The 13th edition of Expanded focuses on scientific contributions from the fields of animation and interactive art. The emphasis is on innovative audiovisual forms of expression at the interface between art and technology.
What happens when animation, art, and research collide? When moving images no longer flicker across the screen, but create spaces you can enter? When artists, researchers, and developers from around the world come together to showcase their ideas live and make them tangible? That’s exactly what awaits you at Expanded 2025 – the Conference on Animation and Interactive Art.
Since 2013, the Expanded Animation Symposium has been a fixture of the Ars Electronica Animation Festival. What began as initial discussions about expanded cinema and computer animation has evolved over the years into a lively meeting place for everyone working at the intersection of media art, animation, and immersive experiences. In 2023, this development even received official recognition: the renowned Prix Ars Electronica category “Computer Animation” was renamed New Animation Art.
This year, for the first time, the scientific papers will be published in the ACM Digital Library, together with ACM SIGGRAPH. Nearly 100 submissions from around the world—an increase of almost 40% over last year—demonstrate how rapidly the community is growing. Twenty-eight papers have been selected and are now freely available to everyone. Whether artistic visions or scientific research on human-computer interaction, interdisciplinary projects or artist-based research – this is a place for discussion, experimentation and new thinking.
But Expanded is much more than papers and panels. The collective Total Refusal, Alessandro Bavari, Alona Rodeh, and Wendi Yan open the doors to their worlds and bring their films directly to Deep Space 8K. The Art & Industry panel explores the intersections of film, games, and applied research, with exciting insights from Volker Helzle, Dinko Dragonovic & Christian Steininger, and Philipp Seifried & Regina Reisinger.
And that’s not all: the jury for the “New Animation Art” category of the Prix Ars Electronica will also be there, bringing exciting perspectives from around the world.
German artist Boris Eldagsen takes you on a journey into the depths of the unconscious: He will be livestreaming directly to the festival from his current exhibition “PSYCHOPOMP! – AI Images as an Expression of the Unconscious Mind” in Johannesburg. British curator Liz Rosenthal, meanwhile, will be offering exclusive insights behind the scenes of Venice Immersive at the 82nd Biennale di Venezia – one of the world’s most important platforms for immersive storytelling.
Animation fans can also look forward to the Ars Electronica Animation Festival at the Ars Electronica Center, which will showcase outstanding works from the 2025 submissions to the Prix Ars Electronica and celebrate the diversity of the medium.
New in 2025: The first Expanded Summer School
Want to get involved instead of just watching? This year, the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria is opening its doors for the first time for a special summer school that is directly linked to the Expanded Conference. Under the motto “Evaluate, Play & Connect,” you will not only immerse yourself in the festival atmosphere, but also become part of it.
Practical workshops await you on the Hagenberg campus, where you will experience the latest approaches to user experience and game analysis. How can gaming experience be measured? What makes a game captivating? And what trends are shaping the future of interactive experiences?
The grand finale will be a panel discussion that bridges the gap between the Summer School and the conference: Together with Michael Lankes, Simone Kriglstein, Günter Wallner, and Katja Zibrek, you will look at the most exciting developments in HCI research for games and have the opportunity to contribute your own questions and thoughts.
Expanded Play: Interactive worlds between play, experimentation, and a touch of panic
For the second time, “Expanded Play” brings together students and artists from the University of Applied Arts Upper Austria, the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg, and Masaryk University to showcase works that playfully push the boundaries of mixed reality, spatial interaction, and artificial intelligence.
At the Salzamt Linz, where art and culture meet on experimental ground, an unusual parcours awaits you: you will encounter scenarios that reflect the festival theme “Panic – yes/no” in surprising ways. Imagine you are in the middle of a climate catastrophe and trying to deal with an oil spill. Or you have to justify yourself as a human being to AI. Perhaps you will transform into a spider-like creature or divide your senses to observe an occult ritual.
Each work gives you room to maneuver and at the same time lets you feel that slight thrill that makes you waver between fascination and goose bumps. But don’t worry: it’s all just simulation. Or is it?
Expanded 2025 will take place from September 3 to 7 as part of the Ars Electronica Festival. More information is available here.