Press Studio Drift

DRIFT PRESENTS SHY SOCIETY ON VENICE GRAND CANAL DURING THE 61ST BIENNALE DI VENEZIA

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Last month, DRIFT presented Shy Society on Venice Grand Canal during the 61st Biennale di Venezia. The installation was visible from Ponte dell’Accademia and by boat from May 3-10, 2026.

Shy Society is an outdoor installation of multiple moving textile elements, revealing a fundamental principle of nature: transformation. In the natural world, nothing is static – everything shifts, adapts, responds. Change is not disruption, but a condition for balance and survival. Presented in Venice, the work enters into dialogue with a city shaped by water, time, and climate. What if our built environments engaged with change instead of resisting it?

With Shy Society, DRIFT introduces movement into architecture – transforming static space into dynamic systems. Soft elements respond to wind, light, and human presence, aligning with nature. Movement becomes a shared, embodied language – creating moments of connection in a world increasingly distanced from physical experience.

We believe the future of public space lies not in resisting change, but in embracing it. Movement is not instability – it is a shared language that can restore connection.

We have not lost this language. We have only forgotten how to access it.

Through movement, we can remember.

Special thanks to Marsilio Arte.

Photos credit Arjen van Eijk, Xinix Films.

DRIFT FLEW 1500 DRONES TO OPEN SHAKIRA’S LARGEST SHOW EVER AT RIO’S COPACABANA BEACH

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Last night, Shakira and Studio DRIFT team up to fly a spectacular 1500 drone performance to open her largest show ever at Rio’s Copacabana beach, in front of a world breaking record amount of people. 

The show opens with DRIFT’s legendary Franchise Freedom artwork, mimicking the swarming of starlings and reacting to the audience coming out to collectively experience this monumental cultural moment in history. DRIFT’s artwork, conceived in 2008, is the genesis piece that triggered the development of what is now the Drone light industry. 

Franchise Freedom is followed up by a giant Wolf, inviting the audience to join in with a collective howl to connect to the full moon gracefully overlooking Copacabana beach. The howl collectively brings the audience into the same energy, inviting Shakira to the stage. 

The performance features the illumination of Shakira’s eyes overlooking the crowd, using the drone fleet as a pixelated screen, making personal eye contact with everyone at Copacabana beach, and opening Shakira’s legendary performance.

The drone performance is a brain child of Ralph Nauta, Lonneke Gordijn (DRIFT) and Lucas van Oostrum.

Link to video.

DRIFT CELEBRATED THE OPENING OF LACMA’S NEW DAVID GEFFEN GALLERIES WITH A STRIKING FRANCHISE FREEDOM PERFORMANCE

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Last week, Dutch art-duo DRIFT presented Franchise Freedom, the studio’s iconic drone performance, to celebrate the opening of the new David Geffen Galleries at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). In the heart of Los Angeles, where the evening light stretches across Wilshire Boulevard, two distinct yet deeply connected visions of form, movement, and public space came into focus: one expressed through the monumental, sand-colored concrete of the David Geffen Galleries, the other through a choreographed constellation of illuminated drones guided by DRIFT’s swarming algorithms.

Developed through over two decades of research into starling murmurations, Franchise Freedom transforms the sky into a living field of collective motion. The drones move in relation to one another, forming a temporary structure that continuously shifts, reflecting on freedom, interdependence, and the tension between the individual and the collective.

This approach resonates with the design of the David Geffen Galleries, where a horizontal layout proposes a model of equity without hierarchy. Similarly, Franchise Freedom operates without a central leader – its force emerges through synchronized interaction. In both cases, structure is shaped through relation rather than dominance.

Together, the building and the performance suggest an alternative to rigid systems, offering a vision of space defined by openness, movement, and shared experience.

Photos by Pablo Garcia and Bo Bridges.

DRIFT DEBUTS THREE NEW OUTDOOR INSTALLATIONS AT MANAR ABU DHABI

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We premiered three new outdoor installations at the second edition of Manar Abu Dhabi, the landmark outdoor light-art festival organised by the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi). Curated under the theme “The Light Compass”, this edition of Manar will light up the city from 15 November 2025 to 4 January 2026 with free entry.

DRIFT’s contribution includes three major new works – Unfold, Whispers, and a newly developed drone performance titled Wind of Change – installed on Jubail Island. The natural setting of mangroves, tidal waterways and shifting light becomes the canvas for DRIFT’s exploration of the intersection of technology, human presence and the environment.

Leading up to the festival, The Abu Dhabi EDITION Hotel, the home of DRIFT’s permanent installation In 20 Steps, graciously hosted an evening to celebrate DRIFT in Abu Dhabi. The evening was a warm celebration of connection, conversation, and excitement as the artists revealed the new works for the festival. 

About Manar Abu Dhabi

Manar (Arabic for “lighthouse” or “guiding light”) is a major public art initiative by DCT Abu Dhabi that transforms the city’s natural vistas with a series of light sculptures, projections, and immersive artworks by local and international artists.

This edition is curated by Khai Hori (artistic director), Alia Zaal Lootah, Munira Al Sayegh (curators) and Mariam Alshehhi (assistant curator).

Photos by Arjen van Eijk, Xinix Films.

Special thanks to AO Multimedia & Drones for the collaboration on Wind of Change.

SHYLIGHT BECOMES PART OF THE PERMANENT COLLECTION OF THE HESSISCHES LANDESMUSEUM DARMSTADT

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Five Shylight sculptures have now become part of the Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt’s permanent collection, transforming its central hall.

The Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt, one of the oldest public museums in Germany, features an impressive collection of art and natural history. Commissioned specifically for the space, Shylight was conceived as a dialogue with the museum’s collection. The kinetic light sculptures, inspired by the natural phenomenon of nyctinasty – the way certain flowers open and close as a self-defense mechanism – echo the rhythms and patterns of the natural world preserved within the museum.

Through technology and movement, Shylight bridges past and present, art and nature, the man-made and the natural. The work invites visitors to pause, look upward, and experience the neo-classical architecture of the museum not only as a place of knowledge, but also as a place of wonder and connection.

Photos by Dennis Haustein, courtesy of the Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt.

DRIFT IN SPAIN: MEADOW/ AMPLITUDE AT MUSAC

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DRIFT proudly unveils their first-ever exhibition in Spain at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León (MUSAC) in León. Titled Amplitude/ Meadow, the exhibition presents two of DRIFT’s most iconic installations – Amplitude and Meadow – inviting visitors to experience a mesmerising interplay of light, motion, and nature. The exhibition is open to the public from July 12 through October 19, 2025.

DRIFT’s works take inspiration from nature and use technology to reveal the hidden properties and behaviours of the natural world, aiming to learn from Earth’s underlying mechanisms and to restore our connection with it. As the artists state: “Since the beginning of our career, we’ve found endless inspiration in nature. Every DRIFT artwork originates from a fascination with movement in nature and the hidden phenomena we don’t always notice in our surroundings. It could be how flowers open and close, or the flight pattern of starlings. We believe nature can teach us how to live, guide us in the right direction, and help us connect as a collective.”

With this exhibition, DRIFT presents a hopeful vision of the future in which technology and nature are not opposing forces, but complementary ones. As the artists affirm: “In our work we try to build a bridge between technology and nature, rather than seeing them as opposites. We ask how technology can learn from nature, and how we might use it to build a future where humans live in harmony with their surroundings.”

Photos by Imagen MAS

DRIFT CONVERTS BIOMETRICS INTO A MULTISENSORY AI EXPERIENCE

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Together with the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) Lacoste, Dutch art duo DRIFT unveil Unfold, a newly commissioned multisensory AI experience. The immersive installation debuted during the SCAD Lacoste Spring 2025 season opening celebration on Wednesday, May 7, and is now open to the public.

Inspired by the local flora of the Provence region, Unfold transforms the body’s rhythmic data into a unique audio-visual experience. As visitors enter the space, their biometrics are measured in real-time and translated through AI technology into dynamic visuals. The fusion of biological, ecological, and digital design creates infinite variations, with each spatial interaction serving as a reflection of the individual in that precise moment. Viewers are guided through these personalized visualizations and accompanying audio score into an altered state of sensory alignment, where the pulse of life manifests through the ephemeral beauty of the botanical world, inviting us to delve deeper into the symbiotic dance between nature and the human form. 

Talking about the collaboration, Daniel S. Palmer, SCAD Museum of Art Chief Curator said: “We are honored to inaugurate DRIFT’s new site-specific installation Unfold at our historic SCAD Lacoste location. This collaboration is the thoughtful product of the artists’ dialogue with the region and the creative, growth-focused ethos of the university, which the artists have translated into a breathtaking and memorable immersive experience. We are certain that this one-of-a-kind installation will inspire our students and visitors to SCAD Lacoste for years to come.”

SCAD Lacoste – Spring 2025 – DRIFT – Unfold – Student Model: Sheridan McCoy – SCAD Lacoste – Courtesy of SCAD

Ralph Nauta In Conversation With Refik Anadol At Culture Summit Abu Dhabi

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On April 29, 2025, DRIFT Co-founder and artist Ralph Nauta joined Refik Anadol at Culture Summit Abu Dhabi for a creative conversation moderated by Shumon Basar.

The thought-provoking dialogue between the two artists explored the convergence of art, technology, humanity and collective consciousness. Their discussion highlighted the role of artists as both visionaries and system-thinkers, envisioning new shared spaces that bridge the organic with the digital, and the personal with the planetary. This creative exchange encouraged the audience to reconsider how humanity, innovation, and our shared future are interconnected.

Watch the talk here.

DRIFT Unveils A Robotic Installation With Audi For Milan Design Week 2025

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After 10 years, DRIFT has returned to Milan Design Week for a collaboration with Audi. Within the framework of Audi House of Progress, DRIFT presents a site-specific and experiential installation Drift Us, translating movement into a visual and dynamic experience. Set in the courtyard of Portrait Milano Hotel, this collaboration highlights DRIFT’s and Audi’s shared vision to inspire change and progress through movement.

Movement in natural phenomena has been a source of endless inspirations to DRIFT. For Audi, artists Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta work with the repetitive calming movement created by the wind in a grassy field. As visitors make their ways through the installation, they activate the environment, as if they were the wind themselves. Drift Us invites the public to become an impactful force that influences the environment around them. 

“Wind is the driving force of evolution and innovation in nature. Without movement, there is no progress.” Drift Us is an interactive and robotic art installation, a moving space which reminds visitors that they are in constant and dynamic dialogue with their environment. The installation connects us to the feeling of being surrounded by, and responding to nature. It also offers visitors to Milan Design Week a moment of calmness and harmony, with reassuring, synchronized movements that align with our breathing rhythms and heartbeats. 

Talking about the collaboration with Audi, Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta of DRIFT highlight: “DRIFT and Audi share the vision that innovation comes from moving people. In our highly complex and demanding world, flexibility and adaptability are key to be frontrunners in technological and at the same time human-centered innovation. In the House of Progress you are invited to become a force of change.” The presence of Audi at House of Progress showcases the Brand’s vision of innovation and the commitment to process. Audi shows visitors how the brand has been utilising technology to create advanced automobiles that are more dynamic, efficient and digital than ever, interpreting the different needs of mobility. 

About Drift Us

Materials: SLA, SLS, PLA, powder coated aluminum, patel gradient pet-G, woven monofilament nylon, stainless steel, POM, metal. 

Credits:

Music: Joep Beving

Photos: Ronald Smits, Audi

Production & Strategic Advisor: Beyond the Line

Advisor: Sandra Biundo, Global Sales Advisor Arts Design

Architecture assistance: POINT.ARCHITECTS

DRIFT’s Meadow Blooms in the Milwaukee Art Museum

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This Spring, Windhover Hall of the Milwaukee Art Museum comes to life with Meadow, the second iteration of the seasonal Winter Series. The awe-inspiring installation by DRIFT is free and accessible to the public during Museum hours, January 18–April 13, 2025, complementing the organic architecture of the Quadracci Pavilion with luminous, dynamic blooms. 

“DRIFT has long worked at the intersection of nature and technology, and I’m excited to present to our visitors their work within the context of the Quadracci Pavilion, a biophilic space designed by architect Santiago Calatrava,” said the exhibition’s curator Shoshana Resnikoff, Demmer Curator of 20th- and 21st-Century Design. According to the architect, The Quadracci Pavilion’s design “responds to the culture of the lake: the sailboats, the weather, the sense of motion and change.” Movement and interrelatedness amongst things play an important role in Calatrava’s work, and this sentiment is also echoed in DRIFT’s Meadow installation.  

“We are honored that we have the opportunity to immerse our artwork Meadow in the awesome space that is the Calatrava building of the Milwaukee Art Museum,” said Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta of DRIFT. “As longtime fans, it was a dream to design this artwork specifically to fit Windhover Hall. We worked with the perspective to draw the eye into the height of the open atrium to make visitors wander through the space vertically.”

Through winter and into spring, Meadow will hang in the atrium of Windhover Hall with the lakefront as its backdrop. This presentation offers a new experience with each visit as the landscape outside transforms with the change of seasons, providing different perspectives.

Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Art Museum

CODED NATURE II ON THE CHANEL CULTURE FUND’S “THE WINDOW”

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From December 2nd, 2024, to March 2nd, 2025, Dutch artist-duo DRIFT will take over the display of CHANEL Culture Fund’s public art initiative “The Window”, showcasing the latest iteration of the duo’s Coded Nature series for the first time to the public. This artwork is the result of a long process of in-depth research into natural patterns, and is inspired by DRIFT’s previous live installation in The Shed (New York, US).

Available to be seen 24-hours a day, “The Window” is a site-specific public art project by CHANEL Culture Fund that showcases compelling contemporary digital artworks, offering passers-by a chance to interact with this ever-evolving genre. “The Window” breaks down barriers between art and life, and invites the public to use art as a tool to reflect the role that the digital plays in our daily lives. Placed on the facade of the historic Time & Life building in London (1 Bruton Street), the installation carries on the building’s artistic heritage which dates back to Henry Moore’s specially commissioned friezes that were seamlessly integrated into the architecture. Previous artists featured on “The Window” include Refik Anadol, LuYang, Sarah Meyohas, amongst others.

Shy Society at Palazzo Strozzi

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DRIFT was commissioned to create a site-specific, outdoor installation for the Renaissance courtyard of Palazzo Strozzi. Revealed on October 23rd, 2024, Shy Society transforms the courtyard into an immersive stage for a performance that merges art, nature, and technology.

Shy Society is accompanied by an evocative soundtrack by the contemporary American composer RZA. The installation is an invitation to reimagine the historical context of Palazzo Strozzi as a new and evocative place of exploration, where each visitor becomes an active protagonist in an immersive and multisensory experience that allows us to reconsider our relationship with nature and the space around us.

The installation runs from October 23rd 2024 till January 26th 2025. The project is part of the program Palazzo Strozzi Future Art, developed by Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi and Fondazione Hillary Merkus Recordati. Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi Public Supporters: Comune di Firenze, Regione Toscana, Città Metropolitana di Firenze, Camera di Commercio di Firenze. Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi Private Supporters: Fondazione CR Firenze, Intesa Sanpaolo, Fondazione Hillary Merkus Recordati, Comitato dei Partner di Palazzo Strozzi. 

For the collaboration to the Shy Society project, thanks to: Jerome Hadey and Villa Lena Foundation. Photo of the installation by Ela Bialkowska, OKNOstudio.

Photo by Ludovica Arcero, Saywho