Launched in 2016, UNFOLD repositions reinterpretation – long embraced in dance, theatre, and music – as a necessary and generative strategy in the conservation and activation of media art. At LI-MA, we believe that preserving media art requires more than storage or migration. It demands a rethinking of what it means to transmit artistic intent, presence, and complexity to future generations.

Reinterpretation as Radical Care

At its heart, UNFOLD is not only about safeguarding media art  it is about making it live again. Every reinterpretation, whether by a contemporary artist, a student, or a collective, is an act of translation and re-activation. It’s about carrying forward the conceptual DNA of a work – its methods, questions, tensions – into the present, and offering it anew to different publics, in different times.

Initially seen as risky or “radical”, reinterpretation is increasingly recognised as a vital tool for renewing cultural memory. Scholars such as Jon Ippolito have argued that reinterpretation offers something distinct: not technical fidelity, but conceptual integrity and contextual relevance.

Through UNFOLD, reinterpretation becomes a space of shared authorship and intergenerational transfer, aligning with LI-MA’s ongoing mission: to create conditions for time-based media art to evolve, endure, and engage.

Soon enough, UNFOLD grew into a collaborative platform for research, performance, exhibition, and commissioning. It has brought together artists, scholars, programmers, students, and institutions to explore how reinterpretation can reframe the legacy of media artworks.

From Joost Rekveld’s analogue investigations of the Vasulkas’ work to Emile Zile’s and Jan Robert Leegte’s performative inquiries of Dan Grahams Audience Performance Mirror, and Vera Sofia Mota’s choreographic translations of Nan Hoover’s work, each edition and  commissioned work under UNFOLD has illuminated new paths for understanding and engaging with media art.

Notably, the 2020 edition focused on Dan Graham’s seminal performance Audience/Performer/Mirror (1977) – a conceptual performance deconstructing gaze, language, and control. Originally a minimalist, conceptual reflection on presence, perception, and power, the work became a springboard for critical reinterpretation. LI-MA invited artists Keren Cytter, Jan Robert Leegte, Miron Galić, Emile Zile, and students from the Rietveld Academie to present new versions of the work. Their responses engaged with contemporary technologies, feminist critique, and new media languages.

An accompanying exhibition featured reinterpretations by Adad Hannah, Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard, and Judith Hopf, alongside documentation from the original performance. A closing panel brought together theorists and curators, including Gabriella Giannachi (Professor in Performance and New Media, university of Exeter), Willem van Weelden (Tutor in Media Theory, Gerrit Rietveld Academie), and Annet Dekker (Assistant Professor in Media Studies, University of Amsterdam) to reflect on the legacy of the piece and the broader potential of reinterpretation.

In 2021, a hybrid festival revisiting the oeuvre of the media art pioneer Nan Hoover (1931–2008) took place. Over the course of one day, artists, experts, writers, and programmers reflected on the question: “What does it take to keep a media artwork in constant flux, continuously appropriated by artists and makers of all sorts?” The events took place live and remained online for one week.

As the UNFOLD Manifesto states, it is not enough to simply preserve media art’s physical availability – it is also necessary to ensure that media art remains understandable. Reinterpretation does not aim to imitate, but to unfold the work anew, to ask: What does this mean now? What does it mean to us?

Reinterpretation, Preservation, and the LI-MA Ethos

LI-MA’s approach to preservation has always extended beyond technical solutions, embracing an ethos of continuity through change, which ensures artistic legacies remain alive, accessible, and meaningful across time. This philosophy comes to life in UNFOLD, which actively engages multiple disciplines in dialogue, prioritises the voices and embodied knowledge of artists, and opens space for public reflection on reinterpretation as both a critical and creative act. 

Preservation, in this context, is a dynamic process of co-creation. LI-MA preserves media art not despite its inherent fragility and variability, but because of it, because these qualities offer vital insights into time, transformation, and artistic practice.

Looking Forward: Unfolding the Next Chapter

As we mark 12½ years of LI-MA, we reaffirm our commitment to long-term thinking and collective experimentation. UNFOLD is an ongoing practice, representing our dedication to shaping new infrastructures for media art preservation, ones grounded in collaboration, curiosity, and transformation. A new edition is currently in development and will unfold sometime in 2026/27.

As LI-MA continues to grow and rethink media preservation, UNFOLD remains a cornerstone. The network of collaborators formed through UNFOLD will continue to explore new methods, new case studies, and new publics for reinterpretation. Whether through performance, pedagogical labs, or digital tools, reinterpretation offers a future-facing approach to caring for complex, time-based artworks in an era of change.

LI-MA’s work is only possible through the care, curiosity, and commitment of our growing community. As we look ahead to the next 12½ years, we invite you to stand with us in preserving and activating media art for generations to come.

This project was made possible by the Mondriaan Fund and Creative Industries Fund NL.

Thumbnail: UNFOLD artwork by Bin Koh
Header: Screenshot of UNFOLD Nan Hoover platform