Are they nuts? Not despite of, but because of Corona, this year\u2019s Ars Electronica will be the biggest ever. \u201cWe cannot and will not accept that this pandemic forces us to simply abandon everything that constitutes our pluralistic society,\u201d says Gerfried Stocker, artistic director of Ars Electronica, with regard to the decision for this year\u2019s festival format. \u201cEspecially because we\u2019re in the midst of this crisis, and especially because all the rules of distance and hygiene are reasonable and necessary, we can\u2019t just stay at home, but must actively and creatively try out new forms of dialogue and exchange.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the first time, the festival will not only take place in Linz, but at 120 locations worldwide, bringing together projects from art, technology and society that will merge with the festival on location via streams. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The crisis is fundamentally changing the world, leaving behind a general uncertainty that affects us humans as individuals and as a society. The Ars Electronica Festival will journey from Asia and Oceania to North and South America, Africa and Europe, asking the simple question: \u201cWhat to do now?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In metropolises as well as in small towns, people have already begun not only to think about the problems of the present, but to work on concrete ideas and solutions: From the Tokyo Garden <\/em>to the Pan-African Garden <\/em>in Johannesburg, from Los Angeles and Auckland to the Garden of Curiosity <\/em>in Buenos Aires and the Garden of Lust <\/em>in London, exhibitions, conferences, performances, concerts and workshops are taking place that deal with current issues such as AUTONOMY and DEMOCRACY as well as TECHNOLOGY and ECOLOGY. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This year\u2019s motto \u201cIn Kepler\u2019s Gardens\u201d not only stands for the connected \u201cgardens\u201d worldwide, but also for this year\u2019s new Festival main location on the campus of the Johannes Kepler University, where a program is offered on three stages. In addition to regular events such as the AIxMusic Festival and the STARTS Exhibition, this year there will also be a show by the LIT Linz Istitute of Technology and a Garden Exhibition in which strange machines pluck one margarite petal after another. With his installation lovesmenot, the German artist Sebastian Wolf questions our relationship to machines and the absurdity of over- automation. In the university buildings around the park, exhibitions are shown and conferences are held, which this year can only be visited as part of a guided tour. One of the key- note speakers is U.S. artist Lynn Hershman Leeson, whose work Shadow Stalker won the Prix Ars Electronica. The installation on the subject of secret surveillance demonstrates how a single data point can reveal a cache of personal information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These days, one or another may feel like the artist Michail Michailov: disoriented on a roof, searching for new paths and answers for the future. The Performance Roaming <\/em>is part of the Gallery Spaces Garden, which brings together digital art projects on the web, another central venue of the festival. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to the WILD STATE <\/em>exhibition at the University of Arts and program highlights at the Ars Electronica Center, the Cyber Arts <\/em>Exhibition in O\u00d6 Kulturquartier presents a selection of this year\u2019s best media art works. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of them is Appropriate Response <\/em>by German artist Mario Klingemann, a destination board as we know it from airports and train stations of days gone by, equipped with artificial intelligence. Kneeling in front of it, the visitors receive a unique wisdom of life, which is up to each and every one to interpret for themselves. The gesture of kneeling stands for the balance between hope and fear, as we know it from religion, but also from future designs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Kepler\u2019s Garden<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n