What does it mean to be human in a world where we must relate to other forms of intelligence? Audiovisual artist and composer Zeno van den Broek poses this question at a time when artificial intelligence is evolving at remarkable speed. With Ways of [ ], he creates an audiovisual composition that feels more urgent than ever. 

In Ways of [ ], Van den Broek brings humans and machines together within a single musical and visual experience. The work was composed for two ensembles — HIIIT and Percussions de Strasbourg — as well as four digital ‘musicians’: self-playing percussion machines that perform both autonomously and in live interaction with the human percussionists. 

To train these digital performers musically, Van den Broek fed their algorithms with rhythms drawn from industrial history: think steam engines, looms, and other mechanical systems. In this way, the digital players, like humans, learn from their predecessors and from the environment in which they perform. 

Ways of [ ] unfolds as an audiovisual composition that suggests the emergence of a new kind of shared intelligence. You see and hear humans and machines gradually learning to understand one another: tentative at first, then increasingly fluid. Across three largely improvised sections, the performers discover their own voices and eventually arrive at a shared musical language. 

With Ways of [ ], Van den Broek invites us to reflect on what intelligence really is, and what it means to be human. 

Practical information

Date: Saturday 12 September 2026
Address: Miriam Makebaplein 2, 9000 Ghent

Seated ticket + complimentary drink – €30

Standing ticket – free
Advance ticket reservation required.

Timing
19:00 Doors open
20:00 Concert starts
21:15 Expected end

This performance is part of OdeGand. With the support of the Embassy of the Netherlands.