About Darsha
Darsha Hewitt uses installations, illustrations, how-to videos, Fluxus strategies, jewelry making, DIY electronics, photography, and experimental pedagogy to investigate the material politics of music (and sound), with a focus on empowerment within technological environments.
Working through a media-archaeological lens, she deconstructs disregarded domestic technologies to expose systemic power dynamics embedded in socio-technical infrastructures. Her practice renders these forces tangible and opens pathways for reclaiming, repurposing, and rethinking technological practice and the relations between humans, ecology, and infrastructure, often extending these questions outward through participatory formats that invite diverse publics into the work.
Commissions such as Turboschnalzlautsprecherrennen (Urbane Künste Ruhr, 2024) and Popcorn Ausbildung (ZKM, DE / WRO Centre, PL, 2025) take the form of sonic happenings in which repair culture, collective making, and shared experience become the medium. Participants interpret technical illustrations, build sound-generating electronics, make jewelry from e-waste, and eat together, transforming the presentation setting into a site of exchange, skill-sharing, and communal discovery. Works such as Anleitung zum Anhören Kaputter Musik (Kunstmuseum Bochum) and Klangbastelkoffer extend this approach, oscillating between exploratory listening, physics experiment, craft project, and art education.
Alongside reverse engineering, restoration, and aesthetic experimentation with decomposing music technology, Darsha engages with diverse technical communities, among them retired engineers and technicians, to learn disappearing techniques, integrating these methods into her practice and sharing them within the broader art and technology milieu. With a feminist hacker ethos, she is known internationally for her DIY electronics workshops and experimental YouTube tutorials that demystify technology, and has been profiled at Chaos Computer Congress, in Make: magazine, and in Garnet Hertz’s Art + DIY Electronics (MIT Press, 2023).
Her academic appointments include Artistic Associate in Media Art and Design at Bauhaus University, Guest Faculty in Sound Studies and Sonic Arts at the Berlin University of the Arts, and guest professorships in New Media at Kunsthochschule Kassel and in Sound at Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design. She currently lectures at the University of Art Linz and is part of the Max Residency Program (Stiftung Brandenburger Tor), working from an atelier in a primary school where she develops experimental sound work with and for children.
Her work has been presented internationally at Ars Electronica (AT), Zagreb Museum of Contemporary Art (HR), MU Artspace (NL), Museum of Arts and Design (USA), Hartware MedienKunstVerein (DE), Gaîté Lyrique (FR), Deichtorhallen (DE), Modern Art Oxford (UK), and transmediale / CTM Festival Berlin (DE), among others. She is a recipient of stipends from Stiftung Kunstfonds, Edith-Russ-Haus für Medienkunst, Akademie der Künste, the Berlin Senate Department for Culture, and the Canada Council for the Arts.
Selected Exhibitions, Performances, Presentations...
- Title TBA, Museum Neuruppin (DE)
- Title TBA, Grand Snail Tour / Urbane Künste Ruhr, Hattingen (DE)
- Title TBA, Les Ateliers Belleville, Montreal
- Popcorn Training, Instrumentarium — WRO Art Center, Wroclaw (PL)
- Popcorn Ausbildung / Performance Workshop / Hertzlab – ZKM (DE)
- HOW WE MET / Exhibition / Kunstmuseum Bochum (DE)
- The Deluge / Exhibition / Am Flutgraben e.V. – Berlin Art Week Feature (DE)
- Total Babes / Exhibition / The Hafnarfjörður Centre of Culture and Fine Art (IS)
- Total Screen Time: Brainrot / Exhibition / Panke Gallery (DE)
- Sound Arguments / Lecture Performance / Orpheus Institute (BE)
- Turboschnalzlautsprecherrennen / public sound intervention / Urbane Künste Ruhr – Grand Snail Tour (DE)
- Fin et début / Einde en begin / Exhibition / iMAL (BE)
- HiFi to LoFi Continuum / Listening Session / iMAL + Q-02 (BE)
- Keynote Lecture / New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME) – GAUDEAMUS Festival (NL)
- Material Lo-Fi Imaginaries – Workshop with Claire Williams / iMal (BE)
- SCI_ART – Panel Discussion + Listneing Session / SAW Center + Artengine (CA)
- CTM HackLab – Co-Facilitator/Curator, CTM Festival / Radial System (DE)
- Kunst und Technik Preis – exhibition Kunstverein Heidenheim — Hanns-Voith-Stiftung, Heidenheim (DE)
- Mini Teilchenbeschleuniger AV Experiment – Workshop, Kunsthalle Osnabrück (DE)
- Tech Rider’s Dilemma – exhibition – Marginal (RO)
- High Fidelity Wasteland III, Goldstein Galerie, Frankfurt am Main (DE) /Solo Exhibition
- Sonica Festival, Museum of Transitory Art, Ljubljana (SL)
- 20 Oscillators in 20 Minutes, Künstlerhaus Dortmund (DE)
- What Comes MEX,Künstlerhaus Dortmund (DE)
- Kampnagel + Deichtorhallen – Residency Host (DE)
- How to Beam! Exhibition @ Kampnagel + Deichtorhallen – Curator (DE)
- Reverso, WRO Media Art Biennale, Wrocław (PL)
- Device Art, KONTEJNER, Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb (HR)
- Werkleitz Festival, Halle (Saale) (DE)
- EMAP Garden: Move to…ecosphere, Ars Electronica, Linz (AU)
- Digital Ist Besser, Städtischen Galerie, Villingen-Schwenningen (DE)
- High Fidelity Wasteland II, Global Forest, St. Georgen (DE)/Solo Exhibition
- Feedback McLuhan and the Arts, Museum für Kommunikation Frankfurt (DE)
- Transmediale, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin (DE)
- Computer GRRRLS, MU Eindhoven (NL)
- Carbon and Light, Ottawa Art Gallery (KA)
- Computer GRRRLS, Gaîté Lyrique, Paris (FR)
- Sideman 5000 Listening Session, Hartware Medienkunstverein, Dortmund (DE)
- What if it Wont Stop Here, Archiv Books, Berlin (DE)
- Computer GRRRLS, Hartware MedienKunstVerein, Dortmund (DE)
- Requiem for a Failed State, Auf AEG, Nürnberg (DE)
- Sound Effects Festival, ARKO Arts Council Korea (SK)
- Requiem for a Failed State, Leipzig Halle14 (DE)
- Feedback: Marshall McLuhan & the Arts, West Den Haag (NL)
- Close, Never Closer, Universität der Künste Berlin (DE)
- Sonic Arcade: Shaping Space with Sound, Museum of Art and Design, New York, NY (US) 2017 Microwave Festival, Hong Kong City Hall (HK)
- Future Flux Festival, RDM Submarine Warf, Rotterdam (NL)
- Piratebloc Radio: In Situ, Eastern Bloc, Montreal (QC)
- The Watch, Transmediale, Langenbeck-Virchow-Haus, Berlin (DE)
- SideMan 5000 Listening Session, Spektrum Berlin (DE)
- Side Man 5000 Project, FACT – Foundation for Art and Creative, Liverpool (UK)
- Kontroll-Modus Feedback, Halle14, Leipzig (DE)
- Object Mechanics, Kunstkraftwerk Leipzig (DE)
- Side Man 5000 Project, Goethe-Institut, Montreal (KA)
- 25 oscillators – 25 minutes, 32. Chaos Communication Congress, Hamburg (DE)
- 25 oscillators – 25 minutes, Frameless, München (DE)
- Lab 30, Augsburg (DE)
- Sight and Sound Festival, Montreal (KA)
- Experiments with CRT TV, Network Consciousness, Residency Unlimited, (NY)
- 25 oscillators – 25 minutes, APO33, Nantes (FR)
- European Sound Art Award, Skulpturenmuseum Marl (DE)
- Going Dark, Transmediale/Lab for Electronic Arts and Performance, Berlin (DE)
- WRO International Media Art Biennale, Wrocław (PL)
- Electrostatic Bell Choir, Blackwood Gallery, Toronto (KA)
- Electrostatic Bell Choir, Stéphanie Lagueux, SKOL, Elektra | Montreal (KA)
- 25 oscillators – 25 minutes, Piksel Festival, Bergen (NO)
- 25 oscillators – 25 minutes, Modern Art Oxford, Oxford (UK)
- Electrostatic Bell Choir, Edith-Russ-Haus für Medienkunst, Oldenburg (DE)
- Electrostatic Bell Choir, Pulverturm Oldenburg (DE)
- 25 oscillators – 25 minutes, New Music Festival, Vancouver (KA)
- Deep Wireless Festival, NAISA, Toronto (KA)
- WWKA, MUTEK 12th Edition, Montreal (KA)
- Deep Wireless Ensemble, NAISA, Toronto (KA)
- WWKA, Nuit Blanche, Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (KA)
- end + Receive V.10, Winnipeg (KA)
- The Québec Triennial, Musee d’art contemporaine de Montreal (KA) 2008 My Computer, Gallery 300m3, Gothenburg (SE)
- Crosstalk, FrontGround, Galeria Manolo Rivero, Merida (MX)
- Personal Soundtrack Emitters, Video Pool, Winnipeg (KA)
- Media Povera, Ottawa Art Gallery (KA)
- Make Art Festival, Poitiers (FR)
- Damaged Goods, Piksel 2006, Bergen Center for Electronic Art (NO)
- Les racines d’Origine, Art Origine, Strasbourg (FR)
- Press Play, Interaccess, Toronto (KA)
Residencies (selected)
- KONTEJNER – European Media Arts Platform Residency, Zagreb (CR)
- Sonic Wild{er}ness, Hailuoto (FI)
- FACT – Foundation for Art and Creative Technology, Future Humans Production Residency, Liverpool (UK)
- STEIM – Studio for Electro-Instrumental Music, Research Residency, Amsterdam (NL)
- PACT Zollverein – Research Residency, Essen (DE)
- Stipendium für Junge Künstler im Bereich Sound Art, Braunschweig University for Art (DE)
- Edith-Russ-Haus für Medienkunst, Produktionsstipendium, Oldenburg (DE)
- Cultivamos Cultura, Bio-Art Research Residency, Sao Luis, (PT)
- Western Front Media Arts Society, Research Residency, Vancouver (KA)
Interviews / Catalogues / Bibliography
SELECTED Academic Publications & Book Chapters
- Hertz, Garnet. Art + DIY Electronics, Chapter 2.3: Exploration and 20 Oscillators in 20 Minutes: Technological Performance, Hedonization, and the Thrill of Impending Failure. MIT Press, 2023.
- Valiquet, Patrick. “100% Expert! Mastery and Equality in Darsha Hewitt’s Sideman 5000 Adventure.” In Jóri, A. & Lücke, M. (eds.), The ‘New’ Age of Club and Electronic Dance Music Culture. Springer Verlag, 2020.
- Hewitt, Darsha. “Meet the Machine: Sideman 5000 Edition.” Interface Critique 2, ed. Florian Hadler, Alice Soiné, Daniel Irrgang. Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg / arthistoricum.net, Heidelberg, 2019.
- Norman, SallyJane. “Mothers of Invention: An Afterword.” Contemporary Music Review, 35:1, pp. 150–160. DOI: 10.1080/07494467.2016.1176770, 2016.
- Gérin, Annie. “Perambulations: Art of Motion and the Streets of Ottawa.” In Gin, P. & Moser, W. (eds.), Cultures in Transit: Cultural Mobility in Brazil and Canada. University of Ottawa Press, 2012.
SELECTED Exhibition Catalogues & Artist Texts
- Baka, Jasa & Hjartardóttir, Petra (curators). Total Babes (Algjörar Skvísur). Hafnarborg — The Hafnarfjörður Centre of Culture and Fine Art, Hafnarfjörður (IS), 2025.
- Gaikis, Lona & Schimana, Elisabeth (eds.). Hidden Alliances / Versteckt Verbunden. Ars Electronica. Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2019.
- Arns, Inke & Lechner, Marie (eds.). Computer Grrrls. HMKV Hartware MedienKunstVerein, Dortmund / La Gaîté Lyrique, Paris. Verlag Kettler, 2019.
- Langill, Caroline & Sinclaire, Catherine. Carbon + Light: Juan Geuer’s Luminous Precision. Exhibition Catalogue. Ottawa Art Gallery, 2019.
- Migone, Christof. “Hear Hear.” Blackwood Gallery — University of Toronto, 2015.
- Himmelsbach, Sabine. Edith-Ruß-Haus für Medienkunst: “Produced@”. Revolver Verlag, Berlin, 2013.
- Smith, Greg J. Invisible Forces, Domestic Rhythms. Text for Solo Exhibition, 2013.
- Migone, Christof. “WoodTwo.” Blackwood Gallery Catalogue — University of Toronto, 2013.
- De Menezes, Marta. Sul Sol — Cultivamos Cultura. Exhibition Catalogue, 2013.
- Falvey, Emily. “Electronic Blue Orchids.” In Media Povera. Ottawa Art Gallery / ABC Art Books Canada, Ottawa, 2007. Pp. 14–15, 54–57, 60.
- Cole, Crys. “Zen and the Art of Listening.” In Poolside: Nano-Mega. Videopool, Winnipeg, 2007.
SELECTED Interviews
- Smith, Greg J. “Beyond the Black Box — Darsha Hewitt on Media Archaeology and the Technology of Intimacy.” BlackFlash Magazine, Fall 2025–2026.
- “Kunst Kann die Stopptaste Drücken.” Halle 4 — Das Online Magazine der Deichtorhallen Hamburg, 2022.
- “Digitales Labor #2 — Online Hack Space für Participative Künstlerische Strategien.” HAU4, Berlin / Video Artist Talk, 2022.
- “Growth Recycling.” Werkleitz Festival / Podcast, 2021.
- Debatty, Régine. “Glitches and Vintage Baby Monitors.” We Make Money Not Art, 2014.
SELECTED Press & Reviews
- Stadel, Stefanie. “Was vor der Kirche knistert und knallt.” Kultur.West, 28 October 2024.
- McCallum, David. “Darsha Hewitt: Electronics Cowgirl.” Music Works Magazine, No. 107, Summer 2010.
- Neubert, Clara. “Mit dem Rasenmäher zur gesellschaftlichen Emanzipation.” mdr.de, 2017.
- Ludovico, Alessandro. “20 Oscillators in 20 Minutes.” Neural Magazine, Issue 53, 2016.
- Williams, Elliot. “32C3: 20 Oscillators in 20 Minutes.” HackADay, 2016.
- Kirn, Peter. “20 Oscillators in 20 Minutes is Comic Gold.” Create Digital Music, 2016.
- Walter, Moritz. “Colour Changing LED Makes Techno Music.” HackADay, 2016.
- Smith, Greg J. “Slinging Beats with Darsha Hewitt — Side Man 5000 Interview.” Creative Applications, 2015.
- Bell, Donald. “Learn Electronics from the World’s Oldest Drum Machine.” MAKE: Magazine, 2015.
- Kropiowski, Łukasz. “Do it Yourself Art — Prace Darshy Hewitt.” Artpunkt 19, 2014.