Berlin Art Week: AI-Based Art in Europe — Regulate, Support, Enable?

Europe’s cultural landscape is facing a far-reaching transformation: How is artificial intelligence making its way into creative practice? How can productive engagement with AI in the arts be encouraged? What different needs and expectations do artists and cultural institutions have? Together with experts and members of the cultural community, ZKM | Karlsruhe will explore these questions at this year’s matinee as part of Berlin Art Week 2026, examining the creative spaces, frameworks, and networks that the arts in Europe will need in the future.

With ZKM in Karlsruhe, Germany already has a globally connected and internationally recognized center of expertise for innovative media in the arts. Artificial intelligence is one of the institution’s key areas of research, production, and exhibition, where it is approached both as a creative tool and as an object of critical reflection. Through the interplay of curatorial practice and research—particularly at ZKM Hertzlab, the institution’s artistic research and development department—new AI-based works and formats for public engagement are continually being developed, making the interactions between humans, machines, and society accessible to broad audiences.

With:
Tristan Schulze, Artist
Mario Klingemann / Quasimondo, Artist
Sven Meyer, Managing Director, Staatsschauspiel Stuttgart
Tina Lorenz, Head of Artistic Research, ZKM | Karlsruhe

The panel will begin with a brief opening statement from each of the four participants.
After the discussion, there will be time for lunch and conversation.