The Centre for Non-Machines Research is an artistic initiative that brings together humans, non-human organisms, material objects, and places across physical and virtual environments. It investigates how computational systems shape forms of life, perception, and interaction.
It emerged through a series of collaborations, including the COST Action CA21102 Toolkit of Care and the Strategies for Non-Machines project, supported by the Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre. Its conceptual foundations were further developed during the Non-Machines conference and exhibition at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar in 2023.
The notion of non-machines refers to actors and tools that are not yet integrated into machine networks or remain beyond continuous digital mediation. It includes living beings developing outside computational infrastructures, as well as practices that cultivate alternative forms of knowledge, interaction, and coexistence.
Living matter is explored through the lens of hybrid systems, where biological processes and machine-based operations intersect. Drawing from cybernetics, this research examines feedback loops between organisms, devices, methods, and concepts while exploring how different forms of existence emerge from these relations.
Rather than rejecting technology, the Centre seeks to understand changing relationships among living beings, machines, and their surroundings. Through artistic inquiry, artists, researchers, and practitioners are invited to investigate how knowledge is produced, how relations are formed, and how alternative modes of existence can be imagined.
The Centre for Non-Machines Research is directed by Lia Giannakou and Mindaugas Gapševičius.
Non-Machines Residencies
Originally established at Arkesinis 9 in Athens, the residency program has expanded to include a second location in Livanates, Greece. Together, these sites offer complementary environments for artistic research, experimentation, and collective practice. Conceived as an evolving network rather than a fixed destination, the program remains open to collaborations with additional residency spaces and partner organizations in Greece and internationally.
Each location provides a distinct ecological, social, and architectural context, encouraging different modes of working while remaining connected through the Centre for Non-Machines Research’s broader exploration of technology, ecology, and living systems.