Ars x Schmiede – in the making

We are very happy to announce a cooperation in the making.

For years, Ars Electronica Linz and Schmiede Hallein have moved in parallel: observing, intersecting occasionally, sharing interests, questions, and communities — but rarely together.

We think the time for parallel existence is over.

Ars Electronica and Schmiede are now constructively seeking common ground: a space of resonance between Linz and Hallein, between institutional and self-organized structures, between continuity and experimentation, between global discourse and local realities.

Both festivals carry long histories and overlapping thematic interests, but they developed different images, speeds, and methods. Exactly this difference makes the collaboration interesting. Not alignment, but complementarity. Not convergence, but productive friction.

As a first step, we will begin with a series of light network evenings in Linz and Hallein — spaces for encounters, questions, unfinished thoughts, and conversations without immediate outcomes.

At Ars Electronica 2026, Schmiede Hallein — represented by Karla Spiluttini (leads Schmiede Hallein’s EU projects) and Rüdiger Wassibauer — will open a conversation around dislocated hubs of collaborative creation: How can collaborative artistic and cultural practices emerge and continue far from metropolitan centers? What structures become possible outside urban gravity and critical mass?

Building on experiences gathered through recent European collaborations including Rewilding Cultures, Feral Network, and What’s the Deal, we will invite protagonists from across Europe to contribute fragments of experience, methods, and perspectives.

As friendly retaliation, Ars Electronica Linz will send Christl Baur  (Head of Festival & Program Director at Ars Electronica Linz) to Schmiede26 for an open evening under the thematic roof:

Everything you always wanted to know about Ars, but were afraid to ask.
FR SEP18 19:00  

An invitation to dismantle assumptions, ask un- as well as comfortable questions, exchange expectations, and imagine what future forms of cooperation between institutions and communities could look like.

This is not an announcement of a finished format.

But like Ai Ai AI is an opening, ab beginning. 

We are not trying to merge audiences — we are trying to create new conditions for artistic exchange. The goal is not visibility, but permeability.

Christl’s talk will be open to the public, however we always encourage participation.

Schmiede26: Ai Ai Ai 
September 16. – 26. 2026
Pernerinsel, Hallein, Austria
Apply till May 31st

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and if also if you are not confused yet, you are still welcome.

Christl’s pic taken from Visit Linz credit: vog.photo