By David Riegler
This year, the main location for the Ars Electronica Festival the POSTCITY near Linz Central Station, which was scheduled for demolition. For the seventh time, this traditional location will be the heart of the festival, which this time is dedicated to the search for hope under the motto: “HOPE – who will turn the tide”.
The festival for art, technology and society does not see hope as a desperate act in hopeless situations, but as a strengthening force with which one can move the world. The focus should be on the people who unleash this power: “The festival aims to put as many people in the spotlight as possible who have already set out on the journey and whose activities – no matter how big or small they are – are the very concrete reason to have hope,” say the organizers.
Ars Electronica
Artists, researchers, developers, activists and entrepreneurs from a wide range of countries will meet in Linz from September 4 to 8, 2024 to present their views on the topic. Those who can’t wait have the opportunity to get their first glimpse of the festival at the pre-opening walk on September 3, including a sound installation entitled “Silent Echoes” by Bill Fontana in Linz’s St. Mary’s Cathedral.
Happy Birthday, Anton Bruckner
The first official day of the festival is September 4th, which would also be the 200th birthday of the Upper Austrian composer and organist Anton Bruckner. But it wouldn’t be Ars Electronica if you were satisfied with a classical performance. A team of artists, physicists and computer scientists will have the “Perger Prelude” conducted by entangled photons. You can see for yourself whether the photons can keep the beat at this festival highlight.
The FM4 stand is traditionally located in the so-called “Create Your World” area of Ars Electronica, where there are exhibitions, presentations, performances and experimental stations for young adults, teenagers and children. Many of the exhibitions there this year deal with the important topic of young people’s mental health.
Ars Electronica / Florian Steidl
Vom Deep Space in den Club
Another must-see when visiting the festival is the digital experience room “Deep Space 8K”, where a virtual reality equipped with a high-performance laser tracking system is projected onto the walls and floor. Here you can easily take a short trip to France, because in “Deep Space 8k” you can experience a huge 3D model of the Notre Dame Cathedral, which caught fire in 2019.
Ars Electronica / Magdalena Sick-Leitner
After the exhibitions, workshops and media art experiences, the evening’s musical program continues at the Ars Electronica Nightline, which invites you to dance on Friday, September 6th, from 10:30 p.m. This year there is a focus on innovative club music from Switzerland, with Aïsha Devi, DJ NVST, or the rapper Nathalie Froehlich and others. Kimyan Law will open the evening, so it’s worth coming early.
We are giving away tickets
If you want to experience all this and more at the Ars Electronica Festival 2024, you now have the opportunity to take part in the competition. We are giving away 2 Ticketpakete for 2 people each, consisting of two day passes for a day of your choice and two Nightline tickets for Friday, September 6th. Write to us at game.fm4@orf.at: What or who gives you hope for 2024?
The deadline for entries is Sunday, September 1, 2024, at 11:59 p.m.
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