Prix Day – the last day of the Ars Electronica Festival is devoted entirely to the Prix Ars Electronica – and thus to art. The Prix has been one of the most important media art competitions since 1987 and will be represented at the Festival on Sunday in two formats. First, of course, the CyberArts Exhibition will still be open in the campus dining hall in Kepler’s Gardens, presenting the winning works selected by experts from around the world. The Prix has always served as a mirror of society, granting us a different look at the relationship between society and technology and even the world at large each year. In addition to this exhibition of artworks, however, another program item on Prix Day is devoted to the Prix Ars Electronica: the Prix Forums. The conferences will take place in the Kepler Building, Lecture Hall 1. They will begin at 10:00 with the panel discussion A Plantless Planet: Art and Science as a Tool for Plant Resistance. This will be followed by the Prix Forums for each category, a great way to learn more about the artists behind the projects, their artistic process, and the background to their work.
At 10:30 – if we move a tad away from the Kepler Building – the final day of the International Environmental and Climate Court’s fictional trials will start on the Festival University Stage. On this day, the case of energy will be dealt with. For those who have never heard of the Festival University: In the course of this project by JKU and Ars Electronica, students from about 70 countries have already gathered in Linz in mid-August and, in preparation for the fictional court hearings during the festival, adressed various climate and socially relevant topics together with international experts in lectures, discussions and workshops. Interested? If you want to learn more about the project, you can take a look behind the scenes with this blog post.
While the Festival University trial is still in full swing, another highlight of the day already begins at 13:00 in the Circus of Knowledge: Named Pianographique, Maki Namekawa’s concert will once again take us on her explorations of the music of our time. Presented will be a new interpretation of Keith Jarret’s Ritual for piano solo and Toccata by Joe Hisaishi, a Japanese composer, pianist and conductor who has written music for more than a hundred films. Maki Namekawa will be accompanied by Cori O’Lan’s real-time visuals, creating an immersive visual interpretation of the pieces. For those who don’t want to miss this spectacular event, seating tickets will be available at the venue one hour before the event.
After the concert of Maki Namekawa, the Circus of Knowledge will be taken over by the Ars Electronica Animation Festival Screenings from 15:30 – 18:00. For years, the Screenings have showcased the best of recent productions, compiled from the submissions for the Prix Ars Electronica in the category of Computer Animation. The works represent areas such as expanded animation, VR experiences, hybrids between games and animation, or experiments with new technologies such as artificial intelligence.
While the program in Kepler’s Garden is already packed with exciting events, Deep Space 8K will once again open its doors at the Ars Electronica Center at 10:00 and await you with a variety of experiences. We’d like to draw your special attention to the lectures and talks under the motto Searching for Planet B: How Astronomy Visualization and Remote Sensing Guide to Humanity’s Future – Immersive experience, which will take place from 13:30 – 14:30. Thematically, the event will take a look into the universe, but very importantly, it will also take a look back at the Earth. Because we can of course ask ourselves whether other worlds could become a new home, but perhaps we should first and foremost try to understand how we might succeed in saving our planet.
But now back to the JKU campus. This is where various workshops will take place throughout the day. You can find more detailed information in the festival program, but now we would especially like to introduce the workshop Photosynthetic You with Vanessa V (IT), which will take place from 10:00-11:30, but also from 16:30-18:00 at the Transformation Lounge. The workshop will explore in more detail the ethical questions around genetics raised by the artist’s installation Photosynthetic Me. What if, in a paradoxical democratic act, we could all decide to become thin and immobile like leaves, energetically self-sustaining like plants that feed only on light and solar energy? First come, first serve – so just drop by if you’re interested.
As every year, young visitors in particular can continue to explore with the various contributions from create your world. From 14:00 – 16:00 the Hebocon Reloaded event will also take place here on Prix Day. This is the final competition, which marks the end and culmination of this project. Hebocon is a sumo battle of low-tech robots. You can create such robots at Hebocon Reloaded as your “alter ego” from different materials. However, no winner will be awarded, the event celebrates the fun of getting together and being creative.
Create your world is, of course, not the only exhibition worth seeing in Kepler’s Gardens. The STARTS Prize Exhibition, the theme exhibition STUDIO(dys)TOPIA – At the Peak of Humankind, the LIT Exhibition, Crossing the Bridge by the Linz University of Art and Design, the Sound Park and State of the ART(ist) also invite you on exciting journeys among technology, social criticism and visions of the future. The exhibitions are open for the last time on Sunday, so: Take your chance!
Linked to the last mentioned exhibition, the State of the ART(ist) Live Sessions take place during the festival – and so on Sunday for the last time. Day 3 of the sessions titled State of Convergency begins at 12:00 as a panel discussion. The focus of the conversation is on cultural diplomacy and institutional accountability. The idea is that in the future, support should be provided not only in response to events, but also through self-initiative. In this way, we have a chance to keep up with the pace of global developments. Between the talks, selected projects by fantastic little splash (UA), Andriy Rachinskiy (UA)and Daniil Revkovskyi (UA) will be shown.
More information about the festival program can be found on the official website of the Ars Electronica Festival 2022. Posts about the highlights of the other days of the festival have already been published on the blog.