The TED Theater at TED2026 in Vancouver, BC, featuring interstitials across the stage’s three screens. (Photo: Ryan Lash / TED)
The interstitial program of TED2026 was a mixed celebration of the acutely human and the purely robotic. We were brought back to basic tenets of human connection through the rhythmic dance piece “Nemesis”; an animated short where music is the thread tying neighbors together; and a montage of the Artemis II mission, reminding us of the power of teamwork. At the same time, AI humor entertained us and robots both enlightened and spooked us by showing what they may one day remember about humans. How do we balance a necessary return to our need for community while embracing the power of new technology?
The following shorts and photos were curated for TED2026 by TED producers CC Hutten and Grace Poppe in collaboration with Flux Festival creative director Jonathan Wells.
“The Audacious Project’s 2025 Grantees”
Produced by Hasiba Haq
TED2026 kicked off by welcoming the 2025 Audacious Project grantees, introducing 10 bold ideas and extraordinary teams taking on some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
“Artemis II”
Visuals courtesy of NASA; music by Nathan and Galen Tipton
“Artemis II” transforms archival visuals from NASA into a dreamlike cinematic experience. Combining music by Nathan and Galen Tipton with the astronauts’ reflections after landing, the score is a call for connection, reminding us here on Earth “We. Are. A. Crew.” (Photo: Ryan Lash / TED)
“TED’s Ripple Effect: Monica Lewinsky”
Monica Lewinsky reflects on her TED Talk, “The price of shame,” as part of a series of videos about TED’s ripple effect, where speakers share the life of their idea beyond the stage.
“Tape Pull-out Ensemble”
By Open Reel Ensemble
Japanese band Open Reel Ensemble transforms obsolete reel-to-reel tape machines into mesmerizing instruments, using stretched magnetic tape, handcrafted mechanics and live performance to create an audiovisual symphony that feels both nostalgic and futuristic.
“Scared of Loving Wild Again”
Directed by Dylan Friese-Greene; music by Lucy Rose
Through fleeting gestures of touch, care and human connection, Dylan Friese-Greene’s intimate 16mm film captures, in a series of of quietly poetic vignettes, how much we can say with just our hands.
“Beautiful Loop”
By Tala Schlossberg
Session 5 of TED2026 kicked off with the short film “Beautiful Loop” by Tala Schlossberg, as pictured above (photo: Jasmina Tomic / TED).
“Por Quelli che Volano”
Directed by Bleu Desert
“Por Quelli che Volano” (“For Those Who Fly”) invites viewers to reflect on the invisible forces that carry us forward, even in moments of uncertainty.
“Nemesis”
Directed by Zaslavskyi Yevhenii and Bazela Oteksii; choreographed by Bazela Oteksii; music by Nemesis; art by Benjamin Clementine
Produced by CC Hutten, created for TED2026
The dancers in this hypnotic visual short, choreographed by Bazela Oteksii, move as if they are possessed by an electric current. Appropriately, “Nemesis” was inspired by Manoush Zomorodi’s book Body Electric, investigating the relationship between our technology and our bodies.
“10k year clock”
31 years ago at TED in Monterey, speaker and computer scientist Danny Hillis proposed building a giant mechanical clock hidden safely inside a mountain. The clock would be designed to keep time reliably for 10,000 years. This video is an ode to his dream.
“ENERGYM”
By AI Candy
This AI mockumentary by Hans Buyse and Jan De Loore imagines a future where people find purpose by powering the very machines that replaced them — with “cameos” from some familiar faces, including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Sam Altman.
“The World’s First AI TED Talk”
By Ari Kuschnir
What kind of ancestors will we become? That was the question posed to attendees in Ari Kuschnir’s AI-generated TED Talk.
“Jill Sobule Tribute”
During Session 7 of TED2026, we paid homage to singer-songwriter and longtime TEDster Jill Sobule, with a clip of her performance of “Heroes” from 2006.
“Musica Quarantena”
Written and directed by Lilian T. Mehrel; animation by Danielle Rhoda; casting by Elisa del Genio
This is a picture of “Musica Quarantena,” a beautiful animated short that focuses not on isolation, but rather on the connections people created with the tools they had at hand: music, windows and wine. (Photo: Jasmina Tomic / TED)
“The Uncomfortable”
By Katerina Kamprani
Open-toed rainboots. Stairs that lead to nowhere. A door with no way to reach it. These baffling designs are the brainchild of architect Katerina Kamprani as part of her series “Uncomfortable,” a collection of deliberately inconvenient everyday objects. (Photo: Jasmina Tomic / TED)
“TED’s Ripple Effect: Jill Bolte Taylor”
“My life completely exploded,” says Jill Bolte Taylor of the release of her TED Talk, “My stroke of insight,” in 2008.
Elle Cordova
Elle Cordova once again graces the TED stage, this time as a “modern-day typographer” to remind us there is a time and place for every font (sans Comic Sans). (Photo: Jasmina Tomic / TED)
“Le Voyage”
Directed by Jacob Holster
Think Night at the Museum — but for oil paintings. Director Jacob Holster brings sprawling landscapes and works of art to life in this visually stunning animated short that had TED attendees entranced.