The “Now or Never” festival is presenting a headline performance by an artist who died in 2021. Across reports, the festival’s programming is described as exploring art that extends beyond traditional human agency, including the use of newer technologies. While audience members and reviewers are noted as being disengaged or “sleeping” in some coverage, the articles broadly frame this as part of the festival’s focus on how contemporary creative practice may intersect with machine-supported or technology-mediated expression.
The reports also highlight the festival’s broader themes around AI and the changing role of performers, asking how artistic works can be staged, experienced, or “continued” when the original human subject is no longer alive. Although the descriptions differ in wording, they converge on the central point that the headline act’s death does not prevent his scheduled appearance at the festival, and that the event is positioning itself as an inquiry into the boundaries between human control, creative authorship, and technology.
