Firstly we would like to thank you all for the incredible support so far: Bela Gem is now officially funded and will be coming to you all soon! We can’t wait to get these new tools into your hands and to see the wonderful projects you create with them. We still have just over two weeks left of the campaign and we’ll be bringing you lots of updates before we close.

Bela in the Wild

One of the best ways to understand what Bela Gem is capable of is to see how people are using it in the real world. This week, we’re highlighting a few standout recent projects that show Bela at its best, including a beautiful sound installation created by Studio Olafur Eliasson. All of these projects were created with the previous generation of Bela, but with Bela Gem there are even more possibilities: more CPU power, improved audio performance, and new, embeddable form factors that make integration into projects easier than ever.

Studio Olafur Eliasson: Your Psychoacoustic Light Ensemble

One of the most exciting recent uses of Bela comes from the team at Studio Olafur Eliasson. Installed at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery (NYC, Oct–Dec 2024), this immersive sound and light installation features mirrored foil stretched over a frame and made to vibrate using a transducer. Both the vibration of the mirror and control of the DMX lighting system are driven by a Pure Data patch running on Bela with a multichannel audio cape. Eliasson is known for large-scale installations that fuse light, geometry, and natural forces to heighten sensory perception, and here, Bela helps bring the sonic layer of that vision to life.

Read the full interview here.

Halldór Úlfarsson: The Halldorophone

A feedback-based electroacoustic cello developed by Halldór Úlfarsson, the Halldorophone has been heard in high-profile scores like Joker and Chernobyl, and performances by Sunn O))). Bela is used in the latest models to enable clean signal breakout, signal routing, and optional real-time DSP, offering performers everything from subtle control enhancements to deeper compositional tools. The platform also supports experimental augmentations in research settings, such as adaptive filtering and harmonic control.

“With Bela being a wonderful prototyping and invention tool, it allows you to do stuff fast and at low cost. You’re not building circuits, you’ve got this little brain in there that gives you the freedom to explore.”

– Halldór Úlfarsson.

Read the full interview here.

Anna Vera Kelle & Kobakant: Symphonie

A collaborative theatre piece from director Anna Vera Kelle and art-tech duo Kobakant, Symphonie transforms the audience into a functioning orchestra using Bela-powered digital string instruments. Each instrument is networked and interactive, turning the spectators into active participants in a story about inclusion and power.

Read more.

Paul Biessmann & Benoît Maubrey: Audio Igloo

Built by Paul Biessmann and Benoît Maubrey, Audio Igloo (Lost & Found Festival, Nürnberg 2021) is an interactive sound sculpture made from 300 recycled speakers. Inside the structure, ultrasonic sensors detect visitor movement and influence a generative Pure Data composition running on Bela, creating a responsive, ambient sonic environment.

Explore the Audio Igloo.

Want to see more? Check out our community blog for an encyclopedia of inventive Bela-powered projects from artists, instrument designers, researchers, and developers around the world. More updates coming soon.