AiR 2026 / Gregor Siedl & Cao Thanh Lan

Siedl/Cao – Cao Thanh Lan (she/her) from Vietnam and Gregor Siedl (he/him) from Austria – are a Vienna-based transdisciplinary artistic duo who have been collaborating since 2013. Although sound has long been at the center of their practice, they work across a wide range of media: from kinetic sound installations and wearable sound sculptures to sound interventions and contemporary music theatre, blurring the boundaries between individual artistic disciplines.

In their work, sound functions as a social artifact carrying memory, associations, and expressions of cultural identity. Many of their projects are participatory in nature, involving audiences or taking place in public space, and they invite reflection on our relationship to both the natural and social environment. By questioning anthropocentric perspectives, they consciously collaborate with natural forces that actively shape the course of their works.

As part of their artist residency in Pardubice, they focused on exploring interstitial spaces through a medium close to their practice – sound – combined with cycling. They designed a route for a participatory sound-based bike ride, during which the peloton transformed into a flute-like cycling orchestra that resonated through the surrounding environment. Wind, architecture, and riding speed became co-performers in this situation. The ride offered alternative ways of perceiving urban space, both for participants and passers-by. It was a subtle yet conceptually powerful participatory intervention.

The residency project OFFCITY AiR 2026 is realized with the generous financial support of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and the Statutory City of Pardubice.