2026 PNCA Symposium: Art, Aura, and the Algorithm

This year's PNCA symposium invites the community to explore "aura," artistic presence, authenticity, and meaning, in an era shaped by artificial intelligence and algorithmic systems. Over three days, the program moves between panel discussions, a séance inspired performance, an artist led sewing circle, an interactive workshop, and keynote lecture by poet and AI researcher Sasha Stiles.Together, these events examine what algorithmic tools make possible for artists today, new forms of collaboration, generation, and expression, alongside what they may constrain or displace, from embodied presence to the unpredictability of the human hand. What happens to creative connection when making is mediated by machines, and what is gained or lost in the process?

Art, Aura & the Algorithm: PNCA's 2026 Symposium
Schedule Overview, October 1-3, 2026

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1

5-8pm
First Thursday Exhibition Openings
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• Symposium Exhibition
• Aura photographs with Aura Archive
• PTXM Artist-Led Sewing Circle
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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2

10am
Welcome & Opening Remarks

10-11:30am
Virtual Panel: Whither Aura: Profaning, Reclaiming, Preserving
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11:45am-12:30pm
AI Séance Performance
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1:30-3pm
Academic Faculty Panel: AI, Agency, and the Politics of Futurity
3-4:30pm
Creative Research Panel: BY WHOSE AUTHORITY?
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6pm-7:30pm
Keynote Lecture: Sasha Stiles (Dorothy Lemelson Lecture)
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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3

1-3pm
Workshop: WHEN LANGUAGE COMES ALIVE: A LIVING POEM WITH SASHA STILES
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