On the weekend of July 18–20, Forecast and Radialsystem invited the public to experience 18 multidisciplinary projects at the Forecast Forum. In the days leading up to the public weekend, the six mentors and their mentorship nominees worked closely together to fine-tune the showcases and engaged with each other’s topics in workshops. Following the Forum, the each mentor has selected a project to accompany to its completion.
Meet the six mentor-mentee tandems of this edition:
Opera: Uprooted, Upended, Unhinged
Performer and theater-maker Lulu Obermayer has chosen to mentor Wojciech Rybicki on his project Three Sisters. Pas de mark. Obermayer said: “I will continue to work with Wojciech because his practice, like mine, navigates the fault lines between tradition and disruption—treating inherited forms not as fixed structures but as living, trembling material. We both approach the canon with a mixture of reverence and resistance, drawn to what is unsaid, unfinished, or unresolved. In dialogue with Wojciech, I find a shared desire to re-stage history—not to preserve it, but to reimagine its echo in the present.”
Locked Timbre
Electronic musician Sote will further accompany Corin Ileto with her project Resonance. Sote said: “The artists I’ve worked with approach electronic music not only as a medium for personal expression but also as a space for bold innovation. Through their distinct approaches, they propose new ways of thinking about composition, performance, and the evolving language of electronic music. The theme I proposed, Locked Timbre, explores the tension between sonic constraint and freedom—between the architectural and the expressive, the fixed and the fluid. What happens when timbre is treated not just as color or texture, but as a fundamental structural force? How can sound be ‘locked,’ and how can it break free? I was genuinely moved by Nurah Farahat’s powerful audiovisual project, which channels raw emotion through sound, space, and presence in a deeply visceral way. Nicholas Morrish is also an accomplished composer whose work explores rhythm, texture, and sonic form with both precision and expressive intensity. Ultimately, I selected Corin Ileto, not only for her strong conceptual foundation and technical fluency but also because I believe her project holds extraordinary potential to evolve in bold and unexpected directions. Her proposal to merge the Filipino kulintang with synthesis and digital processing presents a rich field for exploration—one that is both culturally grounded and artistically adventurous.”
Emotional Technologies
Artist and filmmaker Ruth Patir has selected the project Gods of Calculation by artist Diane Cescutti. Patir said: “I had the privilege of working with three phenomenal artists, each from vastly different backgrounds, making this an incredibly difficult choice. During our time together, each nominee presented ambitious projects grounded in real-world issues. I believe all three are exemplary practitioners who embody what art can achieve in these devastating times. I have chosen to continue with artist Diane Cescutti and her project Gods of Calculations. This work reimagines African deities as twin supercomputers and invites the audience to interact with a new form of artificial intelligence—one that refuses to imitate existing models. The language of these “gods of calculation” draws from belief systems, emphasizing the often-overlooked parallels between religious practices and technological interfaces. Cescutti’s African twin deities act as a conceptual bridge, aiming to return theoretical growth to the African continent—an effort that stands in contrast to the ongoing extraction of Africa’s natural resources by Western tech companies. Through the creation of these unique interfaces, Cescutti urges us to reimagine our relationship with technology in more singular and inclusive ways. For the compelling urgency of her vision and the fierce ambition behind her practice, I am excited to continue supporting the development of her project.”
Don’t Overthink It
Vocalist and composer Elaine Mitchener has decided to continue the mentorship with María Gabriela Rubio Hernández. Mitchener said: “Ibrahim Babayev’s MughaMutations fused an impressive musical virtuosity on the Tar and electroacoustic effects with a deep introspection, as he shared a transformative journey with the audience by deconstructing Mugham’s traditional heritage. Aga Ujma’s Songs for a Voice and a Chair, inspired by Miron Białoszewski’s concept of sound as the essence of poetry, captivated the audience with her powerful performance and stage presence. Moving between playful, childlike, and absurd expressions to anguished howls, she explored the range and potential of her voice, fully exploiting the unique timbre and identity of the Polish language. I found the visceral, tactile vulnerability and inner strength displayed by María Gabriela Rubio Hernández in her work The Lava utterly compelling. Inspired by the poetry of María Mercedes Carranza, she delivered an arresting performance using raw materials, movement, vocal sounds, and bioacoustics to explore the links between environmental decomposition, violence, disappearances, and the impact of our actions on the environment. The questions her work left me with are a perfect starting point for continued mentoring, and I am excited to work with María as she further develops and explores the multidimensionality of her practice.”
Image, Sound, Collaboration
Video and installation artist James Richards will further accompany Bethan Hughes. Richards said: “After a dynamic week spent with Siri Black, TaeHwan Jeon, and Bethan Hughes, I left feeling energized and inspired. Siri Black’s project delves into the gendered history of animation and its messy materiality, exploring how one can bridge these broader narratives into more personal, biographical realms—such as her meditation on her grandmother’s loss of eyesight. With TaeHwan Jeon, I was shown the materiality of vision in its purest form, offering a glimpse into the possibilities of allowing sound, image, and space to fall out of sync with one another. After much deliberation, I’ve decided to continue to accompany Bethan Hughes over the next eight months. Her current project, under the working title Shadowing, takes as its starting point the housing project in Berlin’s Neukölln district where she lives. Over the last few years, Bethan has gathered a rich archive of self-shot video, archival footage, ambisonic sound, and remade architectural features. These materials explore how the estate exists both as architectural fact and as a social projection. Bethan is now embarking on a process of distilling and manipulating these materials to create a performative work for choreography, light, and sculpture, addressing themes of surveillance, discipline, and the politics of seeing and being seen.”
Reclaiming the Self
Artist and designer Hussein Chalayan will continue the mentorship with Kihako Narisawa. Chalayan said: “In Kihako Narisawa’s work, I was struck by how she tests our thresholds of patience and boredom, while building suspense and anticipation through subtle human behaviors. She frames absent actions and gestures around objects typically linked to communication or daily rituals—such as repeatedly modeling her own hair—creating the sense of preparing for an event that never arrives. This tension between the mundane and the performative challenges our expectations of what performance or entertainment should be. The frustration this evokes becomes a tool for rethinking the role of the performer. With Kihako, I see an opportunity to deepen the experience of suspense and anticipation, pushing these ideas further to create a compelling encounter, one that aligns with my working title for all the nominees: Reclaiming the Self.”
The Next Steps:
In addition to their ongoing exchanges, each mentor-and-mentee tandem will convene for several days of creative exchanges and concrete mentoring during their work-stays at different partner institutions in Berlin. The final productions will be shared with the public at the Forecast Festival, March 20–21, 2026, at Radialsystem in Berlin.