Building the New Cathedrals of Art + Technology
By ARTEX Artist
Reflections on Cathedrals and the Silicon Soul and [CODAME](/orgs/codame)’s role in nurturing creative ecosystems We highly recommend reading Cathedrals and the Silicon Soul by Barry Threw and Scott Moore , published in Palladium Magazine. Peter Moore (attributed)/John Cage and Merce Cunningham’s Variations V during a television taping in 1966 The article is a timely meditation on how art, technology, and shared cultural spaces shape not only innovation, but meaning. Looking back at moments such as 9 Evenings: Theatre and Engineering and Cybernetic Serendipity , it reminds us that some of the most transformative shifts in technology emerged when artists and technologists worked side by side, supported by environments that valued curiosity, embodiment, and collective imagination. Rather than celebrating tools alone, the essay calls for the rebuilding of modern “cathedrals”: living cultural ecosystems where experimentation is protected, uncertainty is welcomed, and human values are allowed to evolve alongside machines. This perspective deeply resonates with us at CODAME . Since our founding in San Francisco in 2010, CODAME has worked — often quietly, always collaboratively — to help sustain exactly the kinds of spaces the article describes. Through our [ART+TECH Festival](/orgs/codame/events/codame-art-tech-festival-2013) , creative hackathons, performances, workshops, and installations, CODAME has consistently brought artists and technologists into shared, hands-on environments. These were not conferences or product launches, but temporary cultural commons : places to prototype ideas, relationships, and new creative languages together. We’ve supported emerging artists in experimenting with code, sensors, sound, AI, and interactive systems — not as novelty, but as material for artistic inquiry . Just as importantly, we’ve emphasized artistic ownership, open exchange of knowledge, and community-driven learning, ensuring that technology serves expression rather than defining it. Our contribution has never been about scale or spectacle. It has been about continuity — showing up year after year to create conditions where trust, experimentation, and collaboration can take root.