Ars Electronica Gardens Exhibition

As a platform for art, technology, and society, Ars Electronica has always understood bridge-building between disciplines and industries not as a burden but as a promising and essential task. The extent of Ars Electronica’s collaborative networks became more visible than ever during the pandemic. In 2020 and 2021, the festival turned into a decentralized event, taking place in more than 180 places on all five continents simultaneously. Thanks to our wonderful partner network, we collectively created a new model for a festival in the 21st century.

In 2022 the festival transforms itself again and the Ars Electronica Garden Partners are invited to actively contribute their perspectives and projects to the core festival program, taking place in Linz, Austria. Our immense gratitude goes out to all partners who have spared no effort to join us this year with fresh ideas and a new understanding of digital culture, discussing how the consequences and effects of the climate crisis can be addressed in their respective locations and through their experts.

Welcome to Planet B. A Plan B for humankind on this planet can certainly not be developed only from the perspective of a few, for which reason we welcome the views of our Garden Partners and their communities. The diversity of individual themes, positions and perspectives that underpin our partners’ Festival Gardens is accounted for by the multitude of individual artistic positions that form an intersection and image of the whole festival. The curatorial approach of our partners engages directly with the festival topic and the question “But How?”, integrated in the title, runs like a thread through the program. The Garden Partners exhibition is directly connected to this year’s themed exhibition, showcasing perspectives from Auckland, Barcelona and Bologna, as well as the Bahamas, New York, Taipei, Seoul, Tokyo and Utrecht.

Despite our focus on the festival event in Linz and the transformation of the decentralized Ars Electronica Gardens to onsite partners, dedicated parts and carefully curated programs will be accessible online to partners and audiences unable to join us in Linz.

NUBIA — Metaverse Platform / INTRONS

ESPRONCEDA — Institute of Art and Culture (ES)

INTRONS is a proposal to solve the human and natural presence in virtual spaces or metaverses. It starts with a genesis collection of 1,500 dynamic, generative NFTs that contain the ability to store and represent 15 traits from their owner’s genome. The project represents an evolution in the representation of reality, in which biotechnology is put at the service of the artist’s gaze.

Coded Biophilia & Un Suono in Estinzione

Umanesimo Artificiale (IT)

From bio-design to marine ecology, sound art and creative coding, Umanesimo Artificiale projects are a celebration of bits and atoms.

And We Thought

Sineglossa (IT)

A psychedelic cooperation performed by a human being and a neural language model producing lysergic visions: texts, videos and sounds created by combining their efforts. A relationship that sheds a new light on possible similarities emerging between natural and artificial intelligences, on the way our minds work and on new forms of dialogue between living and non-living creatures.

Inescapable Entanglement

XRE (Extended Reality Ensemble) (US), MEDIACOELI (IT)

Inescapable Entanglement is a posthumous narration of the emotional reaction to the climate change crisis. We work at the intersection of performance (Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya), AR (live climate change metrics), soundscapes and biometric data visualization of physiological audience responses. We invite the audience to collectively discover unforeseen possibilities of co-living with our planet.

Summer Sessions at Ars Electronica 2022

V2_ Lab for the Unstable Media (NL)

The “Summer Sessions pop-up exhibition” at Ars Electronica Festival 2022 shows a selection of outcomes realized through the international exchange of emerging talents within the “Summer Sessions” network.

Collaborative Ecosystems for a Sustainable World

Institut Ramon Llull, Catalonia (ES), .NewArt { foundation;} (ES), Hac Te (ES)

Only collaborative practices, based on the transversal sharing of knowledge and efforts, can allow us to generate proposals that lead to a project for a sustainable world. A survey of the current state of creativity in Catalonia linked to Art at its intersection with Science and Technology.

next to me, next to you

Japan Media Arts Festival (JP)

To introduce Japan’s outstanding works of art to the world, the Agency for Cultural Affairs does presentations, screenings and exhibitions at overseas festivals, focusing on award-winning works including media art, online art, videos, games, animations and manga. At Ars Electronica 2022, the winners of the 25th Japan Media Arts Festival, Shota Yamauchi and Miki Hirase, will exhibit their works with the theme “next to me, next to you,” with curator and art manager Mayumi Yamamoto as the art director.

The New Real Observatory

The New Real, Edinburgh Futures Institute & Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom (UK)

Exploring transformative ideas through art and AI to equip future generations to flourish on a thriving planet in the midst of surprising, joyful, and inclusive forms of intelligent life. Artworks by Inés Cámara Leret, Adam Harvey, and Keziah MacNeill investigate the entanglements of people, data, machines, and environments, accompanied by research on future applications of AI in the arts.

The Shape of Things to Come

MencheLAB (AT), powered by Max Perutz Labs (AT), a joint venture of the University of Vienna (AT) and the Medical University of Vienna (AT)

All projects paint futuristic scenarios in individual contexts. We all shape the future. Each project will picture a dystopian or utopian scenario of how the specific expertise of the project creator can shape our environment.

Garden Aotearoa

arc/sec Lab the University of Auckland (NZ), DARA Victoria University of Wellington (NZ)

Since 2020, the Ars Electronica Garden Aotearoa has been New Zealand’s contribution to the International Ars Electronica Festival. It is a bi-directional portal to visit the creative and emerging technology scene of the South Pacific, assembling selected projects from New Zealand’s technologists, artists and university researchers. The arc/sec Lab at the University of Auckland (UoA) and the Digital Architecture Research Alliance (DARA) at the Victoria University of Wellington (VUW) are proud to organize a selection of four projects from the New Zealand exhibition to be showcased at this year’s Ars Electronica Festival.

CODE 2022: Reclaiming Digital Agency

IMPAKT [Centre for Media Culture] (NL), School of Machines, Making & Make Believe (DE), Werktank (BE), Privacy Salon/Privacytopia (BE)

CODE brings together artists, non-artists, politicians, policymakers and researchers to engage in dialogue, critical discussion and artistic intervention about digital rights. We aim to influence public policy on a national and international level. Over the last few months, we have worked with 22 participants in a series of workshops, hackathons and public events. Working in cross-disciplinary teams, they have developed creative interventions and awareness campaigns to activate politicians, policymakers and citizens to take action. At Ars Electronica we present the results.

Aquaterrestrial Recolonization

University of The Bahamas (BS), AI.R LAB Science (US/RS/IT)

In the project Aquaterrestrial Recolonization, we are recording the current state of The Bahamas’ dead coral reefs and feeding AI with that data to visualize a recolonized ocean floor; calculated imaging, restoring the parts of the planet mankind has destroyed. We are using AI as the Earth’s protector, a new intelligent entity based on logic and calculations rather than greed and careless.

Humanity Island — Data to be Continued

Virtual and Physical Media Integration Association of Taiwan (TW)

Taiwanese new media artists draw upon their own cultural history to observe, think about and communicate ideas about humanity’s place in these changing times.

Altered Realities

Leonardo/ISAST (US), Arizona State University (US)

Altered Realities presents experimental visions to ReImagine everything for a more vibrant, just and regenerative world. Immersive VR and video art alter how to tackle challenges of climate change, war and human futures.

Mirror Terrain

Bel Art Gallery (RS), Miloš Fath (RS)

Mirror Terrain creates a mnemonic environment which enables us to see our past and reprogram ourselves in order to avoid erasing history which lies within it in the form of statues. By minding our steps and avoiding the erosion of statues, we grow more observant, altruistic and intimate.

A Network of Collaboration: The Ars Electronica Gardens

This year, Ars Electronica Garden Partners will not only be on display online, but will be invited to actively contribute their perspectives and projects to the Festival’s core program, which will take place in Linz.