Kaushal, V., 2024.

HomoBloc Festival

Homobloc is a significant cultural event within Manchester's LGBTQ+ nightlife, operating at the intersection of digital performance, spatial practice, and community engagement. As artist-in-residence, my role extends beyond video design to developing immersive environments that integrate live video, biofeedback, and responsive stage design. This research explores the interplay between digital media, performance, and audience participation, contributing to wider discourses on interactive and performative systems.

The project employs cybernetic principles to create dynamic, feedback-driven environments where digital interventions and live performance coalesce. By integrating physical performers, audience engagement mechanisms, and large-scale visual compositions, the work interrogates the role of digital media in shaping collective experiences. This practice-led research extends beyond aesthetic concerns, positioning immersive technologies as instruments for fostering identity, belonging, and social cohesion.

Homobloc also plays a critical role within Manchester's nighttime economy and LGBTQ+ cultural infrastructure. The event collaborates with charities and grassroots organizations, ensuring its impact extends beyond entertainment to activism and community support. With over 20,000 attendees, it serves as a large-scale case study for examining the intersection of digital art, spatial experience, and community formation.

This research advances contemporary understandings of participatory environments within urban nightlife, offering insights into how digital technologies mediate shared social spaces. Through the integration of performance, architecture, and technological innovation, this work contributes to discourse on the transformative potential of immersive, research-led artistic practices.