Hello and welcome to bgo.la :)
TL;DR
I'm Bruno Gola, a computational artist, sound artist, live coder and programmer from Brazil based in Berlin. I mostly work with sound, code and networks creating participative performances and installations. I also teach at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK Berlin) where I am assistant professor / Künstlerische Mitarbeiter in the Generative Kunst / Computational Arts class with Prof. Alberto de Campo.
I have studied Computer Science back (way back...) in Brazil. In Berlin I got the Absolvent (2020) and Meisterschüler (2022) degrees in Art and Media from UdK.
I like to build software and hardware that create, process and stream sound in real time to explore auditory and spatial perception. I follow a very DIY practice, building my own intruments to perform live. For most of my work I rely on Free Software and Linux audio tools such as PipeWire, Gstreamer, SuperCollider, occasionally contributing with SuperCollider development. Free Software is and has always been a big part of my work and ethics.
My work has been shown at ZKM, Dystopie Sound Art Festival, ICLC, xCoAx, K3 – Zentrum für Choreographie Hamburg, Network Music Festival, Silent Green, ACUD MACHT NEU, Grrrnd Zero, Piksel Festival, Fubar Glitch Art Festival, /rosa, Spektrum, and others
In 2021 I took part of the CTM Festival 2021 in Berlin, together with S4NTP in the Kontinumm call and also of the CTM MusicMakers Hacklab program.
Also in 2021 I participated of the on-the-fly project, promoting Live Coding practices and doing a residency with Ljudmila Lab in Ljubljana, Slovenia. There I developed an installation and system for Live Coding performance.
In 2022 I released c0l1v3 as part of my Meisterschüler research. It is an experimental, non-linear, collaborative plataform for live coding and distributed performances.
In 2023 I was one of the artists in residency at ZKM as part of Sonic Spaces 2023, developing a new work on top of c0l1v3 with live coding and machine learning using SuperCollider and FluCoMa.
Also in 2023 I started working on a new project called microwebs, a framework and instrument for spatial sound live performances using smartphones. I have presented microwebs in different scenarios, from small galleries to a food farm in the mountain in Bergen, Norway. I also played microwebs and recorded a live improvisation session in Brazil with the artist Victor Negri in 2024, you can listen to it on bandcamp.
Currently I am showing a new project called Font of Possibilities in the exhibition "Copy, Paste, Waste" by Prater Galerie, until the 28th of February 2025.
You can find some of my works or follow me at, @bgola@m.muito.top, youtube, soundcloud vimeo, github, instagram.
Contact me via me@bgo.la.
BIOGRAPHY
Hacking
I was born in São Paulo, Brazil in 1987. At around 12 years old I had the privilege of having access to a computer connected to the internet in my house, and I was the only one who knew how to use it. Quickly enough I entered the world of IRC (Internet Relay Chat). Around the same time I started learning to play the guitar.
Using IRC I began writing my own mIRC scripts and later, learning about Free/Libre/Open Source Software, I decided to install GNU/Linux and get into hacking. Around 2004 I was searching for new programming tutorials and found a strange one that teached programming for beginners in both BASIC and Python. Luckly I decided to follow the Python path. At the same time I was studying to get a Linux Professional Institute certification, which I got when I turned 17 and at the time was considered the youngest person to be certified.
I got deeply involved with the brazilian Python community, organizing many events like an edition of FLISOL (Festival Latinoamericano de Instalacion de Software Libre), and helping to start the São Paulo Python Usergroup (GruPy-SP), the first Python user group in Brazil, presenting at and attending many editions of the Forum Internacional de Software Livre. I made many good friends for life because of my involvment with the hacking and free software scene and it has definetly shaped me as a programmer as well as an artist.
In 2005 I joined the Computer Science program at SENAC University in São Paulo, studying for 3 years and a half but never finishing my graduation mostly because I was already working a lot. I worked as a software developer and systems administrator until 2016. During this time I worked for the Cultura Digital project by the brazilian Ministry of Culture, helping to develop/maintain estudiolivre.org and other websites/infrastructure part of an important network of initiatives providing access and knowledge to Free Software in all of Brazil.After the Cultura Digital project was over, was still in university and took part at the Google Summer of Code project porting PyPy from Python version 2.3 to 2.5 which was an incredible opportunity for me to look deeper into the working programming languages, a topic that fascinated me.
I also joined the brazilian Critical Mass movement, Bicicletada, and was very active both online as on the streets. In the same way as with the Free Software community, Bicicletada brought me many inspiring friends. For me free software, critical mass, hacking and art are all very related. Most of the things that inspire me to create until today have its roots in those mixed years of online and street activism.
Still in Brazil I helped conceptualize and build the MOD Quadra and MOD Duo products with MOD Devices. I also hosted creative coding meetings called Weekly Synesthesia at the first Brazilian Hackerspace, Garoa Hacker Clube. With the MOD team I had the pleasure to present at the Linux Audio Conference 2014 in Graz, and the opportunity to visit Berlin for the first time.
Art
While hacking and activism have played an important role in my life, the same is true for music. I had many different bands through those years, and between 2012 and 2015 I organized many events and played at different festivals. Part of it was connected with my actvism as well, such as reclaiming public spaces and supporting political acts carrying loud speakers, mixers and other equipments around.
In 2014 was when I consciously started mixing both my programming skills and my impulse to make art, and started noticing that I was more interested in pursuing an artistic career.
Together with the MOD team I moved to Berlin in 2015 after a successful Kickstarter campaign. I started to look for alternatives, on how to live of this mix of hacking and art skills. In the first year I was in Berlin I helped to organize the mini-Linux Audio Conference at C-Base.
In 2017 I joined the Art and Media program at the Universität der Künste Berlin, stuyding in the classes of Generative / Computational Arts, where I was tutor for one year, and New Media. There I had the opportunity to combine my experience of Linux and programming with my interest in art, and especially sound. I developed my artistic practice building installations and live audiovisual performances. I got my Art and Media Absolvent degree in the summer semester of 2020 and the Meisterschüler degree in 2022.
At UdK I hosted the Coding Rehearsal meetings, inspired by the Coding Dojo practice from my Computer Science studies. The goal of Coding Rehersal is to provide a safer space for artists to experiment and practice their coding thought, using code to express our art.
During my studies I worked a lot with network tools for sound and visuals, especially for collaborative live coding over the internet in SuperCollider, sending and receiving OSC messages and streaming audio over WebRTC. I presented some of this work at the Network Music Festival 2020. Check my github for more.
With my alias n0p I produced and performed live electronic music, using machines and different live coding tools as Hydra and TidalCycles. I have released an EP in 2017 via the Chippanze label.
Until 2022 I also worked for the Sentire project at the Humboldt University doing audio programming and design in SuperCollider and Python.
Sometimes I collaborate with other artists finding creative technical solutions or developing tools accordingly to the needs of their projects, for example Game Over. If you need technical help with a project don't hesitate to contact me :-)
Last update: March/2023