“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 Key Researcher for Future Narratives, where she investigates the question, how stories about the futures can change the here and now. Other thematic interests lie in Art Thinking, art-inspired innovation and the collaboration between art and science. She studied art, comparative literature and cultural studies in Vienna and has been working for the Ars Electronica Festival and Futurelab on and off since 2011.
She is particularly interested in the potential social impact of future technologies-such as artificial intelligence, automated driving, virtual reality-beyond their direct fields of application. Research projects she has been involved in include topics such as Work of the Future, Ethical AI, Automated Environments, Future Skills, Speculative Design & Artistic Strategies in Futures Research.
Since 2022, she is a member of the Future Panel Oberösterreich, the interdisciplinary advisory board of the Oö. Zukunftsakademie.
Key research topic: Future Narratives
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
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