were presented in Beijing as part of an international platform exploring the intersections of art, design, and technology. The exhibition connected diverse voices and highlighted the power of creativity to bridge cultures in times of change.
Presented in Beijing during the X-Lab Future Theatre Exhibition, Tanchev’s works stood within a global dialogue where creativity bridges art and technology. The event gathered international artists and studios, offering new ways to imagine the future of performance.
In 2021, Petko Tanchev’s work was presented at the X-Lab Future Theatre Exhibition, part of the 751 International Design Festival during Beijing Design Week. The festival’s theme, “Hyper_Connection – Design x Tech x Society,” invited artists, designers, and institutions to explore the role of creativity as a connective force in an age of transformation.
Curated by Professor Fei Jun of the China Central Academy of Fine Arts, the exhibition brought together 57 artists and collectives, with more than 100 works and projects spanning interactive installations, immersive art, and interdisciplinary research. Over nine days, the event attracted an extraordinary audience: half a million onsite visitors, one million online participants, nearly half a million live-stream viewers, and an overall reach surpassing 150 million.
Tanchev’s contribution included archival presentations from several large-scale productions: the aerial shows Arc and Elevate developed in Dublin; the theatre performance Odysseus of Plovdiv Drama Theatre; and the opera concerts Doors of Dream and Carmina Burana of State Opera Plovdiv. Displayed in the broader framework of Future Theatre, these works revealed his ongoing exploration of immersive scenography, where stage, image, and technology merge into transformative environments.
Since its foundation in 2011, the 751 International Design Festival has become one of the most significant platforms of Beijing Design Week, connecting world-renowned designers, cultural institutions, and brands. The 2021 edition, held at the industrial complex of 751 D·Park, reaffirmed the festival’s mission to serve as a stage for international exchange and as a site for bold, future-oriented experimentation.
The exhibition presented Tanchev’s works alongside a wide range of international contributions, providing an overview of contemporary approaches to theatre, opera, and live performance. The selection offered insight into how these forms engage with technology and design within the broader framework of the festival’s theme, Hyper_Connection.
For further details, you can download the complete list of participating artists [here] and access the full collection of media reports about the exhibition [here].