute for Contemporary Art, main hall
First Date: Sunday, November 2, 2025 (continues throughout the exhibition)
Time: 4:00–5:00 PM
Language: English (songs in Latin)
Participation: Included in exhibition ticket price. (Advance email reservation is recommended).
Note: The event is planned in a “relaxed performance” format with freedom to move and enter/exit.
