“I find that, often, art is a little bit dry,” says artist, inventor and educator Niklas Roy.

BUT–no one could ever describe his work that way.

With the goal of making art accessible to people from all walks of life, Niklas creates fine art from technology. That translates to highly interactive installations, which often put guests into participatory experiences.

LED lights flash. Electronic music plays. Machines blow bubbles, take visitors on rides in fantastic vehicles, and challenge them to games.

Often, the guests get to use their own creativity: drawing in colored lights with a joystick, pulling strings to move paintbrushes across a canvas or adding their contributions to a whiteboard.

A sense of fun pervades his work, which he’s exhibited worldwide. in numerous art exhibitions as well as science centers and public squares.

Niklas continues to break down the barriers to making art bot accessible and enjoyable by teaching reflective technology workshops and making his designs open-source. On his website, he shares his project plans, schematics and code with fellow creators. In addtion, he offers videos and tutorials on his YouTube channel.

Niklas talked about his creative journey at the intersection of art, science and technology, shared the stories behind some of his recent works and offered his perspectives on working as an an artist.

On this edition of Over Coffee® we cover:

• Where Niklas’ interest in machines, inventing and art originated;

• His favorite recollections of his growing-up experiences in a highly creative household;

• Some of the influences on his creative journey;

• His first interactive display;

• A closer look at the creative process;

• Why Niklas takes an open-source approach with his creations;

• The story of his “Mosaic Machine” installation, an arcade machine that allowed participants to create drawings that ultimately became a mosaic in a Berlin public square;

• A look behind the scenes at his 2023 “Under Construction” interactive project;

• Niklas’ upcoming projects for Summer and Autumn 2024;

• Niklas’ advice to artists who may want to make art their career.