María Castellanos and Alberto Valverde began working together as an artistic duo in 2009. María Castellanos is an artist and holds a PhD in Fine Arts from the University of Vigo. From 2021 to 2023, she was a postdoctoral researcher at Oslo Metropolitan University (Norway) as part of the FeLT – Futures of Living Technologies project. Alberto Valverde is an artist and technologist with extensive experience in systems design, interactive environments, multimedia, and robotics.
Their artistic practice explores interactions between humans, non-humans, and machines, developing complex systems that foster dialogue between different forms of life. Their work, closely connected to the relationships between living beings and their environments, seeks to enable new forms of communication and understanding beyond the human. From a critical perspective, their practice integrates ecological and feminist approaches to question conventional boundaries and hierarchies, challenging the power structures that have historically shaped our relationships with other forms of life.
Over the years, their work has received numerous awards and distinctions, including Hungry EcoCities: Paths to Progress Experiments, STARTS (2025); the Leonardo Grant for Researchers and Cultural Creators from the BBVA Foundation in 2020 (Spain); and VERTIGO STARTS in 2017. In 2016, they received the Antón Grant for Sculptural Research from Museo Antón in Candás, Asturias (Spain). They have also been nominated for prestigious international awards, including the STARTS Prize 2016 at Ars Electronica in Linz (Austria) and the Japan Media Arts Festival in Tokyo (Japan).
They have participated in several artistic research residencies, including a residency at CITA – Centre for Information Technology and Architecture in Copenhagen as part of the VERTIGO STARTS programme in 2017; a residency at SoftLab, Sliperiet, Umeå University (Sweden) in 2016; and the Next Things residency, developed jointly by LABoral Centro de Arte (Gijón) and Telefónica I+D (Barcelona) in 2015.
Their work has been exhibited at art centres, museums, biennials, and international festivals including Ars Electronica Festival (Austria), LABoral Centro de Arte (Spain), Athens Digital Arts Festival (Greece), House of Electronic Arts Basel (Switzerland), La Gaîté Lyrique (France), DRIVE – Volkswagen Group Forum (Germany), Matadero Madrid (Spain), Touch Me Festival (Croatia), BOZAR Electronic Arts Festival (Belgium), CEBIT – Europe’s Festival for Innovation and Digitization (Germany), Arts Santa Mònica (Spain), Onassis Stegi (Greece), MUSAC (Spain), V2_Lab (Netherlands), Centre Pompidou-Metz (France), Antre Peaux (France), Trondheim International Biennale for Art and Technology (Norway), and RIXC Festival (Latvia).
2026 Puerto de El Musel – LABoral Artistic Production Grant. Gijón. [ES]
2025 Hungry EcoCities: Paths to Progress Experiments. STARTS. (Be)together. [EU]
2018 2nd EAC Award. XVIII Encuentro de Arte Contemporáneo. Diputación de Alicante. [ES]
2017 VERTIGO STARTS winning project. EU Horizon 2020. Call for Artists in Residence. [EU]
2017 Jury Selection. 20th Japan Media Arts Festival. Tokyo. [JP]
2016 Antón Research and Sculptural Creation Grant. Museo Antón. Candás, Asturias. [ES]
2016 Paseo Project 2016 Award. Fundación ZCC. Etopia Centro de Arte y Tecnología. Zaragoza. [ES]
2016 STARTS Prize ’16 Nomination. Ars Electronica. Linz. [AT]
2016 Best Paper Award. Technarte 2016. International Conference on Art and Technology. Bilbao. [ES]
2015 Next Things 2015 – Conducta Award. LABoral Centro de Arte and Telefónica I+D. [ES]
2012 AlNorte 2012. Production Award. Diario El Comercio. Gijón, Asturias. [ES]
2012 FibArt 2012. FIB Residence Grant. Benicàssim. [ES]
2011 Tentaciones 2011. Estampa. Madrid. [ES]
2024 Eufònic / Lo Pati Artist Residency. Eufònic Festival, Terres de l’Ebre. 1–15 July 2024. [ES]
2020 EMARE – European Media Artists in Residence Exchange. Kontejner. Zagreb. [HR]
2016 SoftLab Residency. Sliperiet, Umeå University. [SE]
2026 Cartografías Afectivas para el Simbioceno. CAB. Burgos. [ES]
2025 Grafías de transducción interespecie. Factoría Cultural de Avilés. Asturias. [ES]
2024 Site-Specific. Silent Vegetal Thoughts. Piksel. Bergen. [NO]
2019 Open Environmental Kit. Laboratorio 987, MUSAC. León. [ES]
2019 Intervención con bio-interfaz a una kentia del hall del Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza. Madrid. [ES]
2017 Ensayo y error del posthumano. Museo Antón. Candás, Asturias. [ES]
2025
Memoria artística de los Encuentros de Pamplona. Sala de la Muralla, Baluarte. Pamplona. [ES]
Otras Inteligencias. Special edition, Festival FLORA. Various courtyards in Córdoba. [ES]
Otras Inteligencias. Sónar+D Festival. Barcelona. [ES]
2024
SODAS 2123. Atletika. Vilnius. [LT]
The Senses of Plants. Villa Merkel – Galerie der Stadt Esslingen. [DE]
EMAP Perspective #1. Gnration. Braga. [PT]
2023
Les Portes du possible – Art & science-fiction. Centre Pompidou-Metz. [FR]
Electronic Fields. Llerena, Extremadura. [ES]
Máquina Orgánica. Canal Connect. Teatros del Canal. Madrid. [ES]
Digital Art Alicante. Espacio Séneca. Alicante. [ES]
2022
Earthbound – In Dialogue with Nature. HeK – House of Electronic Arts. Basel. [CH]
Meta.Morf 2022. Trondheim International Biennale for Art and Technology. [NO]
Earthbound – In Dialogue with Nature. Esch2022. [LU]
Beyond Human Perception. New European Bauhaus Festival, KBR Museum. Brussels. [BE]
Sustainability. Augustenborg Art Project. [DK]
Hiperobjetos. Can Felipa. Barcelona. [ES]
2021
RIXC Festival 2021: PostSensorium. Riga. [LV]
EMAP Garden. Werkleitz / Ars Electronica 2021. [Online]
ECOSS. Ecosistemas de lo Inesperado. Arts Santa Mònica. Barcelona. [ES]
Ecozine Film Festival. Video Art Section. Etopia. Zaragoza. [ES]
2020
Cuando las mariposas del alma baten las alas. LABoral Centro de Arte. Gijón, Asturias. [ES]
Rencontres Internationales Mondes Multiples. Antre Peaux. Bourges. [FR]
Biotopías 2. Parque Doramas. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. [ES]
Touch Me Festival. Kontejner. Zagreb. [HR]
EMAP Journeys. Ars Electronica 2020. [Online]
Mutations. Première Vision. Paris. [FR]
2019
Open Environmental Kit. Laboratorio 987, MUSAC. León. [ES]
Jardín Cyborg. Nave 16, Matadero Madrid. Madrid. [ES]
Eco-Visionarios. LABoral Centro de Arte. Gijón. [ES]
Environment Dress 2.0. Mobile Week, Disseny Hub Barcelona. Barcelona. [ES]
e-cuerpo | FuturXble. Encuentro de Arte, Tecnología y Wearable. Mexico City. [MX]
2018
The Plants Sense. ICT 2018: Imagine Digital – Connect Europe. Vienna. [AT]
Eco-Visionaries. HeK – Haus der Elektronischen Künste. Basel. [CH]
STARTS. CEBIT – Europe’s Festival for Innovation and Digitization. Hanover. [DE]
Especulacións Utópicas. Colexio de Fonseca. Santiago de Compostela. [ES]
2017
Next Things_Next Starts. LABoral Centro de Arte. Gijón, Asturias. [ES]
Ensayo y error del posthumano. Museo Antón. Candás, Asturias. [ES]
LookForward Fashion Tech Festival. Musée La Piscine, Roubaix, and Gâité Lyrique, Paris. [FR]
Postfuture Journey. Athens Digital Art Festival. Athens. [GR]
2016
Bozar Electronic Arts Festival 2016. Brussels. [BE]
Ars Electronica Festival 2016: Post City. Ars Electronica. Linz. [AT]
Human Factor. Ars Electronica / DRIVE – Volkswagen Group Forum. Berlin. [DE]
Avilés Data City. Factoría Cultural. Avilés. [ES]
2015
Materia Prima. Experimentos en arte digital y ciencia. LABoral Centro de Arte. Gijón. [ES]
Process. CMAE. Avilés. [ES]
2014
Reactions/Interactions. Verge Gallery. Sydney. [AU]
2012
MEM Festival. Galería Arropame. Bilbao. [ES]
La Biblioteca de Babel. Galería Espacio Líquido. Gijón. [ES]
La mirada perdida del observador incómodo. Galería 9the13. A Coruña. [ES]
2011
Tentaciones 2011. Estampa Art Fair. Madrid. [ES]
ArteSantander 2011. Galería Lola Orato. Santander. [ES]
Clorofila 3.0. Valey Centro Cultural de Castrillón. Asturias. [ES]
2010
SineDie. Galería Texu. Oviedo. [ES]
Kaldarte 2010. Caldas de Reis. Pontevedra. [ES]
Bienal de Pontevedra. Museo de Bellas Artes de Pontevedra. [ES]
El Proceso como Paradigma. LABoral Centro de Arte. Gijón. [ES]
Arte con fecha de caducidad. LABoral Centro de Arte. Gijón. [ES]
2009
Doll-is. 7º Aniversario del MARCO. Museo MARCO. Vigo. [ES]
2025
Entangled Visions. Exploring Quantum Visualizations in Culture, Dissemination, and the Arts. Oslo Metropolitan University. Oslo. 2–5 December 2025. [NO]
RE_NATURE Festival voor kunst en natuur. “(Be)etogether”. Ruigoord. 20 September 2025. [NL]
Round table: RE 2025. Escuela de Arte de Oviedo. Asturias. 8 April 2025. [ES]
2024
Round table: “Arte para vivir en un planeta herido”. CaixaForum. Madrid. 24 April 2024. [ES]
2023
Environmental Humanities Conference 2023. “Environment Dress 2.0: Relationships between cyborgs and wearables as a paradigm of body enhancement”. 19 November 2023.
Compromiso con el clima: todas a la vez en todas partes. La Casa Encendida. Madrid. 14 November 2023. [ES]
2020
Round table: “Arte y Tecnologías Exponenciales”. JustMAD. Madrid. 29 February 2020. [ES]
Interrelaciones entre humanos, máquinas y plantas. Aproximación a la metodología y proceso desde la práctica artística. Semana de la Electrónica. Universidad Pública de Navarra. Pamplona. 6 February 2020. [ES]
2018
Metodología y proceso de la creación de interfaces tecnológicas corporales. DATART. Facultad de Bellas Artes, UCM. Madrid. 19 October 2018. [ES]
Round table: “Conexiones: aproximaciones a los retos medioambientales desde el arte y la ciencia”. LABoral Centro de Arte. Gijón. 20 September 2018. [ES]
Interfaces tecnológicas corporales. 1º Congreso Internacional Mujeres: Artistas, Tecnólogas. UPV. Valencia. 27 June 2018. [ES]
The Plants Sense. STARTS Residency Day. IRCAM – Centre Pompidou. Paris. 15 June 2018. [FR]
2016
Environment Dress 2.0. The App Date Fashion. Madrid. 25 January 2016. [ES]
2025 Taller de elementos interactivos y sonoros. Escuela de Arte de Oviedo. Oviedo, Asturias. [ES]
2024 Monitoring the Environment of Plants. Piksel. Bergen. [NO]
2022 Monitorización del entorno vegetal. Philea + Fundación Princesa de Asturias. Oviedo. [ES]
2022 Interfaces tecnológicas corporales. MediaLab CCBA. Buenos Aires. 23 and 26 August 2022. [AR]
2020 Escuelas para el siglo XXI. LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial. Gijón. [ES]
2020 Marvelous Things. Online educational platform developed by María Castellanos and Alberto Valverde. [Online]
2019 Taller Mutante. Matadero. Madrid. [ES]
2019 Creación de interfaces tecnológicas corporales. MUSAC. León. [ES]
2019 Wearables. Arenas Movedizas. Gijón. [ES]
2018 Descubriendo otras inteligencias. Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza. Madrid. [ES]
2018 Cuerpo y entorno. Centro Cultural de España en México. Mexico City. [MX]
2018 Introducción a la creación de interfaces tecnológicas blandas. LABoral Centro de Arte. Gijón. [ES]
2017 Humanos y máquinas, en auLAB. LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial. Gijón. [ES]
2017 Del Net.Art al Cyber.Art. Encuentros de Juventud de Cabueñes. Gijón. [ES]
2017 Asesoramiento de proyectos de arte y tecnología. Facultad de Bellas Artes, Universidad de Vigo. [ES]
2016 Wearables: Vestido como interface. Debut 2016. ESDEMGA, Universidad de Vigo. [ES]
2016 Creación de interfaces tecnológicas corporales. WinterLAB 2016. LABoral Centro de Arte. Gijón. [ES]
2015 Tecnología láser en el laboratorio textil. Facultad de Bellas Artes, Universidad de Vigo. [ES]
2010 Doll-is. CAMON, Caja Mediterráneo. Madrid. [ES]