Studio Drift Performs "Franchise Freedom" to Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11

On July 16, to celebrate the milestone 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 landing on the moon, Studio Drift brought their drone installation Franchise Freedom to the Kennedy Space Center’s rocket garden for a live performance with Duran Duran. Commissioned by NASA, the performance saw more than 300 luminous Intel Shooting Star drones hypnotically swarm the night sky, choreographed to mimic the flight patterns of starling birds. Studio Drift first debuted Franchise Freedom over the skies of Miami during Art Basel 2017, followed by performances at Burning Man and Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum tin 2018.

The artistic duo, made up of Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta, explain, "[Apollo 11] was not only about the first steps on the moon, but also a moment where we realized what technology can do for mankind; a moment where we collectively contemplated our life on earth. Franchise Freedom embodies this combination of technological innovation and our consciousness."