Prix Ars Electronica
Photo: Ars Electronica / Martin Hieslmair
Digital Musics & Sound Art
Win the Prix Ars Electronica’s Golden Nica, up to 10,000 euros and a prominent appearance at the Ars Electronica Festival with your Digital Musics & Sound Art project!
Projects in this category can be submitted for the 2025 Prix Ars Electronica from January 7, 2025, until March 5, 2025.
Contemporary digital music & sound productions from the broad spectrum of electronica can be entered for consideration in the Digital Musics & Sound Art category, as can works combining sound and media, computer compositions ranging from electro-acoustic to experimental music, as well as sound installations.
In addition to the aesthetics, originality and compelling concept of the work, the jury will also focus on technical and experiential innovations in the expression and presentation, as well as the social impact of the work.
Isao Tomita Special Prize: For the third time, a special award will be presented in collaboration with Isao Tomita Research to commemorate the Japanese music legend. The winner will receive €5,000 in prize money and be invited to give a live or a virtual performance at the Ars Electronica Festival.
Golden Nica 2021: Convergence / Alexander Schubert
Golden Nica 2019: TORSO #1 Peter Kutin, Credit: vog.photo
Golden Nica 2017: Not Your World Music: Noise in South East Asia, Book & CD / Cedrik Fermont, Dimitri della Faille
Golden Nica 2015: Chijikinkutsu / Nelo Akamatsu, Credit: Tom Mesic
Golden Nicah 2023: A Tale of Two Seeds: Sound and Silence in Latin America’s Andean Plains / Atractor + Semántica Productions
What can you win?
| 1 | Golden Nica | Statuette, 10.000 Euro prize money, Award certificate, prominent appearance at the Ars Electronica Festival |
| 2 | Awards of Distinctions | Award certificate, prominent appearance at the Ars Electronica Festival |
| up to 12 | Honorary Mentions | Award certificate |
| 1 | Isao Tomita Special Prize | 5.000 Euro prize money, Award certificate |
What should you enter?
The crucial criterion is the artistic and innovative use of digital tools to manifest a convincing realization.
Sound and New Media…
audio visual performance
sonic sculpture
intermedia / video / film soundtracks
sound installations
soundspace projects
radio works
net-music
generative musics
Electronica – as in…
Dub
Techno
Microsound
Ambient
Global
Minimal
HipHop
Jazz
Noise
Downtempo
Drum’n Bass
Mondo/Exotica
digital DJ-culture
Mash-ups
Music videos
Glitch
Plunderphonics
etc,
What is allowed?
algorithmic computer compositions
acousmatic computer compositions
experimental computer compositions
analog methologies
electro-acoustic methologies
the use of voices
the use of acoustic instruments
the use of amplified instruments
Who can submit an entry?
- The work entered must have been created, realized or significantly updated within the last two years.
- Participants may be individuals, groups, institutions, companies etc.
- Exclusively commercially oriented activities in the sense of product advertisement are excluded.
Checklist
The following materials are needed for the submission.
- Audio file via upload (wav, mp3, aif, mov, ogg …)
- Video documentation (3-10 minutes), in case sound installations, real-time performances, audio/visual environments, etc .
- 2-3 minute excerpt (that effectively gives an introductory summation of the essential elements explored in the whole piece. This edited extract can serve as a compressed remix of different musical areas of the longer composition, or the participant can simply choose a continuous representative slice. This helps the Jury to deal with large quantities of submissions in a focused judicial manner.)
- Images describing the project (JPG, TIF, BMP, PNG at maximum quality. Compressed file (like .zip .lzh file) is not acceptable)
- detailed description of the work (concept and content. Award-winning works may be performed in conjunction with the Festival Ars Electronica. Entrants are therefore requested to provide precise information about the technical set-up of all required equipment as well as suggestions regarding any technicians, musicians or soloists necessary to implement the production plans submitted)
- A portrait photo and biography of the artist(s)
- Optional: additional material (images/drawings/score (PDF)/documents (PDF)/ …)
Jury
All entries will be judged by a Jury of experts in the order of their arrival. In addition to the works entered by participants, each Jury may also nominate other works.