Open Call: Summer School "TIME³" at ZKM | Karlsruhe

Apply now until May 6, 2026!

From August 17 to September 6, 2026, the ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe invites emerging international creatives to the second edition of TIME³, a summer school in large‑scale architectural projection mapping hosted together with ruestungsschmie.de.

Over three intense weeks, 15 participants will merge their skills, software knowledge, and perspectives into one shared audiovisual artwork on the 170‑meter façade of Karlsruhe Palace.
TIME³ is not a classic workshop, but a tight, collaboration‑driven production. 
You will move from initial ideas and experiments through motion design, visual programming, sound, and architecture into a festival‑ready 11K projection that becomes a fixed part of the program during the last week of the Schlosslichtspiele 2026.
On these evenings, thousands of visitors watch the façade come alive – turning your shared project into a real‑time public artwork, screened nightly to a large, international audience.

This edition of TIME³ is a professional‑level opportunity for artists and designers.
Several participants from the first TIME³ cohort have since won major awards or been commissioned for new projects based on the experience they gained in the summer school. 
TIME³ is therefore not only a chance to work in a highly international, multidisciplinary team, but also a powerful catalyst for personal growth: it prepares you to think and act like a producer in large‑scale audiovisual and media productions, capable of managing complexity, technical pressure, and diverse creative voices on an international stage.
The ZKM provides the framework, hardware, tools, and festival stage. Travel, accommodation, and daily expenses are covered by the participants.

If you are a creative person with a strong interest in audiovisual art, architecture, light, and shadow – and the kind of focus and “pitbull mentality” it takes to work intensively in a close‑knit team over three weeks, this is your chance to turn a short timeframe into a large‑scale, festival‑presented work. 

We welcome participants from all backgrounds, regardless of age, gender, race, origin, or continent. Whether your practice lies in moving image, sound, scenography, interaction, coding, experimental media, etc – what matters is curiosity, openness, and the ability to collaborate.

Any questions about the Summer School? Please send an e-mail to: schlosslichtspiele@zkm.de

Hard Facts

Dates: August 17 – September 6, 2026
Crash Course: architectural projection mapping
Looking for: 15 visual designers + sound designers
Skills preferred: 2D/3D animation, visual programming, editing, game engines, sound design
Software: Blender + Da Vinci Resolve (possibly C4D) 
Registration fee: none
Application deadline: May 6, 2026, 1 pm CEST
Selection results: Early June

Production Guidelines
Model Data

About

  1. ruestungsschmie.de

    ruestungsschmie.de – an internationally active media art and projection mapping team with a background in architecture – will act as mentors throughout the three weeks. They will support the group with impulses, technical guidance, and feedback, while leaving the creative decisions with the team. Their work for the Schlosslichtspiele and the ZKM, as well as large‑scale projects in Europe, Japan, China, and the USA shows how architecture, tight collaboration, and careful production can turn historic façades into shared stages for audiovisual art.

  2. Schlosslichtspiele

    The Schlosslichtspiele were founded by Peter Weibel, the artistic-scientific director of the Centre for Art and Media (ZKM), as part of the Globale Digitale to celebrate the 300th birthday of the city of Karlsruhe in 2015. In that year the city hosted a festival summer entitled KA300. 

    The city of Karlsruhe – known for its radiating layout – is also known as the fan-shaped city. According to Weibel, the palace, which forms the center of this floor plan, was the obvious choice as the central starting point for reflections on urban architecture. The video mappings refer to the façade of the palace, which houses the Badisches Landesmuseum, and the history of the city.

    Particular attention is paid to the interaction between visitors and the light shows that the Lichtspiele embody – by means of games or movements, visitors become part of the choreography conceived by the artists. 

    On the strength of the positive feedback to the Schlosslichtspiele 2015, Karlsruhe City Council decided to continue the format under the artistic direction of ZKM | Karlsruhe in cooperation with KME Karlsruhe Marketing and Event GmbH.

  3. ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe

    ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe is a leading institution at the intersection of art, technology, and society, founded in 1989 as a “digital Bauhaus” for the 21st century. From 1999 until his passing in 2023, Peter Weibel shaped the ZKM as its artistic‑scientific director, turning it into an internationally renowned platform where classical art forms meet media, code, sound, and performance.
    Today, the ZKM continues this legacy by hosting exhibitions, festivals, and programs that explore how media and technology transform our perception, our cities, and our culture – including the Schlosslichtspiele and other large‑scale public projects that turn architecture into living stages for contemporary art

Sponsored by

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ZKM | Center for Art and Media

Lorenzstraße 19
76135 Karlsruhe

+49 (0) 721 - 8100 - 1200
info@zkm.de

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