Ars Electronica Festival 2021

September 8-12.
In Linz, online, and at 86 other Ars Electronica Gardens around the globe.

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(Linz, August 30, 2021) Everyone’s interested in deals these days. This is partly the fault of a president who — in typical salesman fashion — was only interested in deals that would bring profit to him, completely disregarding the consequential costs for others …
In 2021, Ars Electronica is looking for a deal too, but a deal of a very different kind. Together with artists, scientists and activists from all over the world, the Linz festival for art, technology and society is calling for a fundamentally new approach to the challenges of the 21st century. Two main things are needed for us to tackle those challenges: the freedom to act and the ability to act. In the face of ever greater ecological and social disruption, it’s clear that the time for beating around the bush is over. It’s time to put our money where our mouth is; it’s time for a “New Digital Deal.”

Ars Electronica — a field test for the 21st century
Where should the impulse for a “New Digital Deal” come from, if not a platform like Ars Electronica? That’s why this year’s festival aims not only to promote new things, but to let them play out as prototypes: The question of what we want to use new technologies for, and how, will be answered by a dual event that builds on the experiences of 2020 and takes place both on-site and online. The question of what learning should look like in the 21st century will be the focus of a “Festival University” that will bring 100 young people from more than 40 countries to Linz. The question of how we can link economic value creation with ecological and social sustainability and anchor it locally is at the center of a new “Regional STARTS Center” in Linz and Upper Austria. The festival for art, technology and society is not only a forum, but also a field test for the “New Digital Deal.”

Ars Electronica in Linz, online, and at 86 Ars Electronica Gardens around the world
In Linz, this artistic-scientific exploration of our future comes together on the Festival Mile in the city center, which stretches from the OK in the Upper Austrian Cultural Quarter to the University of Art and Design Linz on the main square and the nearby Salzamt, to the Ars Electronica Center and the STADTWERKSTATT on the north bank of the Danube. The festival in Linz has an additional venue in “Kepler’s Gardens” on the campus of Johannes Kepler University.

Moreover, another 86 “Ars Electronica Gardens” around the world will join the call for a New Digital Deal in 2021. The proposals made there will be offered partly on site for the local public and partly online for the international community.

Online is where it’s at: after nearly a year and a half of “Home Delivery” and a first hybrid festival in 2020, Ars Electronica is taking the next step and committing to the dual-event format. The Swapcard event platform developed in France serves as a central tool and provides access to a wealth of streamed lectures, workshops, concerts and tours from Linz and the Ars Electronica Gardens around the world. Users can also put together their own festival calendars and visit many different chats to exchange information and network with other visitors from all over the world.

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PL’AI / Špela Petrič (SI) / photo: Hanneke Wetzer, Špela Petrič / Printversion

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How to Make an Ocean / Kasia Molga / photo: GOSIA SIWIEC / Printversion

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Pablo Picassos Guernica in Deep Space 8K / photo: Ars Electronica – Robert Bauernhansl / Printversion

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The Living Light / Nova Innova (NL) / photo: Nova Innova / Printversion

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Große Konzertnacht – Brucknerorchester & Markus Poschner / photo: tom mesic / Printversion

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Location JKU / photo: Andreas Kolb / Printversion

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Ars Electronica Garden Montreal / photo: Maurice Benayoun / Printversion

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Impression from press conference / Credit: Ars Electronica – Robert Bauernhansl / Printversion

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Impression from press conference / Credit: Ars Electronica – Robert Bauernhansl / Printversion

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Sujet Ars Electronica Festival / Credit: Ars Electronica / Printversion