Submerge creative director Mike Pony discusses this year’s festival

Photo: Charley Williams

“Inclusive is the goal, diverse artists and diverse audiences”, says Mike Pony, the director behind Bristol’s forward thinking digital arts festival Submerge. He’s got a powerful statement of intent, “Both are long term goals and concern changing the landscape of the industry. It might be bigger than us in this moment, but we’ll do what we can.”

This vision was inspired by his personal experiences. “As a queer person myself I’ve been around the world going to digital arts and music festivals, I’ve not always found myself represented in lineups and in audiences. I also didn’t see a huge representation for people of colour, women and transgender people either.” Mike hopes that Submerge will bring more diversity into the digital arts and tech scene. “I’ve had some great experiences and wanted to bring them to Bristol but also to challenge why things aren’t always inclusive.” The festival also seeks to bring the human body back into tech, he continues, “A lot of the stuff that’s programmed is artists doing things with their bodies and technology or it’s deeply immersive visceral experiences that will make the audience feel things in their bodies.”

The chance to work with new venues in the city has opened up some fresh opportunities for Submerge. Mike explains, “This time around we have the support of Arnolfini, Colston Hall and The Loco Club. When you work in an art gallery or space that has more support you can do more ambitious things.” The collaborative spirit goes beyond the venues as well, Mike continues, “I realised quickly last time that you can’t do it on your own and things are stronger when you work together. Our partners are super diverse and they’ve all played a part in bringing this together. When you work together you make something much bigger than the sum of its parts. It ties into belonging and being part of the community.”

In many ways the programme speaks for itself. The multi-platform list of events includes Q&A panels, club nights, sensory performances, instalments and more. Mike highlights an exhibit he’s particularly looking forward to. “We’re bringing this piece from a French audio visual artist called Licht, Mehr Licht! which is German for Light More Light. It’s this ten-meter-long tunnel featuring hundreds of tiny spotlight projectors and an immersive soundscape. The artist has conceptualised it around the philosopher Goethe’s last words. The piece is like a near death experience of the last thing you see before you die. It’s quite meditative in a way and the soundtrack is quite sad.”

You can expect the music to be of a cutting edge standard as well. Bristol’s Batu has stepped out of his shoes at Timedance to curate a night at the Loco Club and Mike says he’s nailed the diversity element. “He wanted to expand his palette and think about artists who might not necessarily be programmed within a Timedance night. He’s picked JASSS, Klein and Chekov, each artist is quite different from each other so it’s really representative.” Elsewhere the likes of Gazelle Twin will be opening up the programme which feels like a fitting start. Mike says, “Her album Pastoral is all about brexit and small-mindedness. That’s informed the festival in a way so to have her open things up feels really nice.”

Whatever background you come from, Mike makes it clear that you can be part of the dialogue and future of digital technology. He sums up, “The invitation is there for everyone.” If one thing is sure, it’s that Bristol is a great landscape for the festival. He adds, “It feels like Bristol is a city that engages with stuff that’s leftfield, challenging and out there. Often Bristol throws itself into these things in a way I haven’t seen in other cities.”