Seasons of Media Arts

A city in keeping with the times is subject to constant – if invisible – change as thousands of data streams are created, captured, and distributed every day. The rise of the »smart city« phenomenon raises important questions: What kind of future city do we want and what is our position within it? How can we influence the urban landscape through new digital technologies, data streams, and information? What happens to all the data collected in our smart cities by sensors and smart technologies?

Starting in 2019, the ZKM | Karlsruhe plans to organize the »Seasons of Media Arts« project on an annual basis in collaboration with the Office of Cultural Affairs of the City of Karlsruhe and various Karlsruhe organizations, initiatives, and associations. The partners involved in the design and implementation of the project are key players in the city’s digital culture and education, who critically reflect on new technologies and participate with the citizens of Karlsruhe on further developing an open, technologically informed society. It is envisaged to utilize all available media and all available public spaces.

Media art throughout the urban space 

Within the framework of »Seasons of Media Arts«, media art installations distributed throughout the entire urban area will be presented decentrally in the urban space, which address the issue of public access to data and thematize the development of the »smart city«. The works present an idea of a city in which technology is not used to collect data about residents, but enables citizen participation and transparency in political decision-making processes. The virtual urban space that is created in the sense defined by »Seasons of Media Arts«, which is characterized by interaction and knowledge transfer, contributes to the establishment of a »digitally connected city« in which the digital self-determination of the inhabitants is in the foreground.

Strengthening digital participation 

As a continuation of the education and learning program of the »Open Codes« exhibition at the ZKM, various project partners will offer workshop series, such as »Citizens Knowledge Lab«, »Transparency Café«, or »Build your own particulate matter sensor« as part of the »Seasons of Media Arts«. The aim of these activities is to promote the digital participation of Karlsruhe citizens and thus to strengthen the civil society structures of the city. One of the special features is that the workshops will take place in a mobile creative workshop, the Spacecraft_ZKM of the Agbogbloshie Makerspace Platform (AMP) from Ghana.

Karlsruhe as a place of participative visions

Possible social effects of the emergence of a »digitally connected city« will be made tangible at various locations in the city by means of augmented and virtual reality works, as well as interactive installations and videos that represent data poetically or visually. In association with local groups and in collaboration with the ZKM, internationally active media artists will transform the city of Karlsruhe into a place of participative visions within the framework of Seasons of Media Arts.

Video documentary:

ZKM | Videostudio

Camera: Andy Koch, Peter Müller, Tim Wenz
Editing: Güzide Coker
Voice: Güzide Coker