Critical ChangeLab Linz will take place in the context of create your world, Ars Electronica’s future initiative of the next generation. create your world is not only concerned with new technological developments, but also tries to integrate the complex web of art, technology and society into everyday life and thus make it usable. Sustainability is also an important focus – in every form: Whether green event or use of regional resources – the long-term “durability” of ideas and projects is an important goal here. 

Team

Johanna Lenhart

With a background in German philology and comparative literature, Johanna Lenhart taught as an OEAD lecturer at universities in Egypt and the Czech Republic before joining Ars Electronica in 2023. Her teaching and research focus on narrative practices in different media and contexts, with a passion for how storytelling shapes our past, present and future. Johanna is also a member of the editorial team of the journal medienimpulse. Beiträge zur Medienpädagogik.

Vanessa Hannesschläger

Vanessa Hannesschläger is head of European Cooperation of Ars Electronica Festival in Linz, Austria. She holds a PhD in literature from the University of Vienna, where she teaches digital humanities. Vanessa is invested in strengthening the European democratic discourse to make societies fit for the challenges of the digital age and the climate crisis. In the European policy context, Vanessa advocates for digital infrastructure for the arts and humanities, data literacy and Open Science.

Ana-Maria Carabelea

Since joining Ars Electronica in 2021, Ana-Maria Carabelea has been developing content and communication strategies for various European projects. In what seems like a different life now, she conceptualised and curated conference programmes and exhibitions within the cultural and creative industries, including -ing Creatives -Dubai’s first independent creative festival. She holds an MA in European Literature from Humboldt University Berlin, an MA in Brands, Communication, and Culture from Goldsmiths University of London, and is currently developing her PhD proposal for Goldsmiths University of London.

Hans Christian Merten

Hans Christian Merten has headed Ars Electronica’s u19 – CREATE YOUR WORLD division since 2013. He studied audio technology & design in Vienna and completed various programs at Bruckner University in Linz. From 2002 to 2010, he taught at the Upper Austria University of Applied Sciences’ Hagenberg Campus (media technology & design) and at the High School for Communication and Media in Freistadt. 2010-13 he served as artistic director of the multiple-prizewinning festival “kult – das neue Mühlfestival” in Freistadt. Since 2005, he’s been a freelance artist and director of the Music for Film & Media project studio in Gutau, Upper Austria.