Highlights

Ars Electronica Festival 2025

September 3 – 7, 2025
POSTCITY Linz // Austria

Exhibitions, performances, concerts, conferences, workshops, town halls and guided tours – this year’s Ars Electronica Festival once again offers you an incredible program. What should you definitely not miss? Here are the 2025 highlights!

Pre-opening walk through Linz

TUE September 2, 2025 // Linz city center, from 15:30, free admission!

The Pre-Opening Walk kicks off the festival week. At the Upper Austrian Cultural Association (15:30), the Francisco Carolinum (16:00), the Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz (17:30), the University of Arts Linz (19:00), the Atelierhaus Salzamt (20:15), the Ars Electronica Center (21:00), and the Stadtwerkstatt (23:00), curators and artists will welcome you and offer you exclusive insights into their exhibitions and programs. Admission is free.

Opening

WED September 3, 2025 // St. Mary’s Cathedral, from 19:30, admission free!

With the official opening of Ars Electronica at the Mariendom, we invite you to celebrate the start of the festival together with us and many, many artists and art enthusiasts from all over the world. As a guest performance of the Brucknerfest 2025, special highlights are on the program for this evening:

With Visible An die Freude, the hearing-impaired musicians of the inclusive children’s and youth choir White Hands Chorus NIPPON from Japan, founded by Erika Colon, will perform the European anthem together with the Company of Music, the vocal ensemble led by Johannes Hiemetsberger. While some sing the text, the others will express it rhythmically in sign language. You and everyone else in the audience are cordially invited to sing and sign along.

As part of the Waltz Symphony, everything revolves around the music of Johann Strauss – and yet not at all. Students from four renowned music universities have used an AI system developed at the Ars Electronica Futurelab to create works inspired by the musical legacy of the Viennese “Waltz King”. Excerpts from their compositions will be performed by musicians from the Bruckner Orchestra Linz. The Waltz Symphony is a project of the Ars Electronica Futurelab in cooperation with four leading music academies and was commissioned for the Johann Strauss 2025 Vienna festival year. Admission is free on this evening.

Prix Ars Electronica Award Ceremony

THU September 4, 2025 // Design Center Linz, for guests with invitation

The Prix Ars Electronica Award Ceremony will take place for the second time at the Design Center Linz, its stars are the outstanding artists who will be awarded a Golden Nica of the Prix Ars Electronica 2025. Also expected and honored on stage are Sarah Ciston (US) and representatives of the LAS Art Foundation (DE), the winners of this year’s STARTS Prize; representatives of Kairos Futura (KEN), the winners of the STARTS Prize Africa; as well as representatives of the HEROINES: Heritage of Emancipation initiative and the Antiquake Risk Hunter Community (TR), MoFWaste-The Museum of Food Waste (PT), the winners of the European Union Prize for Citizen Science.

Big Concert Night

FRI September 5, 2025 // POSTCITY, Train Hall, tickets available soon

The Big Concert Night will be performed in POSTCITY’s train hall and will commemorate the end of the Second World War 80 years ago. The centerpiece is the chamber opera “Der Kaiser von Atlantis oder Die Tod-Verweigerung“, by Viktor Ullmann and the libretto by Peter Kein, which was written in 1943/44 in the Theresienstadt ghetto. The impressive work is presented as a combination of orchestral performance and scenically visualized staging. The production is a cooperation between Ars Electronica, Dennis Russell Davies and the Filharmonie Brno, the Landestheater Linz and the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (mdw).

Ars Electronica Nightline

FRI September 5, 2025 // POSTCITY, Train Hall, tickets available soon

The Ars Electronica Nightline presents DJ sets and performances in POSTCITY’s spectacular Gleishalle. Among them is the Catalan singer and composer Maria Arnal, who won a STARTS Prize in 2024 and performed at SONAR in June 2025, causing a sensation with her experiments between avant-garde pop, electronics and polyphonic traditional music.

Sonic Saturday

SAT September 6, 2025 // Anton Bruckner Private University + Ars Electronica Center, Deep Space 8K

Sonic Saturday at the Anton Bruckner Private University opens up fascinating worlds of sound for you. For the first time, one of the musical highlights will take place at the Ars Electronica Center – in cooperation with the Brucknerfest as the opening of the Klangwolke (sound cloud) in Deep Space 8K: With their piano concert chroma, Daniel Oliver Moser (composition) and Konstantin Semilakovs (piano and visuals) present a work that combines piano sounds with generative visualizations.

Futurelab Night

SAT September 6, 2025 // Ars Electronica Center, Deep Space 8K, Tickets available soon

The Futurelab Night also invites you to Deep Space 8K and shows how new technologies and artistic approaches can be combined to create extraordinary and fascinating experiences. Projects from the Ars Electronica Futurelab will be presented, including the Europe-wide XR research project SHARESPACE.

Prix Ars Electronica Exhibition

September 3 – 7, 2025 // Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz

You absolutely must see the Prix Ars Electronica Exhibition. The most important exhibition of the festival will be shown for the second time in a row at the Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz and presents outstanding media art projects that were submitted to and awarded the Prix Ars Electronica in 2025. We will present these projects in advance at a press conference on July 7.

Theme Exhibition

September 3 – 7, 2025 // POSTCITY Linz, Bunker

Under no circumstances should you miss the large festival theme exhibition in the extensive catacombs of POSTCITY. Here you can experience works that visualize and reflect on the power of art – especially in times of upheaval and uncertainty. Calin Segal‘s interactive installation Whispers, for example, examines how algorithmically curated content and digital discourses shape our identities. Noemi Iglesias Barrios (ES), on the other hand, has collaborated with Radix, the Knowledge Center Data and Society and the League for Human Rights to create The Falling City, an artistic AI surveillance system that searches not for aggression but for love in the public space of Brussels. Etsuko Ichihara and the Civic Creative Base Tokyo (CCBT) present Dystopia Land, a participatory exhibition project that creates a dystopian parallel universe to think together about possible futures, alternative ways of living and our resilience in the face of global crises.

Jin Lee‘s expansive installation Liminal Ring is a poetic-technological symbol of the fragile balance between our desire for order and the uncontrollable complexity of natural systems – laminar air currents symbolize our striving for control over nature and the limits we come up against in the process. Or Marc Vilanova‘s huge sound installation Phonos, which uses 208 recycled loudspeakers in an attempt to make infrasound frequencies that are inaudible to us visible and audible – their movements and mechanical noises create a polyphonic rhythm that, despite the size of the work, invites us to a personal, close encounter. In addition, this time we are also presenting the results of a one-year artist-in-residence program of the European Digital Deal (co-financed by the European Union), which were created at leading cultural institutions such as Onassis Stegi (GR), Braga Media Arts (PT), Waag Futurelab (NL) and at Ars Electronica in Linz.

S+T+ARTS Prize Exhibition + S+T+ARTS Prize Africa Exhibition

September 3 – 7, 2025 // POSTCITY Linz

Once again, we are dedicating an exclusive exhibition area to the STARTS Prize and STARTS Prize Africa projects – both initiatives of the European Commission. Among others, we present Sensing Quantum by LAS Art Foundation (DE), awarded the Grand Prize for Innovative Collaboration, AI War Cloud Database by Sarah Ciston (US), awarded the Grand Prize for Artistic Exploration, and The Wild Future Lab by Kairos Futura (KE), awarded the Grand Prize of the STARTS Prize Africa 2025. The exhibition will be complemented by a series of STARTS Talks, which will focus on the question of how art and culture can contribute to Europe’s digital sovereignty.

State of the ART(ist), Ars Electronica Award for Digital Humanity, CIFO x Ars Electronica Award, Chilean Artists

September 3 – 7, 2025 // POSTCITY Linz

You can also see the projects of the winners of the State of the ART(ist) competition and the Ars Electronica Award for Digital Humanity at POSTCITY. Both awards are presented by Ars Electronica together with the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs. In addition, we present the works of Latin American artists who received the CIFO x Ars Electronica Award in 2025, as well as contributions by Chilean artists who were selected as part of a joint open call by the Chilean Ministry of Culture, the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ars Electronica and will be brought to Linz.

LIT Exhibition

September 3 – 7, 2025 // POSTCITY Linz

The LIT – Linz Institute of Technology of the Johannes Kepler University Linz presents projects developed especially for the festival by JKU researchers and artists. With Breaking News: Wolpertinger sighted in Linz! by Antonela Tommasel (AR), Anna Hausberger (AT), Markus Schedl (AT), Gustavo Escobedo (PE), Samaa Mizar (AT) and Michael Preisach (AT), you can find out how emotions, prejudices and social influence shape our judgment and sharpen your critical thinking. THE DREAM IN EXPERIENCE by Andreas Kaindlstorfer (AT), Andreas Strauss (AT), Reinhard Gupfinger (AT) focuses on sleep as a central factor for health and well-being – it is about sleep culture and critical reflection on the use of AI and big data for personal health monitoring. What all the projects have in common is that they show what art can contribute to science and, conversely, what science can contribute to art and how both can create something new together. You can expect artistic stagings of exciting scientific questions.

Ars Electronica Campus

September 3 – 7, 2025 // POSTCITY Linz + University of Arts Linz

The University of Arts Linz has been a central partner of Ars Electronica for more than two decades and is once again presenting numerous works from its fields of study. The projects will be shown in the two bridgehead buildings and on Linz’s main square. You should definitely visit the splace gallery on the main square, where the National Academy of Art Sofia, our Featured University 2025, is presenting itself this time.

The Campus will also feature contributions from students and professors from more than 30 international universities. The Bauhaus-Universität Weimar (DE), Zurich University of the Arts (CH), University of Seville (ES), Musrara, the Naggar School of Art and Society, Jerusalem (IS), National Tsing Hua University (TW), Department of Art Science, Osaka University of Arts (JP), Computational Media and Arts, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology – Guangzhou (CN), ShanghaiTech University(CN), The School of Visual Arts, MFA Computer Arts (US) and the University of Chicago (US) are expected to participate. From Austria, the University of Art and Design Graz (AT), the University of Applied Arts Vienna (AT), the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (AT) and the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (AT) are taking part this time. Whether in the main buildings of the University of Arts Linz, in splace or in POSTCITY – you will see works and performances by young artists everywhere that fascinate with their creative approaches and interesting themes.

Ars Electronica Features

September 3 – 7, 2025 // POSTCITY Linz

In the Ars Electronica Features exhibition, you can experience artistic projects brought to Linz by a network of organizations and institutions, most of which were created during the pandemic. With the immersive project Model Collapse by Cyanne van den Houten (NL) and Ymer Marinus (SE), for example, you can take a look behind the scenes of AI and create a new civilization with the VR game Ekklesia by Staatstheater Augsburg. We are staging the exhibition in the extensive catacombs of POSTCTY.

Digital Theater

September 3 – 7, 2025 // POSTCITY Linz

ACuTe is a European innovation project that uses new technologies to rethink theater and performance art – from storytelling and stage design to audience engagement. Together with partners from culture and science, we are developing “culture testbeds” that explore new forms of collaboration, learning and artistic production. As part of the festival, we present the interactive theater project The Trail against Humanity by Det Norske Teatret, in which actors have to face the accusation of a superior AI that has decided to wipe out humanity in order to save the planet – a rational act that it sees as an expression of love. Director Peer Perez Øian addresses guilt, responsibility, the limits of technological control and, not least, the role of AI. You should also watch Nälkävuosi by Oxi Koskelainen. This visually impressive sci-fi piece is set in a dystopian future in Finland, in which a water crisis and famine divide society into winners and losers and tells a story of survival, social inequality and human cohesion.

create your world

September 3 – 7, 2025 // POSTCITY Linz, admission free!

create your world has been supporting the next generation of designers and creatives since 1998. The program connects young people, invites them to exchange ideas, is interested in their future prospects and makes their concerns visible. During the festival, create your world will occupy more than 2,000 square meters on the second floor of POSTCITY – transforming it into an inspiring playground where you can experiment, tinker and discuss with young and young-at-heart explorers. You should definitely take a look at the exhibition in which we present the projects that won the u19 category of the Prix Ars Electronica.

Ars Electronica Ecosystem

September 3 – 7, 2025 // POSTCITY Linz

When we think about the practice and impact of art in times of upheaval, we need to consider not only the artists, but also the institutions that support them. So what role does Ars Electronica play – and what does it actually want to achieve?

Initially founded as just a festival in 1979, Ars Electronica has developed into a unique ecosystem over the decades. Today, it is many things at once: a platform for artists that supports, disseminates and celebrates their work. A forum for activists and initiatives that blur the boundaries between art, science and technology and aim to improve our everyday lives. A learning space that enables students, job seekers and everyone else to engage playfully and critically with new technologies. A laboratory-atelier that develops prototypes that aim to initiate social innovation. A creative partner for companies that helps them not only generate profits, but also create meaning and social benefit. All of this is driven by the question: How do we want to live in the future and how can we make this future a reality?

As part of this year’s festival, we not only want to introduce you to the Ars Electronica ecosystem, but also invite you to talk to us about our current projects. You can talk to the researchers, developers and artists of the Ars Electronica Futurelab, who are experimenting with exciting prototypes at the interface of art, technology and society. Or with the team members of Ars Electronica Solutions, who are working on innovative storytelling for science lighthouses such as the ESA or interactive installations for museums such as the Gasometer Oberhausen or the Pinakothek Munich as well as events such as EXPO 2020 Dubai. Right next door, in the Art Thinking Lounge, we invite you and anyone else interested to take part in various workshops and town halls.

Conferences, Talks, Workshops & Screenings

September 3 – 7, 2025 // POSTCITY Linz

From September 3 to 7, POSTCITY will not only be a hub for a whole series of exhibitions, but also a forum for exciting lectures, presentations and panels on the festival theme that will accompany visitors throughout the festival week. Other specialist conferences are also on the program:

In 2025, Ars Electronica will focus on education over several days. The symposium, which has been organized jointly with the University College of Teacher Education Upper Austria for years, will be complemented by an international symposium, which, as part of the EU-funded Critical ChangeLab project, will focus on the topics of democracy, media literacy and didactics.

Together with partners such as the Oulu University of Applied Sciences, the European Theater Convention and more than ten European theaters, the EU co-financed project ACuTe will address the topic of AI and Artistic Creation with a focus on digital theater. Applications of AI in content creation, in the production phase, in ticketing and in the area of audience engagement will be presented and discussed. In 2025, there will also be another S+T+ARTS Day, which will provide a forum for players from industry, art and technology to discuss Europe’s digital sovereignty and future.

Austria joined the European Union on January 1, 1995. To mark the anniversary, Ars Electronica and the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport are planning a special event on the topic of 30 years of Austria in the EU. In the spirit of European exchange, a series of workshops for cultural managers from European institutions is also planned for 2025. A key role will be played by the EU-funded EXCENTRIC project initiated in 2025, which focuses on digital transformation in cultural organizations and is being implemented by Ars Electronica together with institutions such as Erasmus University Rotterdam, KEA European Affairs, Europeana and the European Festival Association.

The conference program at POSTCITY is rounded off by presentations and discussion rounds on the topic of Citizen Science – as part of the EU-funded IMPETUS project. The focus will be on pioneering methods and the question of how artists and young people in particular can actively contribute to the research process.

Expanded Animation

September 3 – 5, 2025 // Ars Electronica Center

Fans of and experts in animation art take note – the 13th edition of Expanded focuses on scientific contributions from the fields of augmented animation and interactive art. The focus is on innovative audiovisual forms of expression at the interface of art and technology. You can expect scientific and artistic lectures as well as panel discussions with exciting international guests. Expanded 2025 takes place at the Ars Electronica Center (Sky Loft) and is organized by the FH Upper Austria Campus Hagenberg.

Flood the Zone with Courage

September 3 – 7, 2025 // POSTCITY Linz

Flood the Zone with Courage is a participatory art project by Ars Electronica and the JKU’s Circus of Knowledge that responds to the paralyzing effects of global crises. Together with artists, activists and students, you can try out new ways of protesting and getting involved in civil society. During the festival, the project will unfold in public spaces and POSTCITY – with live interventions, a creative center called Pavilion Against Indifference and international protest labs that combine digital tools with local activism.

Deep Space 8K

September 3 – 7, 2025 // Ars Electronica Center, Tickets available from August

Since its opening on January 1, 2009, the Deep Space 8K at the Ars Electronica Center has been a crowd puller – and a hotspot of the Ars Electronica Festival year after year. Artists and scientists from all over the world use the unique stage to present their breathtaking 3D applications, gigapixel images and immersive performances.

Over the years, Deep Space 8K has been the stage for researchers from the Louvre, the Uffizi, the Museo Reina Sofía and the Vatican Museums, presenting works by artists such as Hermann Nitsch and H.R. Giger, as well as pioneering digital works by Karl Sims and Refik Anadol – in 2010, ASIMO, then the world’s most advanced humanoid robot, even made an appearance here.

In 2025 we present exclusive programs on cultural heritage with contributions from the National Gallery London, the National Gallery Washington and the Leopold Museum Vienna. We also celebrate the year of quantum science and technology, show you artistic performances and university research projects on motion tracking and gaming – and of course invite you to the legendary Futurelab Night (see Events).

WE GUIDE YOU

September 3 – 7, 2025 // Tickets available from August

The Ars Electronica Festival opens up a whole cosmos of ideas and visions, projects and prototypes. You can discover exciting things and try out new things everywhere – and sometimes lose track of things. In this case, we recommend one of our guided tours.

We look forward to your visit to the