What is true, what is false? Since Hannah Arendt at the latest, we know no one absolute truth can exist for all of us. So although truth is what we think it is at any given time, this does not at all mean that everything is true and nothing is true at the same time. If a community can no longer agree on recognizing basic facts as such (and then arguing about how to interpret them), it breaks apart. The proof is Donald Trump, who accepts only “his” facts and dismisses all others as “fake news”.
Education is indispensable for a broad and critical, yet constructive debate about what is true and what is false, what is real and what is fake. It is therefore both a statement and a demand that this year’s Ars Electronica is declaring Day 1 to be “Education Day”.
The fact that education, curiosity and openness should be instilled as early as possible has prompted the University of Arts Linz and the Upper Austrian University of Education to initiate an open exchange on innovative teaching methods in the “Forum for Digital Education“. Representatives from the fields of didactics, pedagogy, cultural studies and educational policy will address the central question of the need for and development of new methods of conveying the content of digital education: Those who (have to) deal with tomorrow with today’s education, the students themselves, are also invited to participate in the discussion about their own future. Coinciding with the forum, the Upper Austrian University of Education once again hosts a symposium to encourage reflections on a sustainable design for the future.
It is undisputed that knowledge of mathematics, information technology, natural sciences and technology (MINT) is highly relevant for shaping the future. That enthusiasm for these fields can also be successfully aroused in rural areas is shown by missimo. As a mobile experience space, the two-storied special truck of the non-profit Kaiserschild private foundation will be visiting elementary schools all over Austria starting in the fall, giving school children the opportunity to try out new technologies on 100 square meters of exhibition space. The interactive interior of this unique vehicle was designed by the Ars Electronica Futurelab, and in the future will be operated by experts from the Ars Electronica Center. During the festival, missimo can be explored on Linz’s Hauptplatz.
The “FOUNDING LAB” organized by Ars Electronica and the “Institute for Digital Science Austria” (IDSA) will again focus on what a new university for holistic research into digital transformation should look like: 75 students and 15 fellows from all over the world will be working on a range of topics related to digitization as well as new strategies and formats for creating and communicating knowledge. The students complete the “Summer School” (August 23rd to September 11th), the Fellows the “Forum” (September 6th to 10th) – then it’s off to the Fall Semester/Fall Term (October 2023 to January 2024). If you want to get a glimpse of the knowledge transfer of the future, be sure not to miss the accompanying conference for the “FOUNDING LAB” on Wednesday, September 6th.
The content-related focal points and strategic orientations of no less than 56 art universities from all over the world can be studied as part of the “Campus Exhibition“, which stretches across POSTCITY, through the Art University and into the Salzamt. This time, the Taipei National University of the Arts will present itself as the “Featured University 2023”. In addition, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, “PRISMA” (a cooperation between three universities from Chile and Argentina), Tokyo University and “Festival X,” which brings three universities from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Linz, will also be taking part.
The potential for cooperation between science and civil society is demonstrated by the Citizen Science Exhibition. The ISALA initiative from Belgium, which promotes women’s health and awareness-raising, and the konS – Platform for Contemporary Investigative Art, which brings together engineers, scientists and artists to develop joint perspectives on the present and the future, are representative of a whole series of inspiring projects, most of which are among the winners of the European Union Prize for Citizen Science
The grand finale of the first day of the festival is the opening. This time it is not only for the festival, but also the public starting signal for the “FOUNDING LAB” and the IDSA. The celebration will take place in the huge track hall and in the courtyard of POSTCITY – the award-winning light and sound artist Robin Fox (AU), the Swiss artist duo Luc Gut and Rolf Hellat, who create sound installations and performances, and Artemi-Maria Gioti, whose works combine acoustic instruments and interactive electronics, musical robotics and participatory performances.
(from the press release)
Ars Electronica Festival, Linz, Austria, 05 – 10.09.2023
images: (cover 1) BIAS II _ Artemi-Maria Gioti (GR), Photo- ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, Chiara Bellamoli (2) Isala- Citizen-science map of the vaginal microbiome, Photo- Isala Team (3) Eteron 15 – The Lovers _ Eul Lee (KR_MX_US), Photo- Eul Lee (4) FOUNDING LAB, Photo- DALL·E 2 (5) Missimo / Privatstiftung Kaiserschild, Ars Electronica Futurelab, Photo- Kerstin Blätterbinder
