Hack the Barbican: A playground of arts, technology and entrepreneurship

Hack the Barbican will see site-specific projects hijack areas of the Barbican’s interior and turn them into games, performances and installations run by theatre performers, computer scientists, sculptors, hardware hackers, teachers, musicians and everything in between. Taking inspiration from hacker culture the project has been developed over a period of six months through weekly sessions open to everyone. The project community has grown to 300 people spanning all disciplines, ages and backgrounds. Each project hosted at Hack the Barbican is completely self-resourced, with its creators acting entrepreneurially to secure the materials and skills they need.

Projects in the programme include Penthouse 4C, a half-size replica of the Barbican Estate’s largest apartment reconstructed in the central foyer, confusing notions of private and public space whilst providing an iconic stage for workshops and performances; Unmoored, a weather station installed on the roof beaming data to screens throughout the centre to transform the Barbican into an airship in motion; meanwhile the Barbican’s lower level cloakroom will become the Ministry of Measurement whose bureaucratic functionaries will send members of the public scurrying off with instructions to recover data from around the centre and bring it back to be filed and processed.

Even better? You're welcome to visit Hack the Barbican seven days a week during the Barbican’s usual opening hours. There’ll be chances to visit work in progress, experience completed projects, watch performances, join talks and meet the makers. Some projects are live for the whole month, others for shorter periods. Special events and workshops will put children and young people at the heart of the action. Full programme and schedule can be found here.