The BBBank Award will be presented as part of the Karlsruhe SCHLOSSLICHTSPIELE 2026.
This open call is directed at artists, designers, studios, and collectives working in the field of projection mapping. With your contribution, you will bring the façade of Karlsruhe Palace to life – telling a story, developing a captivating visual language, and experimenting with sound.
The SCHLOSSLICHTSPIELE are an annual highlight of the UNESCO City of Media Arts. Each year, around 300,000 visitors gather over four weeks to experience media art together in an enchanting open-air setting.
To apply for the BBBank Award 2026, submit a concept for a projection mapping on the 170-meter-wide façade of the baroque palace.
A jury will select three concepts from all submissions. Each selected project will receive a production grant of €15,000 and be presented throughout the entire festival. On the opening night of the SCHLOSSLICHTSPIELE, the audience will vote for their favorite among these three works. The winning project will receive an additional prize of €5,000.
The jury, led by the ZKM | Karlsruhe, includes representatives of BBBank eG as the award sponsor, KME Karlsruhe Marketing and Event GmbH, and the City of Karlsruhe as representatives of the UNESCO City of Media Arts.
In 2026, the SCHLOSSLICHTSPIELE Karlsruhe will focus on visions of urban communities. The following themes may serve as inspiration or focal points:
- Urban spaces and landscapes
- Architecture and society
- The micro- and macrocosm of the city
- Experiences of urban atmospheres
- Structures and new beginnings
- Moments of transformation and transition
The jury welcomes artistic concepts that make new visual and sonic worlds accessible to a broad audience through inspiring ideas. Projection mappings with documentary, essayistic, or narrative-fictional approaches are just as welcome as works that bring data and structures to life through dynamic visualization and sound composition.
The BBBank Award is organized by ZKM | Karlsruhe in partnership with BBBank and the SCHLOSSLICHTSPIELE.
You can find an overview of previous projection mappings from the SCHLOSSLICHTSPIELE here: www.schlosslichtspiele.info/en/shows/
