Coding for Curators & Co.
Two hands-on workshop days led by artists Julia Schicker and Sarah Friend for curators, cultural workers, and the code-curious. Take part in one or both, it’s up to you.
Digital art is built on code. But while many artists write it, curators and cultural workers are often expected to navigate software-based practices without ever having the chance to explore what’s under the hood. Coding for Curators & Co. is here to change that—offering a clear, approachable entry point into the world of programming and digital infrastructure.
Led by artists Julia Schicker and Sarah Friend, who work extensively with code, this workshop is designed for curators, exhibition makers, producers, and arts professionals with little to no prior coding experience. Whether you work with digital art regularly or are just starting to engage with it, you’ll gain the technical literacy to ask better questions, plan smoother exhibitions, and collaborate more confidently with artists.
You can join either one or both days—it’s entirely up to you. If you’re attending only Day 2, you’ll receive a brief overview of Day 1’s key concepts so you can follow along with ease.
Day 1 – Foundations of Code and Digital Art Infrastructure with Julia Schicker
An accessible introduction to how code shapes digital artworks and the practical implications:
- How the web works: Understanding the “frontend” (what you see in the browser) and “backend” (servers, databases, cloud storage)
- Core coding concepts: HTML, CSS, JavaScript basics, and what terms like loop, library, and API really mean
- Tools and workflows: How artists build software-based works and what curators need to know to support them
- Practical applications: Identifying technical requirements, estimating installation needs, and considering conservation and archivability from the start
Includes live demos, hands-on exercises, and examples from contemporary digital art practice.
Day 2 – Algorithms, Interactivity, and Curatorial Strategy with Sarah Friend
Building on the Day 1 foundation (or a short catch-up for new arrivals), this day focuses on how more advanced code-based concepts intersect with curatorial thinking:
- The software stack(s): How code works in the cloud and connects to external services and hardware
- Algorithms in context: From generative art to machine learning to vibe coding—how software development is changing
- Interactivity and user experience: Understanding how artworks respond to audiences and environments
- Exhibition and archive planning: How to evaluate technical feasibility, anticipate maintenance, and collaborate effectively with artists and developers
Hands-on activities will invite you to explore these systems in a practical, approachable way.
Who are these workshops for?
- Curators and cultural workers involved in digital or software-based art
- Producers, registrars, and exhibition managers working with technically complex installations
- Art professionals who want to develop their coding literacy for smoother collaborations
- Anyone in the arts who is curious about code but unsure where to start
- No prior coding knowledge is required.
Bring your laptop and curiosity—we’ll provide the rest.
Sarah Friend is an artist, researcher, and software developer from Canada and currently based in Berlin, Germany. Her work explores games, economics, and the self via engagement with emerging technology. She has taught at the graduate and undergraduate level, as well as various para-academic spaces, including HEAD Genevé (Switzerland), Rupert (Lithuania), La Plateforme (France), the Akademie der Bildenden Künste Nürnberg (Germany), and Gray Area (San Francisco, USA). In 2022, she was a visiting professor at The Cooper Union in New York.
Julia Schicker is an artist and software developer based in Basel, Switzerland. She holds a BA in Media Arts from the Zurich University of the Arts and an MFA in Fine Arts from LUCA School of Arts Brussels as well as a BSc in Computer Science from ETH Zurich. Together with Anna Flurina Kälin she curates the Art & Computer Science artist talks at the Department of Computer Science at ETH Zurich. She is a guest teacher at the Institute Art Gender Nature at FHNW Basel since 2021, where she focuses on emergent technologies, their functioning and their impacts. In 2025, she will also start teaching coding in the Art:ificial Studies MFA at ZHdK. In collaboration with the House of Electronic Arts in Basel, she conceptualised and held various talks and workshops on the topic of blockchain technologies and their uses in the field of art. In her personal work and research she delves into the workings and structures of Web3 and artificial intelligence, reflecting on networks and how to decentralise entities.