Pictoplasma Conference 2024

This spring, the Pictoplasma Conference in Berlin celebrates 20 years of love for characters and their creators and will be the epicenter for artists, illustrators, filmmakers, and designers creating the characters of tomorrow.

Over the past two decades the Berlin-based project has promoted a uniquely playful and interdisciplinary investigation of new visual worlds in the digital age, served as a lively forum for a growing international community. It has redefined the boundaries of contemporary character representation. To pay tribute to our coming of age, next May 1st to 5th, Pictoplasma awaits all international character creators and connoisseurs for a specially immersive program of awe-inducing artist presentations and back-to-back conference lectures, freshly hatched animations illuminating the big screen, numerous hands-on workshops, endless fun, inspiration, and loads of confetti …

This year’s festival focuses on its Character Archives, looking back at the project’s radical start as an online archive in the year 2000, which led to best-selling book compilations and the ongoing festival, and reflecting on the practice of collecting, curating, and promoting contemporary character design and art. An exhibition revisits the tens of thousands of character designs collected by Pictoplasma—making explicit the Zeitgeist and visions of the future inherent in the creators imaginations at the time. Panels, networking events, and conversations connect attendees, industry reps, protagonists of the early years, and new talents. Workshops invite the international attendees to get hands on and unleash creative energy. Animation screenings present up to 80 animated shorts in four programs. In addition, highlights from the 1,500 shorts screened in the past 20 years are on show. The central conference features 20 artists creating the characters of the hour, who also showcase their art in the established Character Walk exhibition tour.

For the first time, the conference lectures are being streamed live to reach a global audience.

Get your ticket or register for live stream!

When?
Wednesday, May 1st to Sunday, May 5th, 2024

Where?
Silent Green
Gerichtstr. 35
13347 Berlin

The featured speakers include:
Ana Seixas, BORA, Christopher Rutledge, Clémentine Bal, En Iwamura, Genie Espinosa, Grip Face, Hattie Stewart, Joe Bennett, Joseph Melhuish, Ariadna Galaz and Jorge Peralta, Mila Useche, Oskars Pavlovskis, Parn Aniwat, Peter The Roman