Ars Electronica 2024: Program Highlights

(Linz, August 26, 2024) Ars Electronica—these are 5 days full of concentrated creativity, spread over 10 locations and 8 featured locations, with almost 1,000 different offers. In 2024, the globally renowned festival for art, technology and society will again present a variety of exhibitions, concerts, performances, conferences, workshops and tours that are developed, staged and performed by creative people from all over the world.

This year’s theme is “HOPE – who will turn the tide”. The focus is on those people and initiatives that give us reason for hope despite all the crises. Not because they want us to believe that everything will be okay somehow, but because they show with their creativity, competence and commitment that we can actively influence and bring about change. And that there are people all over the world who do this day after day.

Highlights and Premieres

The program of this year’s Ars Electronica is packed with top-class offerings. These include exhibitions such as the show on the festival theme, which will once again be staged in the spacious catacombs of POSTCITY, and the exhibition of the Prix Ars Electronica prize winners, which will be shown for the first time at the Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz. Apropos Prix Ars Electronica: The official presentation of the Golden Nicas as part of the Prix Ars Electronica Award Ceremony will celebrate its premiere in 2024 at the Design Center Linz. Another novelty is the presentation of award-winning projects of the S+T+ARTS Prize Africa, which was initiated by the EU Commission in 2024 and led by Ars Electronica.

The highlights also include events such as the world premiere on September 4, the 200th birthday of Anton Bruckner, when a symbiosis of quantum physics and organ music officially opens the festival. Or at the Ars Electronica Big Concert Night, to which this year the Cello Octet Amsterdam (NL), Nick Verstand (NL) and Maki Namekawa (AT/JP) invite you, as well as the “Mishima” Concerto for Piano and Orchestra with Dennis Russell Davies (AT/US) and the Filharmonie Brno.

The three-day symposium on the festival theme (September 5 – 7) also features presentations and discussions with a top-class cast, for example, Kate Crawford (AU), Vladan Joler (RS), Francesca Bria (IT), Jilian York (US), Paul Nemitz (DE), and Agnes Aistleitner Kisuule (AT) on September 5th, Christiane Gerstetter (DE) on September 6th as well as Anil Seth (UK), Hito Steyerl (DE), Hilary Mason (US) and Paul Trillo (US) on 7th September.

The biggest attraction for families from the region is create your world, which is a free “festival within a festival” and once again offers numerous open labs for experimentation.

POSTCITY and festival mile right through the city center

A total of 18 locations in downtown Linz will be used as part of Ars Electronica 2024. The central location is the spectacular POSTCITY, which on 80,000 square meters becomes a stage for ideas, visions and projects between art, technology and society. Other venues include the St. Mary’s Cathedral (Mariendom), the University of Arts Linz, Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz, the Atelierhaus Salzamt, the Ars Electronica Center, the Stadtwerkstatt and Anton Bruckner Private University. The festival’s new locations are the MED Campus of Johannes Kepler University Linz and the Design Center Linz.

What is particularly pleasing is the participation of the independent scene, local initiatives and companies, which expresses the shared commitment to Linz’s city life. The featured locations include the cultural association Damen&Herrenstraße (DH5), FIFTITU%, the Innovationshauptplatz Linz PopUp Store, OK Linz, Francisco Carolinum Linz, KEBA InnoSpace, Theater Phönix and Kunstraum Memphis.

Supporters all over the world

Ars Electronica 2024 is made possible by a large number of sponsors, event partners, sponsors and cooperation partners from all over the world. The organizers are Ars Electronica and the City of Linz.

The event partners are anton bruckner 2024 and the OÖ KulturEXPO, Anton Bruckner Private University, Design Center Linz, IT:U Interdisciplinary Transformation University Austria, Johannes Kepler University Linz, the University of Arts Linz, Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz, the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, JKU Linz Institute of Technology, and the JKU Faculty of Medicine.

The most important funding bodies include Horizon Europe, Creative Europe, the Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, Civil Service and Sport, the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs, the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research, the Province of Upper Austria and the Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG.

Mobility partner is Polestar.

The most important partners of Ars Electronica 2024 are Hakuhodo, POST AG, the Upper Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WK OÖ), Japan Tobacco Inc., the AMS, Pro Helvetia, dynatrace, the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (CIFO), Mitsubishi Electric, RISC Software GmbH, Linz Tourismus, Toyota Coniq, Ton & Bild, and Klangfarbe, furthermore ARUBA, CCF, Sophos, Security for Business and Viteka & Lorenz.

Historically closely linked, the Ars Electronica Festival is being held in cooperation with ORF Upper Austria.

I Events, Concerts and Performances

Pre-Opening Walk 2024
September 3, 2024 | 4:00 p.m. – midnight | JKU MED Campus Linz, Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz, University of Arts Linz, Atelierhaus Salzamt, Ars Electronica Center, Stadtwerkstatt, St. Mary’s Cathedral

The pre-opening walk is the unofficial opening of Ars Electronica and is always very popular. From the JKU MED Campus to Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz, the University of Arts Linz and the Atelierhaus Salzamt to the Ars Electronica Center and the Stadtwerkstatt—between 4:00 p.m. and midnight on Tuesday evening, September 3, there are six openings at as many festival locations on the program. Rectors, artistic directors, curators and artists everywhere welcome people, provide insight into their festival contributions this year and celebrate the beginning of the Linz Festival for Art, Technology and Society together.

Night owls then move on to the St. Mary’s Cathedral to celebrate Anton Bruckner’s 200th birthday (September 4): Silent Echoes is a sound installation between Notre Dame de Paris and the ice caves on the Dachstein—from the stroke of midnight the sounds are transmitted to the St. Mary’s Cathedral. The American artist Bill Fontana will accompany the event on site himself.

Ars Electronica Opening 2024
September 4, 2024 | 8:00 p.m. – 11:55 p.m. | St. Mary’s Cathedral

September 4, 2024 marks the start of the Ars Electronica Festival and would also be Anton Bruckner’s 200th birthday. This is reason enough to pay homage to the Upper Austrian composer at the opening of this year’s festival in Linz’ St. Mary’s Cathedral — whose votive chapel was inaugurated in 1869 with Bruckner’s now world-famous Locus iste (“this place”).

This evening will be kicked off by the Austrian soul newcomer Lou Asril on Domplatz, before the ELECTRONICOS FANTASTICOS! (JP) take over the stage with one of their inimitable concert performances and convert discarded electrical devices into sounding musical instruments. Afterwards we go inside the cathedral for a world premiere: with BruQner – The Sound of Entanglement created by Clemens Wenger (AT), Enar de Dios Rodríguez (ES), Martin Ringbauer (AT), Johannes Kofler (AT), Richard Küng (AT), Alexander Ploier (AT), Benjamin Orthner (AT/GH) and Philipp Haslinger (AT), Wolfgang Kreuzhuber (AT) and Gerhard Raab (AT), who create a symbiosis of quantum physics and organ music and present an unprecedented performance of Bruckner’s Perger Prelude. Chamber musicians from the Bruckner Orchester Linz will then appear and play Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 in E major WAB 107 in the arrangement for ensemble (“Schönberg version”) by Hanns Eisler (movements I and III), Erwin Stein (movement II) and Karl Rankl (movement IV). At the end of this year’s opening, it’s time for “NoFive” to fuse Bruckner’s Fifth Symphony and the iconic riff from the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army”—shaken up and mixed up in the style of Glenn Branca.

Prix Ars Electronica Award Ceremony
September 5, 2024 | 7:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. (admission from 6:45 p.m.) | Design Center Linz

The Prix Ars Electronica Award Ceremony will take place on Thursday, September 5, 2024. The spotlight will be on the winners of the Prix Ars Electronica, the S+T+ARTS Prize and the first S+T+ARTS Prize Africa, the European Union Prize for Citizen Science, the Ars Electronica Award for Digital Humanity and the State of the ART(ist) competition. For the first time, the venue for the celebratory award ceremony is the Design Center Linz.

Big Concert Night
September 6, 2024 | 7:30 p.m. – 9:45 p.m. | POSTCITY | Gleishalle (Train Hall)

Claire Bleumer, Esther Torrenga, Genevieve Verhage, Alistair Sung, Rares Mihailescu, René van Munster, Sanne Bijker and Sanne van der Horst form the “Cello Octet Amsterdam”. Projects with composers such as Philip Glass, Sofia Gubaidulina and Arvo Pärt have brought the formation international fame. Nick Verstand (NL), on the other hand, is an artist, performer and lighting designer. He creates extraordinary stage and light installations, including collaborations with artists such as Björk, Doja Cat, Fatima Yamaha and Suzanne Ciani. At the “Big Concert Night”—which is being implemented as part of the ACuTe project—the cellists and the artist will present Cocon, a spectacular live performance that oscillates between creation and destruction and asks about our future role in the earth’s ecosystem. The eight cellists and just as many robotic arms form a kind of organism that moves to the rhythm of the music. Immediately afterwards, pianist Maki Namekawa (AT/JP) and the “Cello Octet Amsterdam” play The Hours and Dracula, two pieces by Philip Glass (US).

NIGHTLINE
September 6, 2024 | 10:30 p.m. – 4:00 a.m. | POSTCITY | Gleishalle (Train Hall)

In 2024, the Ars Electronica Nightline presents itself as an excursion into the Swiss club scene. First up is the Congolese-Austrian music producer, singer and multi-instrumentalist Kimyan Law, crossing genres such as fractal drum’n’bass, hip hop, rap, ambient and sound design.

After that, the stage belongs to Aïsha Devi, who released her new studio album Death is Home on the British label Houndstooth in 2023. In the Train Hall (Gleishalle) she takes the audience on an adventurous journey through hyperpop and club music.

Musician and rapper Nathalie Froehlich then impresses with her unmistakable mix of rap, techno and reggaeton as well as her astute lyrics.

Zurich musician Belia Winnewisser released her latest album The Essence Of on the Frankfurt label SPA in July 2024. Her live set with German artist Subrihanna promises a refreshing mix of club music and daring future pop.

Noria Lilt from Fribourg is a DJ, producer, sound artist, involved in the SMEM (Swiss Museum and Centre for Electronic Music Instruments) and part of TRNSTN RADIO. She presented her debut EP The Insiders of the In-Between at the Montreux Jazz Festival and the Bad Bonn Kilbi.

DJ NVST has played her signature mix of breakbeats, industrial, techno and acid at Berghain and Tresor in Berlin, Garage Noord in Amsterdam, Positive Education Festival, Dekmantel Selectors and Primavera Sound. In addition, she runs the label “Big Science” with Warzou and is a resident at RinseFM and LYLRadio.

Pianographique–The Intertwining Lands
September 7, 2024 | 16:00-17:20 | POSTCITY | Gleishalle (Train Hall)

Pianographique is all about Bedřich Smetana and Adalbert Stifter and their description of a landscape that stretches from the Danube to the Vltava and represents a common historical habitat as well as a cross-border ecosystem in the center of Europe. In a time in which fear and rejection of the other, the foreign, is increasingly spreading, the great unifying power of art, music and literature should be activated and encourage people to think about where we actually stand, how we want to define ourselves as society and individuals today.

The visualizations for Ma Vlast were designed (with the exception of some historical drawings) using AI programs in order to capture the special atmosphere emanating from the four-hand piano version and to accompany it visually and aesthetically. At the same time, the visualizations can be understood as an artistic examination of the use of generative artificial intelligence. Maki Namekawa (AT/JP) and Dennis Russell Davies (AT/US) play the piano, Cori O’Lan (AT) provides the visualizations.

Sonic Saturday
September 7, 2024 | 11:00-22:00 | Anton Bruckner Private University

Sonic Saturday at the Anton Bruckner Private University has been an integral part of every Ars Electronica Festival since 2016. In keeping with the festival theme “HOPE – who will turn the tide”, the Ars Electronica focus on “Digital Music” at Bruckner University is this time embarking on a journey into the realm of sonic exploration and inspiration. As part of the artists’ meeting, an informal, practical and personal exchange of ideas takes place between artistic researchers who investigate the question of how music resonates in groups, how it creates hope and what this hope could be based on. Through the dynamic sound textures of electroacoustic art, the intricacies of human emotions and aspirations are explored and where music serves as a catalyst for action.

Futurelab Night
September 7, 2024 | 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m.; 20:45-22:15 | Ars Electronica Center, Deep Space 8K

How can people use avatars in the near future? How can we engage in social situations that include not only other people but also avatars? And what technology do we need to explore such “hybrid” spaces together? This is what the Horizon Europe research project SHARESPACE is all about, which is the focus of this year’s Futurelab Night. Three concrete projects at the interface of art and science are presented: the audiovisual application *falcon heavy by Johannes Pöll (AT), in which synchronization with others becomes the decisive moment of the collective experience, the exploratory project Converge by Patrick Berger (AT), which is dedicated to the decentralized interaction of people and avatars and State of Play by Tara Habibzadeh (IR), Harriet Davey (GB) and Mati Bratkowski (PL), an interpretation of the last task of Rostam’s 7 tasks in the work Shahnameh (Persian Book of Kings) as a deconstructed video game boss fight.

“Mishima” Concerto for Piano and Orchestra by Philip Glass
September 8, 2024 | 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. | POSTCITY | Gleishalle (Train Hall)

Dennis Russell Davies (AT/US) and the Filharmonie Brno once again invite you to the Train Hall of POSTCITY at the end of the 2024 Ars Electronica Festival. The program includes Philip Glass’ “Mishima” Concerto for Piano and Orchestra. The soloist will be Maki Namekawa (AT/JP).

II Exhibitions

Prix Ars Electronica Ausstellung
September 4 – 8, 2024 | Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz

Announced in several categories every year since 1987, the Prix Ars Electronica is the most traditional and prestigious media art competition in the world. In 2024 alone, 2,950 projects from 95 countries were submitted, viewed by a top-class jury and outstanding works were awarded prizes. An exclusive selection from these is always shown at the Ars Electronica Festival as part of an exhibition. In 2024 the selection will be exhibited for the first time in Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz. 13 artistic works will be presented, including Smoke and Mirrors by Beatie Wolfe (UK), Nosukaay by Diane Cescutti (FR) and Washed Out “The Hardest Part” by Paul Trillo (US), all of which have been awarded a Golden Nica of the Prix Ars Electronica 2024. Further award-winning projects and the winners of the u19–create your world category can be found in POSTCITY.

Art & Science Exhibition
September 4 – 8, 2024 | POSTCITY, JKU MED Campus

The MED Campus of Johannes Kepler University Linz is a venue of the Ars Electronica Festival for the first time this year—exactly on the 10th anniversary of the medical faculty. In the heart of Linz, the Art & Science exhibition presents fascinating insights into the world of medicine and projects at the interface between science and art.

PiNA’s Spaceship from Hope is a more than 10 meter long inflatable installation that stages a vision of interspecific collaboration to preserve the planet. The arc/sec Lab’s Whispering Gardens combine historical garden aesthetics with futuristic themes and allow visitors to immerse themselves in a fantastic soundscape. Yuri Tanaka’s (JP) Transient – Cloud Chamber is a fascinating interaction with cosmic particles that reveals the transient beauty of the cosmos, Fiona Smith’s (GB) The BOX, presented by Fraunhofer MEVIS, enables an interactive exploration of the practical and ethical dimensions of integration of AI in healthcare.

With innovative projects funded by the JKU’s Linz Institute of Technology (LIT), among others, JKU researchers and artists present unique (interactive) installations that invite people to think, participate and discuss. It’s about Anton Bruckner, quantum physics, artificial intelligence, Alan Turing, generational conflicts and magic. Whether we need the help of magician Merlin Kepler—as in Hack the Hat—to ultimately turn things around and overcome our current global challenges remains to be seen. One thing is certain: science and art can provide important impetus for this.

Another highlight is the show “Applied Virtualities: Extended Reality in Practice” in the context of the international collaboration project “Realities in Transition” (co-financed by the European Union). The focus is on alternative extended reality (XR) creations, prototypes and research that push the boundaries of traditional XR/VR experiences and promote new narratives and creative processes. The innovative projects encourage people to get involved—for example with #ALPHALOOP by Adelin Schweitzer (FR). Participants experience a 50-minute guided tour that combines a 360° cinema experience with an interactive live performance. Alison’s Room also wants to be discovered: The XR artist Paula Strunden (DE) fuses an immersive experience with historical design analysis and invites you to take a trip to the workplace of the architect and author Alison Smithson. In total there are eight XR works that can be explored.

Campus Exhibition
September 4 – 8, 2024 | POSTCITY, First Floor; University of Arts Linz, Hauptplatz 6+8; Atelierhaus Salzamt

The collaboration between Ars Electronica and the University of Arts Linz has been celebrating research into media art and culture since 2002. The Campus exhibition is a platform that showcases talent from international universities who pursue unique approaches to teaching and creative practice. Every year, universities from around the world are invited to present projects from students, graduates and professors that reflect their missions.

This year’s host institution is Budapest Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design. Known for its commitment to interdisciplinary research, the university will present projects that demonstrate how contemporary artists and designers navigate and shape our rapidly changing world. The contributions cover topics ranging from cutting-edge technology and augmented realities to critical dialogues on social and environmental issues. In addition to Moholy-Nagy University, another 42 international universities will be guests in Linz, including long-standing contributors such as the Bauhaus University Weimar, the National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. New partners such as Simon Fraser University in Vancouver and the National University of Singapore bring fresh perspectives and enrich the exhibition with diverse perspectives and innovative approaches. In addition, the University of Arts Linz presents contributions from all four of its own institutes, reflecting the institution’s internal diversity and commitment to expanding the boundaries of media art and design.

For the first time this year, there will also be a separate Ars Electronica Campus Award, which honors the best contribution to the Campus exhibition. The aim is to give even more appreciation and attention and visibility to emerging talent and the educational institutions that support them.

HOPE: the touch of many
September 4 – 8, 2024 | POSTCITY, Bunker

Staged in the dark, cool catacombs of POSTCITY, visiting the exhibition on this year’s festival theme is a conceptual, sensual and emotional journey into and through fascinating artistic worlds. At the center are artists and their ability to spark hope in us, which moves us and, in the best case, even motivates us to act.

On display are 24 works that, like Octavia Butler’s “new suns,” make new horizons and other landscapes visible and challenge us to look and think beyond what already exists. Visitors are asked to feel and urged to act; they are invited to touch and be touched.

Part of the exhibition, presented as part of the European Digital Deal project, is co-financed by the European Union’s Creative Europe program.

Works presented are from EMAP (The European Media Art Platform), projects created as part of the European Media Artist in Residence Exchange (EMARE), the winners of the CIFO x Ars Electronica Awards 2024 (supported by the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation , CIFO) and an art installation sponsored by the Institut Ramon Llull. The exhibition also includes works that were awarded the ArTS Production Grant for Swiss Artists (Art, Technology, Society)—a scholarship supported by the Swiss cultural foundation Pro Helvetia—as well as a project that was awarded the Ars Electronica Award for Digital Humanity, which is supported by the Austrian Foreign Ministry.
Another work was co-produced by Ars Electronica and the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts , and another project was implemented as part of the TAICCA x Ars Electronica Art Thinking program.

Platform Europe: S+T+ARTS Exhibition
4.-8. September 2024 | POSTCITY, First Floor

Ars Electronica is involved in numerous EU projects that are realized by consortia of European institutions from the arts, culture, science and business. All these initiatives are based on cross-disciplinary cooperation across national, linguistic and cultural borders and aim to promote a more interconnected and sustainable Europe. With the new “Platform Europe”, Ars Electronica is bundling these projects that want to rethink technology-driven change through art and set an example of how democracy-building cooperation can also be implemented in art, research and technology using the model of the EU. S+T+ARTS is one of the most important European initiatives in which Ars Electronica is playing a leading role:

The triangle of “Science”, “Technology” and “Arts” (S+T+ARTS) is a fertile breeding ground on which creative solutions for our present and visions for the future flourish. This applies in and for Europe, which is why the EU Commission initiated the S+T+ARTS Initiative in 2014 and the S+T+ARTS Prize in 2016, just as it does in and for Africa, which is why the EU Commission launched the S+T+ARTS4Africa initiative and the S+T+ARTS Prize Africa in 2024. Both competitions are organized under the leadership of Ars Electronica and their results will be presented at the S+T+ARTS Exhibition at the festival. Projects by individual artists as well as institutional initiatives that bring about real change are shown. Like Kate Crawford (AU) and Vladan Joler (RS), who present a map of our technological present with their visual manifesto Calculating Empires: A Genealogy of Power and Technology, 1500–2025, asking us to question our relationship to today’s social, political, and technological systems and consider our next steps. Or the Congolese initiative “Balot NFT”, which takes an innovative and radical approach to combat the colonial structures and dynamics and the resulting injustice, which are still in effect today, while achieving greater justice, transparency and inclusivity.

For art to develop its full potential, however, it also needs institutional support, space for experimentation and dialogue. The exhibition shows that long-standing programs such as “Arts at CERN” or “FUNKEN Academy” can establish collaboration between experts from different disciplines and thus make alternative models of knowledge production possible.

State of the ART(ist)
4.-8. September 2024 | POSTCITY, Roof Top

Launched in 2022 by the Austrian Foreign Ministry and Ars Electronica in response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, “State of the ART(ist)” is aimed at artists who work at considerable risk to life and limb. The competition was announced again in 2024 and recorded 311 submissions from 46 countries. A jury of experts reviewed all the projects and awarded two Main Prizes, each endowed with 3,000 euros, as well as eight Honorary Mentions, each endowed with 750 euros. As part of the festival, a selection of the winning projects from “State of the ART(ist)” will be presented in an exhibition, including Haawriya by Said Ahmed Mohamed Alhassan (SD) and Nanna Langa by Indu Antony (IN). The Queer Muslim Project by Rafiul Alom Rahman (IN), Rachita Sai Barak (IN) and Maniza Khalid (IN) will also be shown.

Ars Electronica Features
4.-8. September 2024 | POSTCITY, Bunker

“Ars Electronica Features” is the title of an exhibition that presents 30 artistic interpretations of the festival theme, which will be brought to Linz by partner institutions from all over the world. Included are works by BeFantastic, NewArt {foundation;}, Jiabao Li (CN) from the University of Texas at Austin, Baltan Laboratories, V2_ Lab for the Unstable Media, The Metaverse Alliance from Taiwan, Kapelica Gallery, the REX|LAB or Yasuaki Kakehi Laboratory.

IT:U – FOUNDING LAB Exhibition
September 4 – 8, 2024 | POSTCITY, First Floor

Inspired by this year’s festival theme, IT:U—Interdisciplinary Transformation University Austria’s exhibition addresses the relationship between social challenges and innovative digital technologies. The focus is on medicine and healthcare. Five projects will be presented by students from Great Britain, Austria, India, Australia, Japan and Canada who took part in the IT:U x Ars Electronica FOUNDING LAB, the Fall and Spring Term. The works cover a wide range of social topics—from virtual reality experiences for people with disabilities to health monitoring using machine learning and artistic innovation, reliving dreams via VR, combining AI-generated images with historical texts and questioning our social vision of care.

III The Conferences & Talks

IT:U FOUNDING LAB Day: Open Research & Education
September 4, 2024 | POSTCITY, conference hall

The full-day conference will focus on the transformative role of AI in higher education. After a keynote by Joanna Bryson, Professor of Ethics and Technology at the Hertie School, experts from various universities and disciplines will provide insight into their current approaches and present their strategies for transdisciplinary and practice-oriented learning. Carla Barreiros (PT), Laura Veart (UK), Georg Russegger (DE), Ken Nakagaki (JP/US), Andreas Ingerl (DE), Qian Ye (CN) and Nikoletta Karastathi (UK) will be there. This will be followed by a panel discussion with Stefanie Lindstaedt (DE), Daniela Jacob (DE), Laura Veart (UK), Georg Russegger (AT), LaJuné McMillian (US) and Joanna Bryson (GB). The conference will be moderated by Lauren Vargas (US).

Symposium: Perspektiven der politischen Bildung
4. September 2024 | POSTCITY, Lecture Stage

How do I behave when I meet a stranger? What fears and insecurities do I feel and why? How does this relate to our first contact with new technologies? What attraction does the unknown exert on us?

Encounters generate spontaneous reactions that are evaluated again and again. They form the basis for democratic coexistence in our society. This time, the symposium “Perspectives of Political Education” wants to show that art can function as a medium to give such moments of encounter a positive meaning. Different encounters are initiated using various formats in the fields of politics, art, technology and society. Participants are invited to take a tour of the festival and reflect on works of art and their potential for the educational landscape—and our democratic society in general.

Ars Electronica Themensymposium (I-III)
September 5 – 7, 2024 | POSTCITY, conference hall

The three-day symposium on the festival theme focuses on practical approaches and concrete projects. In contrast to previous years, it is not so much about theoretical reflection, but about companies, artists and initiatives that use disruptive technologies and approaches to drive the necessary social change. The aim is to make effective contributions to the fight against the climate crisis and the transition to renewable energies, to promote and further develop democracy and to implement AI applications in a transparent and sustainable manner.

Ars Electronica Themensymposium (I): RECLAIM, RELEARN, RESIST
September 5, 2024 | POSTCITY, conference hall

To kick off the major thematic conference, the S+T+ARTS Day conference highlights the history of “inevitable” technological progress. It tells of decisions that were and are dictated by certain wishes, interests or preferences, and presents initiatives and projects that open up different technological progress and thus different social, economic and political realities. Speakers: Frederike Kaltheuner (DE), Paul Nemitz (DE), Francesca Bria (IT), Jillian C. York (US), Christoph Knogler (AT), Petia Niederländer (AT), Rafael Madureira dos Anjos (BR), Agnes Aistleitner Kisuule (AT), Maha Bali (EG), Martin Hollinetz (AT), Martyna Marciniak (PL), Sowjanya Suraj (IN), Karin Gabriel (AT), Kate Crawford (AU), Vladan Joler (RS), Albert Ortig (AT), Apolinário Passos (BR), Thomas Nayer (AT), Claudio Silvestrin (DE), Rita Isiba (AT), Eva Knibbe (NL), Paulien Geerlings (NL) and Peter Friess (DE).

Ars Electronica Themensymposium (II): Going green! Stories of reinvention, disruption and systemic change to reclaim our future
September 6, 2024 | POSTCITY, conference hall

Part 2 of the Thematic Symposium is the Studiotopia Conference. The focus is on projects by companies, start-ups, initiatives, artists and political decision-makers that aim to prevent dystopian future scenarios from becoming reality. It is about inspiring and groundbreaking ideas that reinvent old systems and help achieve “net zero emissions by 2050”, accelerate the “Green Deal”, accelerate the transition to renewable energy and reduce the costs of decarbonization, promote the move towards “eco-cities”, initiate the creation of green mobility systems and take legal action to protect nature and the future of our societies. Denis Azhar (GB), Rachel Donald (GB), Andrei Bacu (BE), Mohamed Sleiman Labat (EH), Dani Ploeger (NL), Katharina Meyer (DE), Jiabao Li (CN), Katja Schechtner (AT), Neda Kostandinovic (RS), Christiane Gerstetter (DE), Beatie Wolfe (US), Konstantin Migutsch (AT), Miha Turšič (SI / NL), Thomas Bürgler (AT) and Pheline Roggan (DE) will be there.

Ars Electronica Themensymposium (III): AI and Artistic Creation
September 7, 2024 | POSTCITY, conference hall

Day 3 of the thematic symposium asks artists, researchers, technologists and activists about their experiences and views on the use of AI in the artistic creation process. Our consciousness in the AI age will be reflected, practical applications will be presented, and the research of new tools will be discussed. In addition, there is an exchange on the structures of cooperation that are needed to create an ecosystem for AI creativity.

In an interactive session, experts and participants will work together to design a future-proof, sustainable and integrative infrastructure for AI-driven artistic creation. Finally, there will be a discussion about how the AI revolution is bringing about changes in the valuation of art, intellectual property and business models. Micaela Mantegna (AR), Paul Trillo (US), Sasha Stiles (US), Marta Verde (ES), Tamiko Thiel (DE), Thor Magnusson (IS), Felipe Sanchez Luna (CO/DE), LaJuné McMillian (US), Tiara Roxanne (DE), Micaela Mantegna (AR), Hito Steyerl (DE), AC Coppens (FR), Anil Seth (UK), Brigitta Muntendorf (DE), Bettina Kames (DE), Ingrid Kopp (ZA/GB), Hilary Mason (US), Jo Lawson-Tancred (GB), Lisa Käde (DE) and Maria Arnal (ES) will speak and discuss.

EXPANDED 2024—CONFERENCE ON ANIMATION AND INTERACTIVE ART
September 5-7, 2024 | Ars Electronica Center, Sky Loft

The 12th edition of Expanded focuses on academic art contributions in the field of augmented animation and interactive art that explore audiovisual expressions at the intersection of art and technology. The program includes academic and artistic presentations as well as panels with exciting guests such as animation filmmaker Irina Rubina (RU/DE), indie game studio Slow Bros and Paul Clarke (GB) from the collective “uninvited guests”.

The artists Paul Trillo (US), Rachel Maclean (GB) and Nicolas Gourault (FR), who were awarded at the Prix Ars Electronica 2024, provide insights into their current works. In the “Art & Industry” panel, Jan Pinkava (CZ/DE) will talk about the future of interactive storytelling and Bonnie Mitchell (US) about the “Time Tunnel – 50 Years of SIGGRAPH HISTORY”.

IV Specials

Ars Electronica Animation Festival 2024
September 4 – 8, 2024 | JKU MED Campus, JKU medSPACE

The Ars Electronica Animation Festival presents outstanding animations submitted in the New Animation Art category of the Prix Ars Electronica 2024 and selected by the competition’s renowned jury. In terms of content, it is about the climate crisis, data surveillance, the invisible human labor that goes into the training of AI systems, the loss of credibility of images and the commercialization of transnational education.

You can see the animations Smoke and Mirrors by Beatie Wolfe, winner of the Golden Nica 2024, Stained by Jeremy Kamal (US), I’m Feeling Lucky by Timothy Thomasson (CA), Unknown Label by Nicolas Gourault (FR), Thank you for your Souvenir, UK! by Oushi Lin (CN), Fckai? (Famous) by Jordan Clarke (CA), Random Acts of Flyness by Kordae Henry (US) and DUCK by Rachel Maclean (GB).

Programm im Deep Space 8K
4.-8. September 2024 | Ars Electronica Center, Deep Space 8K

Deep Space 8K at the Ars Electronica Center will be the venue for a fascinating array of presentations, performances, live music and interactive programs during the festival week. For example, WHAT IS REMAINING – a collaboration by TANZ LINZ and University of Arts Linz – invites you to a dance evening in three acts, where contemporary dance and interactive digital art find a common choreography. Calling for Help: Can ET Save Us? by Dan Tell (US) enables a virtual journey into space and challenges visitors to think about the history of humanity from a completely new perspective. At Peter, Paula & Panini, children and young people gain insights into the creation of a new children’s play on the effects of climate change—based on the idea of a primary school pupil, illustrated with children’s drawings and modern AI image design. The program in Deep Space 8K changes daily.

Cultural Heritage im Deep Space 8K
September 4 – 8, 2024 | Ars Electronica Center, Deep Space 8K

Seit Jahren ist Cultural Heritage fester Bestandteil des Programms und Publikumsmagnet jeder Ars Electronica: Ob Gigapixelbilder oder immersive dreidimensionale Modelle, im Deep Space 8K werden Kunst- und Kulturschätze von Weltrang zum einmaligen Erlebnis. 2024 präsentiert das Pariser Startup Iconem ein 3D-Modell der weltberühmten Kathedrale Notre-Dame de Paris, während das Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza Madrid ein Gigapixelbild von Vittore Carpaccios Junger Ritter in einer Landschaft nach Linz bringt. Gemeinsam mit der Kaiserschild-Stiftung, der Alten Galerie in Schloss Eggenberg in Graz und weiteren Museen werden Werke des niederländischen Meisters und berühmten Stillleben-Malers Pieter Claesz gezeigt. Die Expert*innen des Ars Electronica Futurelab tragen mit einer 3D-Punktwolke des Linzer Mariendoms und Gigapixelbildern seiner Fenster zum diesjährigen Cultural-Heritage-Schwerpunkt bei.

Ars Electronica Solutions@Festival: Towards Hope – Transforming Perspectives
September 4 – 8, 2024 | POSTCITY, First Floor; Ars Electronica Center, Deep Space 8K

Ars Electronica Solutions is a link and mediator between companies, cultural institutions, scientific organizations and the general public. The team shows what this means with concrete installations and prototypes: The 3D application Deep Sea, for example, brings parts of the exhibition “Planet Ocean” designed for the Gasometer Oberhausen to Deep Space 8K in Linz and takes you into the fascinating world of the ocean.
Deep Space Community, on the other hand, shows how Ars Electronica Solutions works with partners and clients around the world, using 8K projections and laser tracking and developing interactive storytelling using different media formats to create impressive immersive experiences. Talks and performances, which will take place both in POSTCITY and in Deep Space 8K, round off the offer.

Open Futurelab
4.-8. September 2024 | POSTCITY, First Floor

A citizen science initiative to revitalize rural areas, the use of AI to improve public health, the connection of different realities and new forms of togetherness, the commitment to democracy, the reinterpretation of post-glacial regions—the artists, researchers and developers of the Ars Electronica Futurelab are working on a whole range of questions about the future. As part of the Open Futurelab, they will present interactive stations, artistic installations and prototypes—and provide insight into their projects. Of particular relevance in 2024 are the Pillars of Democracy, an interactive installation developed on behalf of the Austrian Parliament on the occasion of the election to the Austrian National Council on 29 September. As part of a large-scale campaign to motivate people to exercise their right to vote, everyone can create their own shadowgram—a shadow image—and commit themselves to basic democratic values such as solidarity, freedom of choice, compromise, diversity, decision-making, co-creation, tolerance and solidarity. The interactive project will be presented for the first time as part of the festival in Linz, where all shadow images will be transferred to the Ars Electronica Center’s Deep Space 8K. From 14 September, there will be a stop in Vienna, directly in front of the Austrian Parliament: In a specially built container, citizens can design their shadowgrams, which will be projected onto the columns of the Parliament building every evening.

Art Thinking Lounge
September 4 – 8, 2024 | POSTCITY, First Floor

The “Art Thinking Lounge” sees itself as a “platform for transformation through art”. It creates a space in which entrepreneurs, artists, scientists, activists, citizens and politicians can discuss future issues, propose solutions and present visions. Here, art opens up new perspectives and becomes a catalyst for social development.

The “Art Thinking Lounge” is divided into three areas: “Art Thinking ABC” is a playful exhibition around “Art Thinking”, “Art Thinking Inspiration” presents projects that put “Art Thinking” into practice in society, and “Art Thinking Prototype” focuses on companies’ visions of the future. The “Art Thinking Lounge” is the latest development of an initiative launched in 2014 by Ars Electronica and Hakuhodo, a leading company for communication design and marketing solutions in Japan, to open up artistic thinking for Japanese companies and initiate a critical dialogue about the challenges of the future.

Young Artist Space
September 4 – 8, 2024 | POSTCITY, First Floor

The Young Artist Space is an open space and art hub for young artists and cultural workers, who can get to know each other and network, experiment or just chill out. As a pop-up studio, the Young Artist Space—organized by Otelo eGen (AT)—also offers space for creative expression. Open Gallery and Open Stage, on the other hand, open up the opportunity to present one’s own works and get feedback. In cooperation with the Ars Electronica team and the European Capital of Culture Salzkammergut 2024, international artists will also be invited to share their works, experiences, challenges, visions and contributions to shaping the future with the young artists.

create your world
September 4 – 8, 2024 | POSTCITY, First Floor

As a “festival within a festival”, “create your world” invites young and young-at-heart people to experiment together. In numerous open labs, new technologies, weird ideas and unusual lifestyles can be studied, tried out, further developed and discussed. Everyone decides for themselves how much time they want to dedicate to a project, a station: Whether five minutes or a whole day—there is always and everywhere something to experience and discover here.

What moves teenagers can be heard in the PodcastLab, where young people work with FM4 to create their own podcasts on topics that concern and concern them. The Powerplayground is about the energy transition and climate protection: visitors playfully immerse themselves in the topic of energy supply using virtual reality content. Anyone who would rather get into action straight away can join the Tinkertank creative laboratory in building a chain reaction machine. Electronic waste, old toys and everyday objects are used to create an interactive art installation that will be launched on Sunday, September 8, at 11:00 a.m.

All “create your world“ offers can be visited free of charge and without registration!

WE GUIDE YOU
September 4-8, 2024 | Selected festival venues

The Ars Electronica Festival opens up a whole cosmos full of ideas and visions, projects and prototypes. There are things to discover and new things to try out everywhere. For all those who need a little orientation in this abundance, WE GUIDE YOU is highly recommended! From a guided visit to the themed exhibition in the POSTCITY bunker to tours through the Prix Ars Electronica show in Lentos Art Museum Linz or the Campus exhibition at the University of Arts Linz—21 different guided tours through the festival with a total of more than 80 scheduled dates offer tours designed on a specific theme and/or for specific groups of visitors.

STATEMENT

“Ars Electronica 2024 wants to inspire with hope – not through simple solutions or empty slogans of perseverance, but through a clear view of the challenges that lie ahead and confidence in our ability to shape necessary change. More than ever, the festival presents itself as a lively platform for people, initiatives, companies and institutions who work with creativity, competence and determination to make positive visions of the future a reality.”

Doris Lang-Mayerhofer, City Councilor for Culture, Chair of Ars Electronica’s Supervisory Board