After three days of talks, speculative demos, and the (occasional) existential question about technology’s role in our lives, DEMO2025’s first round of programming ended the only way it could: with a cathartic, communal dance party. Hosted just around the corner from the multi-day art, design, and tech festival’s HQ—where guests might have caught Collina Strada creator Hillary Taymour talking about brand-driven environmentalism or tuned into a discussion from the Critics’ Table on the state of art criticism—the closing celebration at Water Street Projects blended academic experimentation with techno-bacchanal.
Kicking off at golden hour, DJ Honey Bun eased the room into a steady groove. By the time musical duo OSSX (EQUISS and Lektor Scopes) hit the decks, the floor was packed with technologists, artists, and creatives alike until DJ Niidal closed the night with buzzing bass.
The host list provided a cross-disciplinary roster of New York changemakers, including multi-hyphenate creative Bobbi Salvör Menuez, art startup founder Charlie Jarvis, architect Dong-Ping Wong, artist Kennedy Yanko, design collective MSCHF, musician Taja Cheek, and writer Whitney Mallett. As cocktails flowed, experts in speculative fiction, finance, art, and futurism mingled and bobbed along to the music, while the sun slid behind the East River and the festival’s opening slate of programming came to an end.
DEMO2025 will continue through June 22, with Track Showcases available to view at 180 Maiden Lane each Wednesday through Sunday, 12:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m.
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