Pixilerations showcases multimedia art at the FirstWorks Festival today and next Sunday at the Sol Koffler Gallery in Providence.

A computer program that monitors online romances, a “virtual environment” that alters viewers’ bodies and a tantrum-throwing robot are among the highlights of “Pixilerations [v.5],” the annual FirstWorks offshoot that focuses on “new media” genres such as video and computer art.

The nine-day event, which includes gallery exhibits, musical performances and even a dance club with live DJ’s, opens tonight with a 6-9 p.m. reception at two downtown venues: the Sol Koffler Graduate Student Gallery at 169 Weybosset St. and a temporary gallery space at 191 Westminster St.

The kick-off party at 191 Westminster St. will also feature talks by a pair of tech-savvy artists: Gail Wight, a San Francisco artist who explores science and technology issues, and Heidi Kumao, a self-described “machine artist” and robot-maker who teaches at the University of Michigan.

“In art-and-technology circles, both Gail and Heidi are both really well known,” says Pixilerations exhibition director Maya Allison. “Gail is fascinated by the ways that advances in biology and technology influence how we think about ourselves. Heidi, on the other hand, is known for making machines and robots that mimic human behavior.”

Allison says the back-to-back gallery talks should help even non-experts understand more about new media, a catchall term that covers everything from do-it-yourself videos to elaborate museum installations. (Hint: If it’s art and it needs an electrical outlet, it probably qualifies as new media.)

“Both Gail and Heidi are very articulate about what they do,” Allison says. “Even if you’re a complete technophobe, you’ll probably enjoy hearing what they have to say.”

Visitors will also find works by Wight and Kumao in the Pixilerations galleries.

Wight, for example, is exhibiting two pieces. Pin Up, a 2006 installation in which a flock of giant silk butterflies appears to shake and shudder, as though trying to escape, will be shown at Sol Koffler. Another butterfly installation, J’ai des papillons noirs tous les jours, will be on display at 191 Westminster Street. Both works deal with the clash between nature and science.

Kumao, meanwhile, is showing one of her do-it-yourself robots — in this case, a robot that stamps and kicks its feet as though throwing a tantrum. Part of an ongoing series of “misbehaving robots,” Kumao’s installation will be shown at Pixilerations’ Westminster Street gallery.

In all, more than 60 artists are participating in this year’s festival, which is formally known as “Pixilerations [v.5]: fragments & (w)holes.” (This is also Pixilerations’ fifth anniversary, which explains the [v.5] — short for “version five” — in the title.)

As usual, local artists are well represented, with students and faculty members from Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design leading the way. A good example is Entanglement Witness, an interactive artwork created by Todd Winkler, an electronic-music composer at Brown, and Cindy Cummings, an Irish artist and choreographer. As visitors move through the installation, cameras track and record their movements, transforming them into ghostly digital images.

Another installation, Cristobal Mendoza’s Missed Connections, uses a special software program to follow romantic postings on Craigslist.com, the popular Internet site. Born in Argentina and now living in Philadelphia, Mendoza graduated from RISD in 2006.

Other highlights include Matthew Williamson’s Video Analyzer, a machine that decides whether or not a DVD is boring without actually playing it, and Danqing Shi’s Balance, an interactive video game in which players are forced to compete one minute and collaborate the next.

In addition to the gallery exhibits, Pixilerations is sponsoring a wide array of live events, including a computer-music recital, an evening of experimental videos and a performance by classical/Afro-pop pioneer Daniel Bernard Roumain. There’s also a late-night dance club — Club Pixil — where guest DJ’s will serve up a mix of contemporary dance beats and experimental music.

Roumain, who’s known for his mash-ups of classical, pop, jazz and hip hop, performs tomorrow at 8 p.m. at the RISD Auditorium on Market Square. Tickets for the event, which also features a performance by DJ Scientific, are $18. (Note: Roumain will also appear at 5:30 p.m. at the RISD Auditorium, where he will discuss the work of another hip hop pioneer: DJ Spooky.)

Other highlights include a flurry of (free) concerts, including performances at Brown University’s Grant Recital Hall (Tuesday 8 p.m., corner of Hope Street and Young Orchard Street) and the URI Feinstein campus (Oct. 10-11 at 10 p.m., 80 Washington St.) According to a Pixilerations press release, the Tuesday event will feature an evening of “surround-sound computer music and visual experiments,” while the URI concerts are billed as “electronic and interactive performances.”

On Wednesday, Oct. 8, Magic Lantern Cinema will present an evening of experimental videos at the Cable Car Cinema, 204 South Main St. Screenings begin at 9 p.m.

Festival-goers will also want to check out Club Pixil, which organizers describe as a “night of DJ innovation and experimental electronics.” The place: Tazza Caffe, 250 Westminster St.. The time: 10 p.m. tomorrow night. Admission is free.

Pixilerations [v. 5] opens tonight and runs through Oct. 11. For more information on FirstWorks and Pixilerations call (401) 421-4278 or visit www.firstworksprov.org.

bvansicl@projo.com