Memefest 2024

In times of metaverses, deep fakes, astrology, flat-earthers and conspiracy theories, once again we raise the old question: what is true? Because it seems that there are no certainties anymore. Because in turbulent times, an ironic distance seems to be the only possible option. Because it is increasingly difficult for us to separate the physical from the virtual.

We’ll also be asking what we have become thanks to app filters, and the obsession with aesthetics and the perfect image. On this journey to understanding who we are and where we are, and what is real and what made up, we’ll be visiting our digital past: what first made us laugh, and what our first virtual refuges were. Perhaps in these corners of digital nostalgia we’ll find some ideas to continue believing in the Internet that we want.

19.00 | The New Digital Awakening
With Judit Martín

The Internet has become a breeding ground for the proliferation of lies that seem to be truths and truths that seem to be lies. Comic actress Judit Martín will instruct us in the most inspiring and deluded conspiracy theories circulating in cyberspace, and help us find a convincing explanation of what’s going on.

 

19.30 | History, Horoscopes and Other Truths
With Charcastrology and Puto Mikel

What is the truth, and what role does it play in social media today? An open debate between PutoMikel, Doctor of Archaeology and pop populariser who uses memes and humour to explain historical facts, and Charcastrology, an astrologer who defines herself as an internet witch. Between History books and memes, what do we believe in? What can we believe, and how has the flood of digital content we are exposed to changed our sense of reality?

 

20.00 | El cos de la veritat
With Mar Vallverdú and Rita Rakosnik

The photos we publish, the references we have and the aesthetic canons imposed on us determine not only the way we project ourselves online, but also our physical presence. Experts in digital culture and trends Mar Vallverdú and Rita Rakosnik will be talking to us about the impact of living inside, outside and among screens. How do we relate to our bodies affected by the filters and TikTok videos of skincare routines? Are we able to differentiate our physical body from its virtual twin?

 

20.30 | The End of Internet
With Venga Monjas

The palpitating rate of the internet speeds us up and makes us uncomfortable. Not a day goes by that we don’t fantasize about closing all of our social networks and abandoning our digital lives forever. But imagine that the internet were to end: what would you do, and what would you salvage from it?

At Memefest we (still) believe in digital culture and this year we want to pay tribute to the digital folklore that made us happy: memes, gifs, Tumblrs, blogs, chat groups, YouTube videos and other corners of “our” internet. Venga Monjas, the comic duo formed by Esteban Navarro and Xavier Daura, will wax nostalgic as they tell us about their digital points of reference. They and other surprise guests that we’ll discover throughout the evening of Memefest embark on a journey to an internet that no longer exists as such, but may hold many ideas worth recovering.