Noorderlicht Biënnale - Machine Entanglements (2025)

Noorderlicht Biennale 
Machine Entanglements

12 July – 7 September

The Noorderlicht Biennale 2025, entitled Machine Entanglements, opens on 12 July with a large-scale exhibition at six locations simultaneously in Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe. It is the 30th edition of the international photo biennale and the first time that the festival locations can be visited simultaneously for 8 weeks.

In the 2025 edition, the Noorderlicht Biennale focuses on the intertwined relationship between technology, ecology and society. The rapid technological progress has a profound impact on biodiversity, social structures and our shared past. With Machine Entanglements, Noorderlicht wants to create awareness and open the conversation: how does technology shape our lives, our landscape and our collective memory?

The exhibition at Museum Belvédère focuses on the relationship between technology and ecology. How do human interventions in the landscape affect biodiversity? What does ‘nature’ still mean in a world where even the most remote places are monitored by digital networks? In this exhibition, artists investigate the ecological impact of technology: from satellite images that record climate change to AI-driven agriculture and drone ecologies. What does this technological gaze show us, and what does it make invisible? How can we use technology to understand and protect the earth, rather than deplete it?

Locations

The 30th Noorderlicht Biennale exhibition Machine Entanglements is spread over six locations: Museum Belvédère (Heerenveen-Oranjewoud), Niemeyer Factory (Groningen), Kunstpunt Tschumi Pavilion (Groningen), Museum Dr8888 (Drachten), De Proef (Frederiksoord) and Brouwerij Fortuna / ITGWO (Vlieland).