Exploring New Realities & Immersive Storytelling
Estela Oliva is a director, artist and curator working across digital and immersive whose work is inspired by the impact of new technologies and the internet in human behaviour, society and our surroundings. She creates hybrid environments in which the physical and the virtual blend, unfolding connected stories and cerebral experiences. These projects come to life in a variety of formats such as experiences, installations, experiments, programmes, performances and films.
With extensive experience in the digital and tech sectors, her journey includes several years working for Google UK, leading the digital team at Somerset House and other ventures as a cultural entrepreneur, producing visionary projects such as digital culture festival and agency Alpha-ville and the groundbreaking event series New Rituals at London's Barbican Centre.
As a multi-skilled director, she has produced a wide array of projects spanning festivals, exhibitions, campaigns and digital projects for brands, cultural institutions and non-profits such as Instagram, Sedition, Red Cross, Barbican, United Nations, BBC and Google.
Estela currently works independently as a creative director and producer, alongside her artistic practice under her name as well as the pseudonym of CLON. Estela's art has been exhibited internationally including Sonar (Barcelona, Lisboa and Hong Kong), MUTEK (Montreal, Buenos Aires), Immersiva (Mexico), MMMAD (Madrid) and many more. Estela is the founder and director of Unform Ltd - an agency and creative studio working across digital services, products and immersive art experiences.
Estela is based in London and is part of the Somerset House Exchange creative community.
CONTACT: eoliva [at] gmail dot com
CV
Selected Artist Exhibitions
2024
Echoes of Reality, Drone Walkthrough (music by Nait Saves) -Peckham Digital Festival, London (UK)
2023
Azabache Live AV with Ana Quiroga at Festival Margenes, Casa Encendida, Madrid (Spain)
Echoes of Reality, Drone Walkthrough (music by Nait Saves) - Aesthetica Short Film Festival, Official Selection, York (UK)
Lands of Ajaks (music by Ana Quiroga) - A Night with Richie Hawtin, Nuit Sonores, Bozar (Brussels)
Space Zero (0,0,0) Bienal de Musica de Cordoba (Argentina)
AZABACHE AV with Ana Quiroga - 17 June - Sonar Festival Barcelona
META AV by CLON and Ana Quiroga - 31 Mar - Sonar Lisboa
Live AV performance with Ana Quiroga. Fundraising concert curated by Psyche Tropes and Iklectik.
2022
META AV at Futur.Shock, FOLD London
Echoes of Reality in collab with Nait Saves. MUTEK Argentina, Artlab
Unity /Unidade with Ana Quiroga, immersive installation. Walk&Talk 2022. Arquipelago Centro des Artes. Azores, Portugal.
2021
META AV with Ana Quiroga and TSDOMS VR installation. ADAF - Athens Digital Arts Festival, Greece.
The Maze by CLON, screening as part of Showreel 2021, Mayfair Art Weekend, London
SPACE ZERO (0,0,0) immersive space for MMMAD (Madrid Digital Arts Festival) curated by Hyperstudio
2020
JANMAR B17 screening curated by ThePhotoPhore for ADAF (Athens Digital Arts Festival)
The Maze for Mitologias Futuras virtual tour for Currents.fr curated by Joaquina Salgado and QoA.
2019
TSDOMS (Extended Reality) feat NWRMNTC at Ø by Huperdub, Corsica Studios, Immersiva at Centro de Cultura Digital (MX), Centro Cultural Kirchner MUTEK (Buenos Aires, AR), Espacio Fundacion Telefonica Lima (PE)
META, AV performance with NWRMNTC at Sonar Hong Kong (China), Mirage Festival, Lyon (France), MUTEK Montreal, MUTEK Argentina, Espacio Fundacion Telefonica Lima (PE), She Makes Noise (ES), MIRA Festival (Barcelona)
2018
Janmar B17 screening as part of Aberrations, curated by Lucas Gutierrez at Gallery Irrgang (Berlin)
Janmar B17, screenings at Art Futura Festival (London, Madrid)
META prototype presentation with NWRMNTC at Keroxen Festival, Tenerife (Spain)
TSDOMS, VR installation at Somerset House Studios (London)
2017
Janmar B17, screening at Barbican Centre (London)
Talks & Public Appearances
28/02/2020
Guest Lecture, MA Interaction Design London College Communication
Guest lecture on speculative fiction, games and virtual reality.
19/09/2019
Immersive Experiences Masterclass Fundacion Telefonica Peru
Presenting work as CLON during the Amplify event at Fundacion Telefonica Lima.
07/05/2018
Immersive Dome One Day Workshop at Plymouth University iDAT
Workshop and talk at the University of Plymouth, iDAT fulldome space to test their facilities and gave a talk about my work in immersive environments.
12/04/2019
Sonar+D Hong Kong - Decoding Collaboration in Immersive Digital Art
An open conversation with NWRMNTC and MetaObjects on the present and future of immersive digital arts installations and performances from the perspective of artists, producers, technologists and curators as part of Sonar+D Hong Kong.
12/03/2019
Talk with Ana Quiroga at PointBlank Music School
Talk on recent audiovisual collaborations with musician Ana Quiroga, focusing on our AV project META. Talk as part of celebration of Womens Day at PountBlank Music School curated by Nina Kehagia.
23/11/2018
Art Futura London
Presenting CLON as part of Art Futura London.
08/10/2018
Beyond Numbers, Sussex Humanities Lab (Brighton)
Celebrating women, non-binary and transgender scientists, artists, musicians, researchers and thinkers whose works are based on scientific, technological and/or mathematical methods. Curated by Ioann Maria Stacewicz and Dr Sharon Webb of the SHL Sussex Humanities Lab.
02/10/2018
York Mediale: Stories of Solitude Symposium (York)
I did a talk on "Reality, Fiction and Subversion in Digital Art Experiences" part of the York Mediale 2018, curated by Dr Eirini Nedelkopoulou and York Mediale. The event explored the artistic, social and philosophical potential of being alone, as well as its many challenges in an increasingly digital world.
05/09/2018
ARS ELECTONICA: Gallery Spaces (Linz)
"Beyond Patronage: Artists and Experimental Monetization." Curated by Lindsay Howard of Kickstarter. The goal of the panel is to explore ways that artists can make a living beyond the white cube.
04/05/2018
MIRA Festival Berlin (Berlin)
Moderating the MIRA Digital Arts Festival Berlin conferences at Funkhaus Berlin.
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Curatorial & Director Work
2023
Immersive Art Salon at Sage Gateshead (UK)
Immersive Assembly Vol3 at Mediale (UK)
2022
New Rituals at Barbican Centre (London)
2018
New Rituals at Barbican Centre (London)
Nocturnal City III, Somerset House Studios (London)
2017
AV Concerts, Barbican Centre (London)
Nocturnal City, Mutek Montreal Edition (Quebec, Canada)
Nocturnal City II, Somerset House Studios (London)
Nocturnal City, Somerset House Studios (London)
The Garden of Virtual Utopias, Art Night (London)
2016
Instagram Discover Your Story, Tate Modern (London)
Studio 01 exhibition at Somerset House Studios (London)
Somerset House Studios Launch (London)
Into the Wild: Decoding the Creative Journey, Somerset House (London)
New Realities, Fundación Telefónica Lima (Peru)
2015
Beyond Music & Arts, Mobile World Centre, Barcelona (Spain)
IOTORAMA, Connected Beings Exhibition, Barcelona (Spain)
2014
Dream:ON Screening, Goethe Institut (London)
New Realities Exhibition, Mobile World Centre (Barcelona)
Music + Arts, Mobile World Centre (Barcelona)
Exchange, Creative Conference by Alpha-ville, Rich Mix (London)
2013
Ryoichi Kurokawa, AV concert curated by Alpha-ville, BFI Southbank, (London)
2012 and earlier
Alpha-ville LIVE, AV concerts, Hackney Empire, (London) 2012
Unfinity, Alpha-ville Festival (London) 2012
From Digital to Post-digital, Alpha-ville Festival of Digital Arts, Music and Culture (London) 2011
Visionary Cities, Alpha-ville Festival, Whitechapel Gallery and Rich Mix, London, 2010
Residencies
Press & Publications
ArtLab (Argentina, Online) 2021-22
Somerset House Studios (London) May 2017-June 2018.
Heima Arts, (Seydisfjordour, Iceland) Jul-Sep 2017
*Please contact for extended CV or full work experience.
CLOT x Cluster Node - Conversation part 1
LIA: Painting with code (Interview for Sedition art, online)
Immersive Technologies and Digital Games for School Disaster Preparedness (Research paper, online)
Interview with Run Riot on Nocturnal City (online)
Interview with Zetteler for Into The Wild (online)
What are the new rituals of post-internet culture? Run Riot (online)
New Rituals at the Barbican (online)
New Realities, exhibition publication (print)