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Join us for an insightful talk by artist, researcher, and lecturer Mark Farid, as he presents his latest project, Invisible Voice. In this talk, Farid will focus exclusively on Invisible Voice, a groundbreaking initiative that exposes the hidden power structures and business practices behind the websites and companies we engage with daily.
Invisible Voice is an innovative digital arts and research project, developed over three-plus years with support from multiple European Commission Horizon grants, a residency with HacTe, and the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. It features a browser extension, a mobile app, and an interactive public art installation designed to empower individuals to align their online activities with their ethical values. By leveraging the platform, participants can express their political views and take action on issues ranging from environmental impacts and human rights to corporate accountability and workers' rights.
The project provides a digital infrastructure for users to boycott, endorse, vote, comment, or switch to alternative websites, all while preserving their privacy. In this way, Invisible Voice seeks to repurpose online advertising methodologies for meaningful social impact, identifying and mobilizing local communities around shared causes.
Looking ahead, the future vision for Invisible Voice is to develop a robust, cross-device platform that acts as a catalyst for social change by connecting individuals and organizations around shared goals, values, and geographic locations. This next phase aims to transform Invisible Voice into a new form of "union"—not limited to workers, but a "union for people" that unites individuals based on their passions, from corporate accountability to renters' rights. The platform will be designed to connect users not only by shared issues but also by geographic proximity, fostering strong community-based networks that can mobilize for collective action—whether through legal challenges, direct lobbying, or media influence.
At its core, Invisible Voice aims to provide the tools and infrastructure needed to hold power to account, alter narratives, and drive meaningful societal change. Farid’s work consistently challenges how technology influences identity and power, and Invisible Voice is a continuation of that exploration. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with a thought-provoking vision of how we can reshape the digital landscape for social good.
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Mark Farid is an Artist, Researcher, and Lecturer in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London. He specialises in the intersection of the virtual and physical world, and the effect new technologies have on the individual and their sense of self. Farid's work embodies hacker ethics, such as a focus on privacy policies, use of surveillance technologies, and campaigning for data privacy and protection. His work forms a critique of social, legal, and political models.
Farid graduated from Kingston University, London, with a First Class (Hons) degree in Fine Art (2014), and has since given talks and participated in group and solo exhibitions in England, France, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Finland, Slovenia, UAE, and Japan. He gave a TEDx talk in 2017 about his first two projects “Data Shadow” (2015), and “Poisonous Antidote” (2016). Farid was selected for the Sundance Institute's 'New Frontier' Fellowship in Utah, USA (2016), for his VR project, “Seeing I”. "Seeing I" was piloted as a solo exhibition at Ars Electronica Digital Arts Festival (2019), and was selected for the European Media Artist Residency Exchange, as part of the Creative Cultures Programme of the European Union (2020/21). In 2022, Farid secured Horizon Europe Research and Innovation funding from the European Commission to develop his browser extension "Invisible Voice”, which was later presented at the Pompidou Centre, FR (2022). In 2023-24, he received ST+ARTS funding from the European Commission to expand "Invisible Voice" into a mobile app, a cross-device platform, and an interactive artwork, which was exhibited at Ars Electronica Digital Arts Festival in 2024.
Farid's work has garnered global media attention, with features on BBC2, Fox News, Sky News, France24, Arte, BBC Radio 4, BBC 5Live, Times Radio, The Telegraph, and The Guardian, among others. He is a regular contributor to discussions on art and technology.
PUBLIC SHOWINGS
Farid has presented his work at institutions including: Sundance Institute (USA), Pompidou Centre (FR), Barbican Centre (UK), Ars Electronica Digital Arts Festival (AT), International Symposium of Electronic Art (FR), National Gallery of Denmark (DK), Strasbourg Biennale of Contemporary Art (FR), Design Zentrum Hamburg (DE), CPH:DOX (DK), arebyte Gallery (UK), and many others.
FUNDING & PARTNERSHIPS
Farid has received funding and partnered with institutions including: The European Commission (EU), the Creative Cultures Programme of the European Union (EU), Arts Council England (UK), the University of Cambridge (UK), the National Theatre (UK), the Sundance Institute (USA), New York University (UAE), University of the Arts London (UK), Ravensbourne University (UK), Gazelli Art House (UK), arebyte Gallery (UK), Collusion (UK), Body>Data>Space (UK), CPH:DOX (DK), and many more.
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