Backward Compatibility
Partner Programme
13 — 21 Sept 2025
Digital, Art / Collectibles
The term Backward Compatibility originates in software, describing an upgraded system’s ability to support earlier versions. Reimagined here as a curatorial strategy, it frames artistic practice as a process of evolution that preserves traces of the past while opening toward new possibilities.
The Backward Compatibility Project unfolds across three exhibitions, each co-curated with a leading institution and exploring a distinct dimension of compatibility—generational, technological, or linguistic: • Inner Ripple (Echoes of Material and Time) — Liu Gang • Plural Futures | A Map of Asynchronous Tomorrows (Dislocated Arrival of the Future) — MANA Global New Media Art Platform Programme Director: Yunxia Jiang Curator: Weiwei Zhang Executive Curator: Ke Bao Visual Design: Teodora Dimitrova Operations Manager: Jingyan Zhu (Ariel ), Chuhan Xiao Equipment Partner: Kitto Support from: MANA (Global New Media Art Company) and staff from the Design Department at Goldsmiths, University of London Collaborator: The Koppel Project Operation Tech Collaborator: SuperIntern (AMMO) Participant Artist: Pinyu Wu Weiyi Chen Junying Jiang Qiuwen Lyu （Luna ） Ariel Li, Peifeng Cai Nayra Jayanegara Jiawen Zin Zhang Rui Tao Yanliang Dai Ruichang Hao Weihang Zhu（Ash） Ash Xu Chanwoo Lee Jiajun Shen Yihang Bao Xinyue Ma, Alexander Collinson Tianxing Zhou, Chengkai Xu, Xinyue Yao Yutong Zhang, Esther Wu, Chen Ruan, Tianxing Zhou, Qingyao Tang Pola Pucheta, Semeli Tisarchontou, Valentina Bassanello, Qianyin Xia • A Decade in Practice | Goldsmiths Design Alumni (2013–2023) (The Blurred Boundaries of Language) — Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London Festival Organiser: London Design Festival Exhibition Organiser: Synonym Lab Equipment Partner: Kitto Academic Support: Goldsmiths Design Department Staff Collaborator: The Koppel Project Operation Tech Collaborator: SuperIntern (AMMO) Participant Artist: Nikki Gerak Betty Zeng Guoda Šulskytė Eleanor Dunlop (retropxssy) Cherrie Tong Sanchit Bembi Jieh-ming Huang (Jasmine ) Bethany Rigby Megan Lim Xiaohua Liu Ace Romanova Sophie Liu Tee Byford Zih-Jie Weng (Artemis ) Anran Duan Em—Dash (Aarushi Matiyani and Saundra Liemantoro) Backward Compatibility does not seek to retrace the past or prescribe a fixed future. Instead, it emphasizes continuity and coexistence, embracing open, plural, and non-linear connections across generations, media, and material systems.
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