The Living Code Brings Ancient Myths Into The Digital Age

By Lara Kramer  •  12 Nov 2026 in Events

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What happens when an ancient myth meets a machine that can write its own language?

From 13 to 15 November 2026, The Living Code: Whispers of Stone takes over Kuala Lumpur’s historic Yan Keng Benevolent Dramatic Association. The three-day programme brings together traditional performance, experimental electronic music, live coding, and immersive art. It explores the meeting point between cultural memory and contemporary technology.

Entry is free via RSVP, through the link in @kuantum.io‘s Instagram bio or directly through Ticket2U.

At its heart is Sang Gedembai, a figure from Langkawi’s oral traditions. Her voice has the power to turn living beings into stone. But Whispers of Stone looks beyond her as a folkloric monster. Instead, it imagines a woman caught between power and loneliness, longing and loss.

Her story unfolds through three themes: Guardian, Fracture, and Echo. Each offers a different perspective on memory, nature, isolation, and transformation.

Part of Goethe-Institut’s wider The Living Code programme across Southeast Asia, Whispers of Stone brings together artists from different disciplines. Live coding, experimental sound, projection, installation, and traditional performance all share the same space, coming together as an exploration of what happens when ancestral knowledge meets contemporary digital languages.

The three-day programme features Malaysian and international artists.

Among them are Berlin-based live coder Alexandra Cárdenas, Germany-based digital-craft artist Flor de Fuego, experimental sound artist Kamal Sabran, E.Venif & Samacom Plus, Deep Space, Tsameera, Acidllama, and Indonesian artist Maria Aristya. Traditional performances also take centre stage. These include Yan Keng Cantonese Opera and PUSAKA’s Kuda Kepang Sanggar Warisan Budaya.

The choice of venue is no coincidence. Yan Keng has a long history of theatre, music, and Cantonese opera in Kuala Lumpur. It carries a cultural memory of its own. Whispers of Stone builds on that history, bringing new forms of artistic expression into a space that has long hosted traditional performance.

Beyond the performances, Saturday’s programme features two talks on environment, heritage, and cultural stewardship. The first, ‘Sungai Kita, Hayat Kita: On the Spirit of Kongsi & Stewardship’, brings together Joseph Foo and Faith Foo of the Klang River Project.

This is followed by ‘Akar dan Arus: The Untamed Spirit of Tradition’, featuring Pauline Fan and NurArinna Dania Asmawi of PUSAKA. Both sessions include audience Q&As.

The programme continues on Sunday with two workshops by Memlab | Spectra at GMBB.

At 11:00 a.m., Flor de Fuego leads ‘Introduction to Strudel: Live Coding Music’. The session introduces participants to creating music through code. At 2:00 p.m., Alexandra Cárdenas takes over with ‘Introduction to Hydra: Making Visuals with the Browser’, exploring browser-based generative visuals.

For those who prefer their experimental sounds after dark, Modulus will host the official afterparty at Pisco Bar on Saturday, 14 November.

Starting at 10:00 p.m., the line-up features Notion A b2b Traction Control, Lobach, and Yrag L. Entry is free.

At its core, Whispers of Stone asks what happens to stories as they move between generations and mediums. Technology changes quickly, but cultural memory is just as vulnerable to being lost or forgotten. Perhaps preserving a tradition doesn’t mean keeping it untouched. It can also mean finding new ways to tell it.

The Living Code: Whispers of Stone takes place from 13 to 15 November 2026. The main programme runs on 13 and 14 November at Yan Keng Benevolent Dramatic Association, 51 Jalan Sultan, Kuala Lumpur. Sunday’s workshops take place at Level 5, GMBB, No. 2 Jalan Robertson.

The event is open to audiences aged 21 and above.

Entry is free with RSVP.

RSVP via the link in @kuantum.io’s Instagram bio or directly through Ticket2U:
https://www.ticket2u.com.my/event/30153/the-living-code-whispers-of-stone-a-living-myth-of-memory%2c-nature-and-the-unheard-voice

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