HETEROBOTA

Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and the Future of Human Creativity

National Gallery of Victoria Triennial

Melbourne, Australia

CASE STUDIES > HETEROBOTA

Overview

In 2023, Paradox Public Relations oversaw and coordinated the international launch of HETEROBOTA, a landmark exhibition by artist Agnieszka Pilat at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) Triennial in Melbourne, Australia.

HETEROBOTA featured three Boston Dynamics robots painting autonomously for four months in an all-white museum space, interacting with over one million visitors and solving environmental obstacles using AI. Each robot—Basia, Bunny, and Omuzana—had different personalities coded into their choreographies. 

Bringing together robotics, artificial intelligence, philosophy, and contemporary art, HETEROBOTA invited audiences to reconsider the relationship between humans and intelligent machines through the work of autonomous robotic collaborators. 

The project represented the culmination of years of public engagement, international partnerships, academic research, media outreach, and institutional collaboration spanning Washington, D.C., Silicon Valley, Europe, and Australia.

More than an exhibition, HETEROBOTA became an international sensation about technology, creativity, labor, and the future of human-machine collaboration.

The title HETEROBOTA was conceived by Paradox founder Davis Richardson.

Inspired by Michel Foucault’s concept of Heterotopia, the term describes a conceptual territory occupied by intelligent machines that exist neither fully within nor outside human systems.

The exhibition proposed a world in which robots no longer function solely as tools, but as participants in the creative process itself.

PROJECT TIMELINE

Washington, D.C.

Paradox supported a series of public engagements and cultural diplomacy initiatives surrounding Agnieszka Pilat’s work in partnership with the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Washington, D.C.
Programming introduced Pilat’s work to policymakers, diplomats, technologists, and cultural leaders through engagements involving:

These events helped establish a broader public conversation surrounding artificial intelligence, robotics, creativity, and technological change.

TEDAI

Paradox supported communications surrounding Pilat’s TEDAI keynote presentation, helping expand international discussion about artificial intelligence, creativity, automation, and the future relationship between humans and machines.

SpaceX Residency

Paradox coordinated communications efforts surrounding Pilat’s residency at SpaceX, where she worked alongside engineers and designers while exploring themes of robotics, artificial intelligence, engineering, and exploration.

The residency generated international attention and positioned Pilat at the intersection of contemporary art and frontier technology. During this period, she developed work inspired by SpaceX’s Dragon capsule and broader questions surrounding innovation, human ambition, and technological progress.

NGV Triennial

HETEROBOTA launched as part of the National Gallery of Victoria Triennial, one of the world’s largest exhibitions of contemporary art, design, and architecture.

Agnieszka Pilat was featured among the exhibition’s headline artists alongside internationally renowned figures including:

  • Yoko Ono
  • Maurizio Cattelan
  • David Shrigley
  • Tracey Emin
  • Schiaparelli

The placement of HETEROBOTA within the Triennial positioned conversations surrounding artificial intelligence and robotics at the center of one of the world’s premier contemporary art exhibitions.

Institutional & Industry Partners

The project brought together an unusually diverse coalition of cultural institutions, universities, technology companies, and public-sector stakeholders.


As Principal Partner of the National Gallery of Victoria Triennial, Mercedes-Benz Australia supported one of the world’s largest contemporary art exhibitions and highlighted HETEROBOTA as a leading example of innovation at the intersection of technology, creativity, and design. The company featured Pilat’s work as part of its exploration of how emerging technologies are reshaping the future of human experience. LEARN MORE


Through the RMIT Health Transformation Lab, researchers studied public responses to robotics and human-machine interaction in connection with HETEROBOTA, creating one of the most visible public research projects associated with the exhibition. LEARN MORE


HETEROBOTA transformed Boston Dynamics’ Spot robots from industrial machines into artistic collaborators. Programmed to paint autonomously over the course of the exhibition, the robots became central characters in Pilat’s exploration of creativity, agency, and artificial intelligence.


The project’s broader ecosystem included collaborations and partnerships spanning design, luxury, technology, and contemporary culture, reinforcing HETEROBOTA‘s multidisciplinary approach.

Melbourne Launch & International Media Preview

Paradox oversaw the exhibition launch on the ground in Melbourne, Australia.

Ahead of the public opening, HETEROBOTA formed a centerpiece of the National Gallery of Victoria’s international media preview for the Triennial.

Journalists, critics, broadcasters, and cultural commentators were introduced to the exhibition through a dedicated launch program highlighting Pilat’s robotic collaborators and the broader themes of artificial intelligence, creativity, and technological transformation.

Paradox coordinated:

  • International media relations
  • Broadcast outreach
  • Stakeholder communications
  • Strategic narrative development
  • Launch support
  • Institutional coordination

The launch helped establish HETEROBOTA as one of the Triennial’s defining technology-focused projects and generated significant international media attention, with photos syndicated across Getty Images. 

Results

Audience Impact

1.06M

The 2023 NGV Triennial welcomed 1,063,675 visitors during its run from 3 December 2023 through 7 April 2024, making it one of the most popular exhibitions in the National Gallery of Victoria's history.

Global Media Coverage

This cross-sector visibility helped position HETEROBOTA among the most widely discussed technology-focused exhibitions of the National Gallery of Victoria Triennial.

Institutional Recognition

Featured within the National Gallery of Victoria Triennial, one of the world’s premier exhibitions of contemporary art, design, and architecture.

Thought Leadership

Helped position Agnieszka Pilat as a leading voice in conversations surrounding artificial intelligence, robotics, creativity, and the future of work.

Cross-Sector Collaboration

Successfully connected museums, universities, technology companies, diplomats, researchers, and media organizations around a shared exploration of emerging technologies.

Celebrity Attendance

Actors Liam Hemsworth and Gabriella Brooks attended HETEROBOTA‘s opening reception, along with Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan.

About Paradox Public Relations

Paradox Public Relations advises organizations operating at the intersection of technology, culture, public affairs, and international engagement. The firm’s work spans emerging technology, cultural institutions, public diplomacy, and high-stakes communications campaigns across the United States, Europe, and Ukraine.