Ars Electronica Festival 2022 on Art as a Theater of War
Together with the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ars Electronica's "Welcome to Planet B" festival offers artists who are threatened, persecuted and oppressed because of the political dimension of their works a space on its online platform entitled "State of the ART(ist)".
All submitted State of the ART(ist) projects will be presented online as part of the Ars Electronica Festival 2022 "Welcome to Planet B: A different life is possible. But how?" will be presented online. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons / Walter Isack(Isiwal) / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)
Ars Electronica is a festival for the presentation and promotion of art in close connection with digital technology and social issues, which takes place annually in Linz, Upper Austria. It is the most important international festival of digital art, presenting trends and long-term developments in a future-oriented manner in the form of artistic works, discussion forums and scientific support.
The Austrian Foreign Ministry and Ars Electronica want to send a clear sign of support for artists and created a Virtual Space for artistic freedom. As reported by Vindobona.org, with the "State of the ART(ist)" an open call was made in which 357 works from 40 countries were submitted.
A platform like Ars Electronica must take such dramatic events as in Ukraine as an opportunity to devote itself to the "theater of war in art" and to ask what the "state of the ART(ist)" is worldwide.
Alexander Schallenberg, Austria's Minister of Foreign Affairs, explained that "State of the ART(ist)" is a tool for artists around the world to make visible what their circumstances would not otherwise allow. According to Schallenberg, this is "another sign of the universal right to freedom of opinion and artistic expression, and together with the leading festival in the field of art, new technologies and society, we are creating a new kind of initiative to support and make visible suppressed art. This is what Austrian foreign cultural work stands for."
Martin Honzik, Managing Director Ars Electronica Festival, and CCO Ars Electronica explained the importance of the project and that "in 2022 we welcome Ars Electronica to 'Planet B'." According to Honzik, a rather large continent of this artist-designed planet will be devoted to the question of how "we can live together peacefully and respectfully across borders of states, cultures, languages, religions and genders. The linchpin of this debate will be the virtual exhibition 'State of the ART(ist)'."
Given the difficult circumstances under which the artists work, so many submissions had not been expected. According to ORF, Festival organizer Christl Baur pointed out that artists are often only able to submit their projects in a roundabout way "because their online activities are monitored and restricted. An international jury selected eleven works that are now accessible in a virtual show and part at the festival in Linz.
Preference was given to works that reinforce democratic values, human rights, including environmental rights, and are close to activist methods; more traditional works were also included. The majority of the artworks are from Ukraine, however, artworks by artists from Syria and other trouble spots are also represented.
"State of the ART(ist)" will be the central and only online contribution to the 2022 Ars Electronica Festival. The artists would not be able to physically realize their projects at all where they live and work; many would want or need to remain anonymous. According to Honzik, "the Internet offers the possibility of making precisely these artists heard and attracting attention worldwide."
All submitted State of the ART(ist) projects will be presented online as part of the Ars Electronica Festival 2022 "Welcome to Planet B: A different life is possible. But how?" will be presented online. From September 7 to 11, 2022, Linz will once again be hosting a festival for the arts with the Ars Electronica Festival 2022 "Welcome to Planet B: A different life is possible. But how?" a festival for art, technology and society to which players from science, business, the creative and art scenes from the region and around the world will contribute their perspectives.
Located in the Ars Electronica Center, which houses the Museum of the Future, in the city of Linz. Ars Electronica's activities focus on the interactions between art, technology and society. The Ars Electronica Festival, the cornerstone of Ars Electronica, has been held annually in Linz since 1979, accompanied by a major media response.