The Ars Electronica Festival premiered on September 18, 1979. This pilot project was designed to take the Digital Revolution’s emergence as an occasion to scrutinize potential futures and to focus these inquiries on the nexus of art, technology and society. With this philosophy, which remains Ars Electronica’s watchwords to this day, the Festival’s founders— cyberneticist/physicist Herbert W. Franke, electronic musician Hubert Bognermayr, music producer Ulli A. Rützel and Hannes Leopoldseder, then director of the ORF—Austrian Broadcasting Company’s Upper Austria regional studio—laid the foundation for Ars Electronica’s ongoing success.
From Trial Balloon to International Success Story
Within a few years, this Linz invention developed into one of the world’s most important media art festivals. From year to year, its lineup became more extensive and multifaceted. There were symposia, exhibitions, performances, concerts and interventions spanning a broad arc from speculative futuristic scenarios to analytical considerations, from provocative actionism to philosophical debate. Each year, the Festival has been dedicated to a new theme and the organizers are also constantly on the lookout for interesting new venues—indeed, the consistent effort to break out of the narrow confines of conventional conference rooms and artistic spaces, and to stage cultural and scientific encounters in the public sphere has become something of an Ars Electronica trademark. Linz Harbor, a network of subterranean tunnels, a monastery, a tobacco processing plant and a former Austrian Postal Service logistics facility have been among the settings of this festival that defines itself as work in and with the public.
Extraordinary Spirit
In 1979, the festival lineup was a short list: 20 artists and scientists hosted the program. Now, almost four decades later, the dramatis personae include over 1,000 artists and scientists from more than 40 countries, as well as approximately 450 accredited journalists and bloggers. And the renowned artists, speakers and media outlet representatives from throughout the world are by no means the whole story of what makes this event so great. Key contributors to the festival’s incomparable spirit are the thousands of annual visitors—a colorful mix of old friends and new faces.
Artistic Directors
Gerfried Stocker (AT) is a media artist and an electronic engineer. Since 1995 he has been a managing and an artistic director of Ars Electronica. 1995/1996 he developed the groundbreaking exhibition strategies of Ars Electronica Center with a small team of artists and technicians and was responsible for the set-up and establishment of Ars Electronica’s own R&D facility, Ars Electronica Futurelab. Since 2004 he has been in charge of developing Ars Electronica’s program of international exhibition tours. From 2005 on he planned the expansion of Ars Electronica Center and implemented the total substantive makeover of its exhibits. Stocker is a guest speaker at many international conferences and a Visiting Professor at Osaka University of Arts as well as guest lecturer at Deusto University Bilbao. He is also a consultant for many international companies on creativity and innovation management.
Since 1979, Christine Schöpf (AT) has been a driving force behind Ars Electronica’s development. Between 1987 and 2003, she played a key role in conceiving and organizing the Prix Ars Electronica. Since 1996, she and Gerfried Stocker have shared responsibility for the artistic direction of the Ars Electronica Festival. Christine Schöpf studied German & Romance languages and literature and then worked as a radio and TV journalist. From 1981 to 2008, she was in charge of cultural and scientific reporting at the ORF — Austrian Broadcasting Company’s Upper Austria Regional Studio. In 2009, Linz Art University bestowed the title of honorary professor on Christine Schöpf.
Organization
Ars Electronica Linz GmbH & Co KG
Managing Directors
Diethard Schwarzmair, Gerfried Stocker / Ars-Electronica-Straße 1, 4040 Linz, Austria, Tel: +4373272720, Fax: +4373272722, info@ars.electronica.art
Co-organizer CyberArts Exhibition
OK Offenes Kulturhaus im OÖ Kulturquartier, Directors: Martin Sturm, Gabriele Daghofer
Co-organizer Campus
Universität für künstlerische und industrielle Gestaltung, Rector: Reinhard Kannonier
Directors Ars Electronica:
Gerfried Stocker, Christine Schöpf; Head of Festival: Martin Honzik; Head of Finance & Organization: Veronika Liebl; Technical Head: Karl Julian Schmidinger; Festival Co-Producer: Christl Baur; CREATE YOUR WORLD: Hans Christian Merten
Production Team:
Sophie à Wengen, Lea Sophia Bernhard, Michael Burgstaller, Nani Cooper, Florina Costamoling, Melanie De Jong, Sebastian Dorfer, Petra Drexler, Leopold Eckl, Chris Eichenauer, Yasmine Elsalakawy, Stefanie Farkashazy, Stephan Feichter, Huani Felinto, Melinda File, Hannes F. Franks, Marion Friedl, Jessica Galirow, Violeta Gil Martinez, Dominik Greuter, David Grohe, Anna Grubauer, Juergen Hagler, Gisela Hagmair, Jürgen Haller, Tilman Hatje, Randolf Helmstetter, Alexander Hens, Manuela Hillmann, Bernahrd Hinterreiter, Ferenc Hirt, David Holzweber, Isabella Kartusch, Andrea Kohut, Simon Kopfberger, Paul Lukas Köstner, Veronika Sanna Krenn, Olivia Kudlich, Michael Lahner, Aaron Längert, Anton Lapov, Tobias Leibetseder, Lisa Stefanie Martin, Lisa Martl, Kristina Maurer, Claudia Moser, Fabian Mühlberger, Manuela Naveau, Nina Maeva Nitzl, Julia Nüßlein, Michaela Obermayer, Emiko Ogawa, Hideaki Ogawa, Quinty Pinxit Gregg, Gabriele Purdue, Christina Radner, Marco Rainer, Olga Remneva, Alexandra Röck, Dallas Rockvam, Michael Samhaber, Michael Sarsteiner, Sonja Schachinger, Miro Schawalder, Thomas Schlager, Daniel Schöngruber, Armin Seidl, Elizaveta Shchegolkova, Michael Sick-Leitner, Markus Sigl, Daina Silina, Sabine Sinzinger, Martina Sochor, Karla Spiluttini, Helmut Steinecker, Mauricio Ernesto Suarez Ramos, Nana Thurner, Lukas Traxler, Felix Tröbinger, Jochen Tuch, Edin Turalic, Joschi Viteka, Christoph Weidinger, Laura Welzenbach, Viktoria Wetzlmaier, Michaela Wimplinger, Astrid Winkler, Alexander Wöran, Viktoria Wöss, Carla Milena Zamora Campos
Co-curators
Ars Electronica Animation Festival: Christine Schöpf, Juergen Hagler; Big Concert Night: Markus Poschner; Campus Exhibition, Interface Cultures: Christa Sommerer, Laurent Mignonneau, Manuela Naveau, MaÅ¡a Jazbec, Fabricio Lamoncha; Campus Exhibition, Bauhaus Universität: Ursula Damm; Expanded Animation: Juergen Hagler, Alexander Wilhelm; Music Monday: Werner Jauk; Nightline: Salon 2000; Sonic Saturday: Volkmar Klien, Se-Lien Chuang, Andreas Weixler; AIxMusic: Volkmar Klien
Prix Ars Electronica 2019
Idea: Hannes Leopoldseder; Conception: Christine Schöpf, Gerfried Stocker; Coordination: Martin Honzik, Emiko Ogawa; Technical Management: Karl Julian Schmidinger; Finance & Organization: Veronika Liebl
Production Team:
Christl Baur, Florina Costamoling, Marion Friedl, Jessica Galirow, Eva Maria Grabmair, Juergen Hagler, Andrea Kohut, Hans Christian Merten, Christina Radner, Remo Rauscher, Jutta Schmiederer, Helmut Steinecker, Nana Thurner, Joschi Viteka, Carla Zamora Campos
Press
Christopher Sonnleitner, Joan Bairam, Robert Bauernhansl, Martin Hieslmair, Barbara Hinterleitner, Katia Kreuzhuber, Yazdan Zand
Marketing
Lisa Brandstötter, Wolfgang Königsmaier, Michael Sick-Leitner, Eva Tsackmaktsian, Christine Utz
Ars Electronica Linz GmbH & Co KG
Managing Directors
Diethard Schwarzmair, Gerfried Stocker
Ars Electronica Center
Katharina Aichinger, Viktoria Aistleitner, Joan Bairam, Andreas Bauer, Reinhard Bengesser, Anastasia Bragina, Sarah Brait, Manuela Bruckner, Carla Danzer, Shirin Darwish, Blanka Denkmaier, Erika Eiter, Julia Felberbauer, Katrin Fenninger, Melinda File, Andrea Fröhlich, Philipp Gartlehner, Mitra Gazvini-Zateh, Christian Gerber, Elisabeth Gerhard, Dominic Gottinger, Marlene Grinner, Nicole Grüneis, Thu Trang Eva Ha, Harald Haas, Birgit Hartinger, Barbara Heinzl, Katherine Heller, Thomas Hillinger, Katharina Hof, Florian Hofer, Sri Rahayu Hofstadler, Gerold Hofstadler, Eva Hofstädter, Fabian Hollinetz, Stefani Huemer, Thomas Jannke, David Jentgens, Herwig Kerschner, Sandra Kiendler, Viktoria Klepp, Karin Knoll, Michael Koller, Thomas Kollmann, Christoph Kremer, Sabine Leidlmair, Juliane Leitner, Anna Katharina Link, Katja Lux, Ulrike Mair, Ahoo Maher, Clemens Mock, Erika Mondria, Horst Morocutti, Claudia Moser, Silvia Mukherjee, Daniel Murina, Heinrich Niederhuber, Andrea Oberfichtner, Michaela Obermayer, Dietmar Peter, Svetlana Petrovic, Katharina Pilar, Armin Pils, Anna Renata Polewiak, Stefanie Priebsch, Ulrike Rieseneder, Petra Saubolle-Hofmann, Alina Sauter, Birgitt Schäffer, Mario Schmidhuber, Lydia Schneeberger, Thomas Schwarz, Fabian Schwarz, Elio Seidl, Manfred Seifreidsberger, Magdalena Sick-Leitner, Minoosh Sorkhkamal Zadeh-Steininger, Martin Spanka, Elisabeth Spöck, Margarethe Stöttner-Breuer, Thomas Straßhofer, Andreas Stürmer, Johannes Stürzlinger, Istvan Szabo, Bhoomesh Tak, Michael Thaler, Thomas Viehböck, Florian Voggeneder, Raffaela Vornicu, Bernhard Wahl, Manuel Walch, Florian Wanninger, Judith Wittinghofer, Ralph Maximilian Zilian
Ars Electronica Futurelab
Flavia Andessner, Florian Berger, Patrick Berger, Kerstin Blätterbinder, Arno Deutschbauer, Ivor Diosi, Samuel Jakob Eckl, Marianne Eisl, Peter Freudling, Matthew Gardiner, Roland Haring, Peter Holzkorn, Horst Hörtner, Kyoko Kunoh, Anna Kuthan, Christopher Lindinger, Elisabeth Luger, Maria Mayr, Stefan Mittlböck-Jungwirth-Fohringer, Otto Naderer, Nicolas Naveau, Ali Nikrang, Hideaki Ogawa, Maria Anna Pfeifer, Johannes Pöll, Daniel Rammer, Erwin Reitböck, Clemens Francis Scharfen, Raphael Elias Schaumburg-Lippe, Simon Schmid, Susanne Teufelauer
Ars Electronica Festival / Prix / Exhibitions
Christl Baur, Florina Costamoling, Hannes F. Franks, Marion Friedl, Jessica Galirow, Anna Grubauer, Gisela Hagmair, Martin Honzik, Isabella Kartusch, Andrea Kohut, Veronika Sanna Krenn, Veronika Christina Liebl, Kristina Maurer, Hans Christian Merten, Manuela Naveau, Julia Nüßlein, Emiko Ogawa, Quinty Pinxit-Gregg, Christina Radner, Karl Schmidinger, Karla Spituttini, Nana Thurner, Laura Welzenbach, Carla Milena Zamora Campos
Ars Electronica Management Services
Robert Bauernhansl, Patrick Buchinger, Barbara Diesenreither, Johannes Egler, Michaela Frech, Vanessa Graf, Anton Grünwald Belada, Haitham Harwash, Martin Hieslmair, Barbara Hinterleitner, Christoph Hofbauer, Julia Hofstätter, Sabine Hummelbrunner, Markus Jandl, Klaus Kaiser, Elisabeth Kapeller, Stephan Kobler, Wolfgang Königsmaier, Katia Kreuzhuber, Fadil Kujundzic, Dominic Lengauer, Peter J. Nitzschmann, Edith Noska-Neubauer, Beate Prinz, Christopher Sonnleitner, David Starzengruber, Daniela Thaller, Eva Tsackmaktsian, Michaela Wimplinger
Ars Electronica Solutions
Ina Badics, Chris Bruckmayr, Stefan Dorn, Stefanie Farkashazy, Michaela Fragner, Yvonne Hauser, Michael Kaiser, Michael Mondria, Harald Moser, Patrick Müller, My Trinh Müller-Gardiner, Robert Pibernig, Andreas Pramböck, Gerald Priewasser-Höller, Gabriele Purdue, Dominik Trichlin, Markus Wipplinger, Claus Zweythurm
Ars Electronica International
Sophie à Wengen, Lea Sophia Bernhard, Lisa-Marie Brandstötter, Michael Burgstaller, Melanie De Jong, Manuel Dobusch, Petra Drexler, Leopold Eckl, Yasmine Elsalakawy, Stefan Feichtner, Violeta Gil Martinez, Tilman Hatje, Manuela Hillmann, Ferenc Hirt, David Holzweber, Lisa Stefanie Martin, Lisa Martl, Fabian Mühlberger, Marco Rainer, Alexandra Röck, Michael Samhaber, Armin Seidl, Michael Sick-Leitner, Daina Silina, Sabine Sinzinger, Elizaveta Shchegolkova, Mauricio Ernesto Suarez Ramos, Lukas Traxler, Christine Utz, Viktoria Wetzlmaier, Astrid Winkler, Alexander Wöran, Viktoria Wöss, Sebastian Zach, Yazdan Zand
OK CyberArts Team
Directors: Martin Sturm, Gabriele Daghofer; Public Relations & Project Management: Maria Falkinger; Exhibition Team: Genoveva Rückert, Andreas Kurz, Maria Venzl, Martina Rauschmayer; OK Night: Markus Reindl; Production Team: Jarno Bachheimer, Katharina Baldinger-Hackl, Attila Ferenczi, Alfred Fürholzer, Martin Haselsteiner, David Kraxberger, Bernhard Kitzmüller, Dominik Leitner, Franz Quirchtmayr, Felix Pöchhacker, Aron Rynda, Geari Schreilechner, Andreas Steindl, André Tschinder, Hans-Jörg Weidinger, Simon Wilhelm, Gerhard Wörnhörer; >Team: Verena Atteneder, Jocelyn Antensteiner, Renate Berger, Michael Dalpiaz, Hansi Ecker, Josef Ecker, Walter Eckerstorfer, Max Fabian, Petra Fohringer, Werner Friesenecker, Michaela Fröhlich, Michael Gritzer, Josef Gruber, Stephan Hadwiger, Dominik Harrer, Sabine Haunschmid, Evi Heininger, Robert Herbst, Susi Heuschober, Maximilian Höglinger, Fritz Holzinger, Karin Huemer, Rainer Jessl, Sabrina Kamenar, Simon Lachner, Katharina Lackner, Barbara Mair, Judith Maule, Franz Minichberger, Walter Mühlböck, Wolfgang Nagl, Andrea Nakicevic, Christian Öhlinger, Kadir Özdemir, Maria Pachinger, Josef Pfarrhofer, Franz Pfifferling, Wilhelm Pichler, Angelika Pöschl, Gerda Sailer, Markus Schiller, Marlies Stöger
Kunstuniversität Linz — Universität für künstlerische und industrielle Gestaltung
Rector: Reinhard Kannonier; Vice-Rectors: Frank Louis, Sabine Pollak, Christine Windsteiger; Team: Andre Zogholy
