September 8–12, 2021
The Werkleitz Festival 2021 “move to...sociosphere, ecosphere, bodydatasphere” is a correspondence location of the 2021 Ars Electronica, focusing on the question of the impulses that art can provide in our crisis-ridden times. In three streamed programmes on the sociosphere, ecosphere and bodydatasphere, as well as on the website, the festival and the European Media Art Platform (EMAP) will present 44 works by the artists of the European Media Art Platform that deal with the impact of new technologies on our world. During the past four years, the participating artists and collectives at the 11 institutions of the European Media Art Platform, supported by Creative Europe as one of 15 European cultural platforms, have been researching the urgent challenges of our time.
The three festival spheres and programmes set the thematic framework: The sociosphere focuses on the social and political challenges of our digital, globalised world. The ecosphere highlights the consequences of digitalisation on our ecosystem, the gain of knowledge through a change of perspective away from humans and towards other forms of life. In the context of the bodydatasphere the artists focus on the digital bodies and senses and in particular on the fact that they are increasingly integrated into technological environments, monitored or controlled by them. In addition to the 44 newly produced documentaries and numerous podcasts, the recorded lectures of the conference and discourse program “new world dis/order,” which took place as part of the Werkleitz Festival will be available online.
The EMAP Bal Masqué, organised by IMPAKT, will be the unique closing party of the four-year grant production cycle of the European Media Art Platform on 11 September. Bal Masqué is a virtual club night: a corona-worthy fusion of online dance battle, digital masquerade ball and a variety of individual VJ sets. Everyone is invited to wear digital or real masks and party with EMAP and IMPAKT at the 2021 Ars Electronica A New Digital Deal. In preparation for Bal Masqué, two online workshops organised by IMPAKT will take place on 9 and 10 September. Register here for the workshops and Bal Masqué.
Participating artists:
Nico Angiuli (Italy), Andrius Arutiunian (Lithuania/the Netherlands), Kat Austen (UK/Germany), Marco Barotti (Italy), Andrej Boleslavský (Czech Republic), Clusterduck (France/Germany/Italy), Gil Delindro (Portugal), Florent Di Bartolo (France), DISNOVATION.ORG (France), Adam Donovan (Australia) & Katrin Hochschuh (Germany), Anna Dumitriu (UK) & Alex May (UK), Mark Farid (UK), Doug Fishbone (UK), FLOW Architecture (UK), Forms of Ownership (Hong Kong/North Macedonia/Ireland/US), Chloé Galibert-Laîné (France) & Kevin B. Lee (Germany/US), Moritz Simon Geist (Germany), Daniel Hengst (Germany), Darsha Hewitt (Germany/Canada), Sophie Hoyle (UK), Konrad Korabiewski (Denmark/Iceland), Karen Lancel (the Netherlands) & Hermen Maat (the Netherlands), Kentaro Kumanomido (Germany/US) & Teaque Owen (Germany/US), Stefan Laxness (UK/Iceland), Carolin Liebl (Germany) & Nikolas Schmid-Pfähler (Germany), Aay Liparoto (Belgium), MAEID (Austria), Kasia Molga (Poland/UK), Joana Moll (Spain), Wouter Moraal (the Netherlands), Martin Nadal (Spain), Robertas Narkus (Lithuania), Aleksandra Niemczyk (Poland), Margherita Pevere (Italy), Anna Ridler (UK), Quimera Rosa (France), Silvia Rosani (UK), Rybn.org (France), Birk Schmithüsen (Germany), Robertina Šebjanič (Slovenia) & Gjino Šutić (Croatia), Taavi Suisalu (Estonia), Total Refusal (Austria), uh513 (María Castellanos & Alberto Valverde) (Spain), Liliana Zeic (Poland)
Program:
move to...sociosphere: September 9, 8pm
move to...ecosphere: September 10, 8pm
move to...bodydatasphere: September 12, 8pm
The sessions of the conference and discourse programme new world dis/order are available on demand parallel to the Ars Electronica here.
Cultural and Media Partners are MDR KULTUR, Arch+, arte Kurzschluss and the international art magazines Neural, Arshake and Arts of the Working Class.
EMAP Members:
Ars Electronica, Linz (Austria), Foundation for Art and Creative Technology (FACT), Liverpool (UK), IMPAKT, Utrecht (the Netherlands), Antre Peaux, Bourges (France), LABoral, Gijón (Spain), Kontejner, Zagreb (Croatia), Werkleitz Gesellschaft, Halle (Saale) (Germany), WRO Art Center, Wrocław (Poland), RIXC, Riga, (Latvia), Onassis Stegi, Athen (Greece), m-cult, Helsinki (Finland)
