“The inability to imagine a world in which things are different is evidence only of poor imagination, not of the impossibility of change.”
Rutger Bregman, 2017
Maria Pfeifer is Head of Future Impact Creation and Key Researcher for Future Narratives at the Ars Electronica Futurelab. She develops frameworks to assess and communicate the societal impact of artistic, technological, and speculative innovation, with a strong focus on how storytelling and uncertainty shape transformative processes.
With a background in art, comparative literature, and cultural studies (University of Vienna), she has worked with the Ars Electronica Festival and Futurelab in various roles since 2011. Her research connects futures studies, speculative design, ethical technology, and the potential of artistic strategies to foster systemic change.
Her current focus lies on Future Impact Creation, a methodology for navigating complexity and emergence in experimental projects, and on Future Narratives, investigating how imaginaries of the future influence present developments. She is particularly interested in how technologies like AI, autonomous systems, and virtual environments affect cultural discourse and societal futures.
Since 2022, she has been a member of the Future Panel Upper Austria, advising on long-term strategic developments in the region.
Key Topics: Future Narratives, Future Impact Creation, Art Thinking, Art & Science, Speculative Design, Ethical AI, Futures Literacy.
Key Works
Curation of the first fall semester program of Austria’s new university IT:U to shape pioneering higher education, including support for Fellows and students by the Futurelab team.
New interdisciplinary field that incorporates artistic perspectives on future transformations based on data science as a starting point to create educational programs in universities.
Card game for intergenerational as well as innovators workshops where dialogue is fostered with collaborative storytelling of future narratives.
A thought-provoking campaign on glacier retreat by the activist artist group Aggro Climate, members of the Ars Electronica Futurelab.
Playful artistic intervention on the pillars of the Parliament building in Vienna: An invitation to everyone to express themselves, reflect, and take a stand on democracy.
Additional Information
Publications
Pfeifer, M., Sipos, R., Weiss, A. (2024). Navigating Future Skills: The FOUNDING LAB Experience in Shaping the University of the Future. In Conference Proceedings of the 22nd STS Conference Graz 2024 – Critical Issues in Science, Technology and Society Studies; 6 – 8 May 2024, pp 277 – 296
Holzkorn, P., Pfeifer, M., Naveau, N., & Gardiner, M. (2024). 23nm: Case study of Data Art Research as a model for practice in Data Art & Science. In J. Hagler, V. Szabo, P. Wintersberger, V. Guljajeva, B. Mitchell, & M. Kocur (Eds.), Proceedings of the Expanded 2024 – Conference on Animation and Interactive Art. Ars Electronica Linz.
Christopher Lindinger, Maria Pfeifer: Art Thinking. In: Art in Science Museums. Towards a Post-Disciplinary Approach. C. Rossi-Linnemann, G. de Martini (Eds.). London, Ss 134 -144, New York, 2020
KFV – Sicher Leben. Band #18. Berufe der Zukunft in einer automatisierten Mobilitätsumgebung. Wien, 2019
Maria Pfeifer: Future-oriented thinking and action strategies for the world of tomorrow. In: Out of the box. Ars Electronica 2019. Festival for Art, Technology, and Society. H. Leopoldseder, G.Stocker, C.Schöpf (Eds.) S.294-395, Linz, 2019
Master Thesis: Pfeifer, Maria Seh-Buch, Video-Gedicht, Hör-Bild.
Diplomarbeit, Universität Wien. Philologisch-Kulturwissenschaftliche Fakultät. BetreuerIn: Ivanovic, Christine. 2013
Interviews & Media
“Wir sind selbst dafür verantwortlich, wie die Zukunft der Arbeit aussehen wird”. Maria Pfeifer, Key Researcher & Artist im Ars Electronica Futurelab, über Mobilitätsberufe im Jahr 2050 und warum es wichtig ist, die Zukunft zu Ende zu denken. New-Skills-Gespräche des AMS (34) – www.ams.at/newskills. Wien, 2020
Chauffeur war gestern. Die Zukunft der Verkehrsberufe. orf.at, 29. Juli 2019
So wird die Führung gefordert. Was passiert, wenn sich Führungskräfte allen Fragen der Mitarbeiterinnen stellen? Ein mutiges Setting zeigt: Wer es zulässt, gewinnt an Glaubwürdigkeit. 26. August 2019
Vier Szenarien, die zeigen, wie Roboterautos den Arbeitsmarkt aufwirbeln. Von Co-Bot-Workern bis zu mobiler Psychotherapie: Linzer Forscher entwickelten Visionen, welche Jobs der Mobilitätssektor von morgen bringt. 1. August 2019
Homo Digitalis. Webserie über die Zukunft des Menschen. BR & Arte, 2017