One of the highlights of the festival is certainly the awarding of prizes to particularly interesting projects in various categories. The thousands of works submitted come from all over the world.
There is a broad consensus that we are facing unprecedented changes. Climate, environment, globalisation, migration, digitalisation and artificial intelligence are probably the most pressing issues of our time. Tasks that require a high degree of creativity to solve. They force us to think in a completely different way in order to find sustainable solutions. Art in particular can help us do this.
The symbiosis, the interplay of art - technology and society have always been the ingredients of this unique festival format, which has a special motto every year. "HOPE" is the theme of the Ars Electronica Festival 2024.
Is this supposed to mean that all we have left is the hope that things will not be as bad as some fear, is it meant as a kind of optimism that everything will be fine without human intervention, or is "HOPE" rather intended to signal the confidence that expresses that we have recognised the signs of the times, that we will seek and find solutions to the challenges ahead of us?
Even those interested in art are not (yet) fully aware of the full scope of this event and the AEC's international network of renowned universities and cultural institutions around the world. The Ars Electronica Festival is the largest of its kind in the world, it is a melting pot of ideas, a meeting of highly creative people who remain in contact after the festival to exchange ideas and drive innovation. The significance of this event for society can only be guessed at, but it certainly gives hope.
As the 18th century physicist Georg Christoph Lichtenberg said, he doesn't know whether things will get better if we do things differently, but he certainly knows one thing: if we don't do things differently, they can't get better.
Art in particular changes the way we look at things, breaks down boundaries in our minds and artists very often anticipate the future with their stories and their view of the world. Who would have thought at the end of the 1960s that a self-driving car would one day become a reality? In 1968, it was the artists at Walt Disney Studios who created Herby, a pearly white VW Beetle, as the main character in a film. A car with a mind of its own, which chases opponents at top speed and is characterised by its helpfulness and warm-heartedness. Many things have (already) become reality. Who would have thought it?
Hope, the motivation to look at problems together and search for solutions together. Allowing the unfamiliar, the unusual, perhaps even the slightly crazy to appear without prejudice, without judging, assessing or even condemning. Therein lie the opportunities to find solutions, the keys to the tasks that lie ahead of us. From 4-8 September, it's that time again when the world's creative minds from the worlds of art, technology and society come together in Linz.
Get a flavour. Listen to the press conference and take advantage of the incredibly extensive programme put together by a highly committed AEC team. Make a reservation for 4 to 8 September 2024 and immerse yourself in a world that is shifting the horizon. In the centre of Linz.
#schongenial - We make positive things visible - we make positive things conscious! already ingenious!
Press conference #arselectronica24