The Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS) – UM6P hosted the inaugural conference of its artist-in-residence Naoyuki Tanaka (NAO), marking the opening of his residency with a presentation entitled Ritual at the Boundary: Architectures of the In-Between.

Held at Salle Laâyoune on the UM6P Campus Benguerir, the conference explored the evolving relationship between art and technology at a time when artificial intelligence, robotics, and 3D printing are profoundly reshaping artistic creation. NAO examined the role of authorship and the necessary distance between creator and machine, inviting the audience to view technology not merely as a tool, but as a sensitive and active partner in the creative process.

Drawing on an aesthetic rooted in technological ritual, NAO’s work unfolds at the intersection of movement, sound, and light. Robots—transformed into performative agents—oscillate between control and autonomy, generating unexpected rhythms, silences, and behaviors. Through these interactions, the artist constructs a poetic space of exchange between humans and machines: a living interstice where memory and innovation converge to question our relationship with the contemporary world.

During the session, NAO also presented W/ARGAME, his research-creation project developed as part of his residency at the IAS. Inspired by Japanese technological culture of the 1980s, the project stages spherical, performative robots within an interactive arena where play, competition, and ritual intersect. By blurring the boundaries between simulation and performance, W/ARGAME interrogates themes of power, alterity, and technological agency, offering an immersive experience where emotion, memory, and innovation meet.

This inaugural conference set a strong foundation for NAO’s residency at the IAS, opening a rich dialogue at the crossroads of art, technology, and contemporary ritual practices.