INDEX – Biennial of Art and Technology has returned to Braga for its 2026 edition, bringing together artists, theorists and musicians exploring the relationship between technology and contemporary systems of power. Running through 17 May, the biennial spans exhibitions, performances and talks across the Portuguese city, with this year’s central exhibition curated by Joel Valabrega.
Valabrega’s exhibition approaches the theme of power without reducing it into generalised narratives: authority seems staged, control is represented in monstrous figures or encoded in the hum of drone recordings. The programme features work by artists including Hito Steyerl, Gabriel Abrantes, Cemile Sahin and P. Staff, alongside a major presentation by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Raven Chacon, whose work examines drone surveillance within Native American communities. The exhibition avoids providing fixed answers, prioritising quickly circulating symbolism and constantly shifting meaning.
The wider biennial programme expands these ideas through newly commissioned performances, live events and discussions, including collaborations involving Forensic Architecture, Lawrence Abu Hamdan and McKenzie Wark. Positioned at the intersection of contemporary art and technological inquiry, INDEX continues to build a platform for artists engaging with the political and psychological conditions of today’s digital culture.
