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The 4th International symposium on media arts and design, entitled Syntopia. 

As the name suggests, Syntopia is a coming-together of people, objects, practices, and ideas at a specific place and time. Over the course of two days, the event aims to foster collaboration among artists, media practitioners, academics, and beyond by providing a platform that encourages interaction across established boundaries––boundaries that may, in turn, give rise to unexpected connections.

The 2025 edition is centered around the notion of Entangled Agencies, examining how media arts and design respond to a world increasingly woven by complex relations–between bodies and machines, environments and technologies, humans and the more-than-human. This year’s symposium highlights interdisciplinary and experimental practices that engage listening, touch, temporality, and transformation as ways to understand and shape our becoming.

We’ll explore topics like media ecologies, synthetic biology, machine collaboration, and sonic culture––offering a space to imagine new modes of connection and co-creation across art, science, and society. Expect a vibrant mix of research, artistic experiments, and thought-provoking discussions.

Hosted by the Media Arts and Design Program, Faculty of Fine Arts, Chiang Mai University, Syntopia continues its mission to support academic research, artistic exploration, and rethinking the boundaries of the creative economy in an increasingly troubled and globally connected world.