Events in conjunction with Linz09: European Capital of Culture

Linz is the European Capital of Culture 2009.

No Austrian city has changed as dramatically as Linz has in recent years. Once a nice, quiet commercial town on the banks of the Danube, then the place that Adolf Hitler adopted as his hometown, and later a capital of heavy industry with all the side-effects and risks that entails, Linz today is a modern urban center with a flourishing economy and exceptional quality of life. A city where interesting things are happening and the future is taking shape right now. The mission of Linz 2009 European Capital of Culture is to be a part of this process: an initiative implementing sustainable urban development and a driving force for progress in promising directions.

With its lineup of projects, Linz09 is giving a highly diversified narrative account of this city: Linz Welcome, Linz Capital, Linz Power, Linz Travel, Linz World, Linz Memory, Linz Knowledge, Linz Pleasure, Linz Holiday and Linz Dream. Past, present and future are reflected by the diverse facets of this ensemble. Europe and The World are two additional programmatic focal points meant to enable people to really feel the openness of this city.

Below is a selection of projects during the conference weekend. For a full list and much more extensive information on Linz09, please visit www.linz09.at.

80+1 – A Journey around the World

When: Until September 6 2009,

Where: Ars Electronica Center and Linz's Main Square (Hauptplatz)

For more information see http://www.80plus1.org

A Real Virtual Journey

Phileas Fogg showed little concern for the actual people or places through which he traveled: He was entirely focused on winning his wager with the club members. Jules Verne's heroes were as much the rail engine and steamship as they were Fogg and his resourceful valet Passepartout. With only small dashes of compassion, anger, and (ultimately) love to keep things spicy, Jules Verne crafted a timely and relevant cliffhanger based almost entirely on new, not yet- familiar technologies. But suppose we were to take a fresh look at Jules Verne's famous narrative and ask: How would we redo it today? What are the new global-scale technologies and what do they enable? What's the wager? What constitutes global-scale meaning and relevance? One answer clearly has to do with the Internet and global networks in general, in that they enable telematics and virtuality to replace physical travel. An 80-day virtual voyage around the world need not be physically contiguous, traveling from physical point to physical point by land, sea, or even air. "Hyper travel" is possible, moving from place to place, perhaps based on theme rather than geography, as quickly as a cut in a movie. The technologies for live, interactive, immersive two-way experiences are worthy of creative exploration.

Ars Electronica Festival

When: September 3 - 8 2009,

Where: Ars Electronica Center, Everywhere in Linz

For more information see http://www.aec.at/festival_about_en.php

In 2009 the ARS ELECTRONICA Festival will remain true to itself – adding only one little twist: the theme will be the future – the future of the world and, embedded in the large picture, the future of Linz.

2009 will be wholly dominated for Ars Electronica by the newly built and massively enlarged 'Museum of the Future' – a venue for exhibitions, events, networking and educational activities as much as for research and development. The new building enables us to address a swathe of new topics and content and to offer a tight schedule of interdisciplinary conferences, exhibitions and workshops. Finally, in 2009, Ars Electronica will also be celebrating the 30th anniversary of its creation. Whilst our history is honoured with a great new digital archive, we will be giving over the Festival for Art, Technology and Society itself entirely to 'Zukunft/Future', which will not only grapple with the great allure of daring extrapolations of the future but also with the concept of the future as such – the way we deal with it and the strongly divergent future perspectives that have their origins in the global civilizations and societies of the 21st century and that, in their turn, reflect back on us.

Free Ars Electronica Festival Pass included in conference registration.

The Inquisitive Museum

When: All the year 2009, 10 am – 6 pm daily, Thu 10 am – 9 pm

Where: Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz (Ernst-Koref-Promenade 1, 4020 Linz) and other venues in Linz

For more information visit http://www.lentos.at

Curiosity drives the Lentos Kunstmuseum to get in touch with the world. Creative personalities and artists are cordially invited to come up with new impulses and to engage in brainstorming on the future of the institution 'museum'.

The museum is a time-hallowed institution. In the course of its very long history its characteristic components, such as the roles played by visitors and staff, its methods of (re)presentation, exhibition techniques, etc. have all tended to become somewhat stereotypical. From time to time it is therefore highly commendable to give fresh eyes from outside the chance to examine the status quo – in order to make changes and surprises possible. In our case it is the Lentos that feels inquisitive and that casts around in search of new projects and sustainable reforms. Its point of departure will be the exchange with visitors on the one hand and a number of different interest groups on the other. This exchange will be underpinned by the conviction that both questioning its purpose and its functions and finding and realizing new definitions are all part of a museum's raison d'être. THE INQUISITIVE MUSEUM wants to be taught a lesson or two by its artists and users. The project kicks off with an invitation to artists and groups of artists and creative individuals from Linz, from other parts of Austria and from European countries to focus on the Lentos and feed it with new impulses.

The New Ars Electronica Center

When: All the year 2009, Wed - Fri: 9 am to 5 pm, Sat – Sun: 10 am to 6 pm, Mon – Tue: Closed

Where: Hauptstrasse, 4040 Linz (opposite to the new city hall), +43/732+7272-0

For more information visit http://www.aec.at/center_about_en.php

Ars Electronica's outstanding international reputation assures it a place in the limelight during Linz's term as European Capital of Culture in 2009. The city is now creating an appropriate architectural setting for this starring role by expanding the Ars Electronica Center. The planning is the work of Treusch architecture, Vienna.

A new, multilevel wing is being erected immediately adjacent to the existing building. The two structures will be wrapped in a backlit glass shell that creates a unitary architectural ensemble. This cityscape highlight will function as a transparent light sculpture in its own right and the architectural counterpart of the Lentos across the Danube. The plaza extending parallel to Kirchengasse in the direction of the Parish Church provides the AEC complex with an attractive venue for public events. The eastern end curves upward and features steps/tiered seating; the space directly below this will house the Ars Electronica Futurelab. Generously dimensioned exhibition spaces will be located beneath the plaza. The expanded Ars Electronica Center will feature approximately 6,500 m2 of space, almost 4,000 m2 more than the current facility. The groundbreaking ceremony on March 1 will get this "construction site of the future" officially underway. Completion is set for the end of 2008, just in time for the kickoff of the Capital of Culture year.