There are many occasions today when an enjoyable party or function is described with just two words: “a vibe”. Since the phrase “good vibes” first infiltrated pop culture, the word “vibe” has been used to describe everything from the mood of a place to a larger cultural shift happening in society (there was even a supposed “vibes-cession” back in 2024). But there is perhaps no better use for the phrase than to describe what happened last week at vibecon, curated by Replit, an AI software creation platform in the vibe-coding space that started out with the mission to empower anyone to bring their digital ideas to life. As its name suggests, vibecon was, in fact, a vibe. 

On June 17 to 18, the inaugural vibecon transformed Canyon in New York’s Lower East Side into the Coachella of vibe-coding. There, in between flickering screens, exposed beams and vibrant lights, people across industries (including artists, filmmakers, designers, founders, technologists and other creatives) gathered together for engaging live talks and demos, interactive installations, art exhibits, deep-dive discussions, performances and hands-on workshops – all exploring code as the new creative. 

Below, we unpack what went down.

YOU COULD PEAK INTO THE FUTURE

Where else could you see robotic arms dance with light based on movement from Volvox Labs’ Astral Twin, or witness new media artist Nate Mohler turn AI, memory, and the city into an installation of its own? Every inch of vibecon was packed full of creative coding projects and ideas. As Replit co-founder and CEO Amjad Masad noted in his opening remarks, “With AI, we’re witnessing the birth of a new medium. Every generation gets a few moments like this: photography, film, the internet. Technologies that begin as technical innovations and eventually become canvases for human expression.”

ANYONE CODE-CURIOUS WAS WELCOME

You didn’t have to be an expert coder to enjoy vibecon, you could be what they call “code-curious”. On the main stage, there were nuanced conversations around AI, coming from all different perspectives. Girls Who Code and Moms First founder Reshma Saujani spoke with Haya Odeh, Replit co-founder and head of design, to talk about the stakes for women during the AI revolution, especially if they don’t get a seat at the table. Before that, Spike Jonze, who has spent decades making machines feel human, and humans feel surreal through films like Her, sat down with Masad to talk about human-ness as the antithesis of slop. “I think the opposite of slop is when it comes from inside you,” he said.  

THE CODING WAS, INDEED, CREATIVE

“I’ve always seen coding as a form of art, and I wanted to bridge that gap between vibe coding and art,” Odeh told Dazed at vibecon. And her mission was successful: those who lean more towards the creative side of coding had plenty of artistic experiences, both on and off the stage, at vibecon. You could attend deep dives into production pipelines with AR artist Paige Piskin and legendary motion designer GMUNK, or check out the lab at the 7x7 program, organised by Rhizome, where Lucas Gelfond, Karyn Nakamura, Debit, and Saarim Zaman were brought together to create new work on the spot. For the closing night, Benji B took over the stage for a total takeover, transforming the space into a high-energy dance party. 

VIBECON LIVES ON

Vibecon wasn’t about just sitting, watching, and listening; it was also about creating. Attendees weren’t just consuming art; they were actively manifesting things into reality. A fan-favourite was Tigris Li's station (which had a line outside of it the entire time), where you could turn a memory into a custom perfume to take home. Or Kyle McDonald’s self-portrait installation, where a camera read faces and drew portraits through people’s own hands. Not to mention the vibecon merch available for free: with a new t-shirt in one hand and a new favourite sentimental perfume in the other, vibecon lives on – until we can all meet again next year.