Workshop: Live Coding interactive visuals and sound

Live Coding is a digital art practice that emphasizes experimentation. Here, we still write the code ourselves—which may seem almost old-fashioned to AI enthusiasts and vibe coders but is what we embrace as much as we celebrate glitches, the unexpected, and collective experimentation with algorithms in real time. The live-coding tools Hydra and Strudel are particularly beginner-friendly and can produce great results even without any prior knowledge.

🗓 FRIDAY, 24 APRIL 2026
🕓 14:00-18:30
👋 For whom? People who want to creatively work with technology
Register here: https://ticket.nodeforum.org/node-code/

WORKSHOP #1
Interactive visuals for live performances using hydra
In this workshop, digital-craft artist Flor de Fuego gives an introduction to creating interactive visuals for live performances using Hydra. Hydra is a free browser- and JavaScript-based live coding software developed by Olivia Jack. It is ideal for beginners and allows for the development of interactive visuals with little or no coding experience. Participants will experiment while generating different coded functions, distortion of cameras, audio inputs and mouse events to generate our own interactive visuals.
During the workshop we will dive into Hydra, and experiment while generating different coded functions, distortion of cameras, audio inputs and mouse events to generate our own interactive visuals. Participants will learn to use Hydra and potentialize their own artistic ideas.

WORKSHOP #2
live coding music with strudel
In this workshop, Frankfurt creative coders Tobias Hecker and Felix Roos will introduce the live-coding music composition tool Strudel. With Strudel, you can write dynamic music pieces, directly in the browser. By expressing music as code, you can not only see what is happening at all times, it's also live changeable and updates in real time. Creating unprecedented spontaneity, your laptop can be an expressive instrument like a guitar, a synthesizer, a sampler or a drum set.

You can create and jam online with others, live, while incorporating other tools as well, e.g. for visuals.
We will explore the foundations of the language ("mini notation") and teach you how to get started. No prior knowledge in programming or music required!

At 7:00 PM, we’ll continue with a meetup, and the workshop hosts—Düsseldorf-based digital craft artist Flor de Fuego and the Frankfurt team of Tobias Hecker, Felix Roos, and Hannes Güdelhöfer—will present their artistic work, their live-coding tools, and the methods they use with these tools. In addition—despite the innovative content, keeping with good old tradition—there will be a delicious soup served for free.

Finally, the artists, workshop participants, and display invite you to the first display Algorave. Come on by, enjoy, and jam along!