on Toshareproject.it - curated by Bruce Sterling
Save the date: Ars Electronica 2026
From September 9 to 13, 2026, Linz will once again become an international meeting place for art, technology and society. Under the title “NEGOTIATING HUMANITY”, Ars Electronica 2026 asks how societies can remain capable of dialogue in times of growing polarization, technological transformation and global crises, and how democratic negotiation can continue to be possible.
Rather than offering simple answers or imagining a world without conflict, the festival shows how art, science, and technology can create spaces in which ambiguity, dissent, and fundamentally different perspectives become visible, tangible and open to productive negotiation.
In the first year after POSTCITY, the festival is reinventing itself: Linz’s city center will become both stage and forum. Three major festival hubs — OK QUARTER, MED CAMPUS and DANUBE TRIANGLE — as well as numerous other locations will host exhibitions, performances, concerts, conferences, screenings, and workshops.
We look forward to inspiring encounters, engaging discussions and five varied festival days in Linz!
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URBAN PULSE _MOTUS Percussion (Nico Gerstmayer (AT), Lorenzo Manquillet (FR), Jaroslav Letiagin (NO), Photo_vog.photo
Festival Opening
St. Mary’s Cathedral will host the official opening of Ars Electronica 2026 on Wednesday, September 9. Free and open to the public, this evening event in front of and inside Austria’s largest cathedral will combine classical orchestral culture with electronic music. The concert experience will be presented by Markus Poschner and the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, in cooperation with TanzLinz.
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Dystopia Land _Etsuko Ichihara (JP), Civic Creative Base Tokyo [CCBT] (JP), Photo vog.photo
Exhibitions, Talks & Workshops
The thematic main exhibition of Ars Electronica 2026 invites visitors on a curated route through numerous locations in Linz’s city center, turning the urban space itself into part of the festival experience. The program will be complemented by further exhibitions, including the award-winning projects of the Prix Ars Electronica at the Lentos Art Museum Linz, as well as talks, panels, screenings, and workshops exploring the festival theme.
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Ars Electronica Center, Photo: Ars Electronica
30 Years of the Ars Electronica Center
On September 8, 2026, we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Ars Electronica Center as part of the Ars Electronica Festival 2026. Since its opening, the “Museum of the Future” has been a place where technological developments can be experienced, discussed and shaped. In its anniversary year, the museum looks back on three decades of art, technology and society and opens up new perspectives on what lies ahead.