it’s our pleasure to welcome Umlilo Ngcobo to the MediaArt Salzburg residency November 2nd-30th 2026!
The jury states: „Zazi Vox: Ancestral machine & Stories we tell“, is a platform and application in development that is trained on data from African historical musical and vocal traditions which intersects voice, identity, and technology. The project’s commitment to honoring ancestral knowledge while envisioning new techno-cultural horizons positions it as a powerful contribution to both contemporary sound art and conversations about decolonial approaches to AI.
The jury was convinced by the diverse, innovative and exuberant work of artist Umlilo Ngcobo including the artist’s curatorial work and wants to support Umlilo to continue that brave way, looking forward to an exploration of the future of hybrid African and European sound in the age of artificial intelligence.“
Umlilo Ngcobo on her project proposal:
In 2025, I embarked on a journey as a musician to explore the idea of digital twins and sound design in an era of Artificial Intelligence. This led to me starting research on a project called Zazi Vox:Ancestral machine & Stories we tell, with Wits University, South Africa. Zazi is a platform and application I am currently building that is trained on data specifically from African historical musical and vocal traditions. It is meant to become a tool for musicians that merges the old school compositions mixed into contemporary musical ideas.
During my 1 month research and creation residency at SubnetAIR, I would like to research and produce a Zazi Vox German version, exploring how generative AI can help preserve, reimagine, and amplifyindigenous languages, vocal
and music traditions through sound, storytelling, and performance. The project merges ancestral sonic archives, digital voice models, and AI-driven application building and training of compositions, rhythms, and sounds to create a musical installation and video work, a living archive of Eurocentric polyphonic consciousness with African influences.
Building on my long-term project ZAZI: Ancestral machines & Stories We Tell, this residency deepens the research into the intersection of voice, identity, and technology. The focus in Austria will be on developing ZAZI VOX , a generative sound system that reinterprets African tonal languages and oral histories through AI models trained on indigenous vocal patterns, field recordings, and digital twins into more Eurocentric traditions. The goal is to create an
immersive audio-visual installation and live performance piece that meditates on the future of hybrid African and European sound in the age of artificial intelligence.
Intergalactic shape-shifting Umlilo Siya Ngcobo aka Kwaai Diva is an innovative genre and gender-bending multi-disciplinary artist in music, visual arts, writing, fashion, 3D animation, VR, and performance. She is the founder of Future Kwaai Records, and Kwaai Boutique/Hair and co-founder of Legrand Queer Arts Festival in South Africa.
More about Umlilo Ngcobo: http://www.futurekwaai.com
Picture credit: Umlilo Ngcobo: „Zazi Installation“
subnetAIR27 will be calling this summer and deadlining on October 31st 2026.
subnetAIRs 2019-2024 are presented here
subnetAIR Exhibitions:
2022 Medien.Kunst.Realitäten – Katalog
2018 possible bodies – Katalog
2015 Klanghypothesen – Katalog
subnetAIR 2016 -2022:
# Jana De Troyer – documentation
# Martina Fröschl – documentation
# Scarlett Yang
# Corrie Francis Parks (MediaART Stadt Salzburg) – documentation
# Chun Shao – documentation
# Katsuki Nogami – documentation
# Margarethe Maierhofer-Lischka – documentation
# Nora Jacobs (MediaART Stadt Salzburg) – documentation
# Lukas Gwechenberger – documentation
# Stefan Tiefengraber – documentation
# Stefano Mori – documentation
# Simon Whetham – documentation
# Silvia Rosani and Tom Jacques – documentation
# Vera Sebert – documentation
# Michaela Schwentner – documentation
# Mac Krebernik – documentation
subnetAIR Ausstellung: possible bodies (2018) – Katalog
# Lale Rodgarkia-Dara – documentation
# Simon Faulhaber
# Georg Scherlin – documentation
# Iulia Radu
# Nicolò Cervello
# Robert B. Lisek – documentation
# Kanari Shirao – documentation
# Laura Splan documentation
#Antoni Raijekov – documentation
# Young Suk Lee – documentation
# Danny Bracken
# Lucie Strecker
2015subnetAIR Ausstellung: Klanghypothesen (2015) – Katalog
# Myriam Bleau
# Robert Praxmarer – documentation
# Nikolas Psaroudakis – documentation