【Event Review】SCT_The Ars Electronica Festival in Austria

11 Oct 2024

At the international intersection of art and technology, the faculty team of the School of Cultural Technology (SCT), carrying interdisciplinary and artistic works with a Chinese cultural perspective, traveled to Austria to participate in the world-renowned Ars Electronica Festival from September 4-8. This grand event is not only a fusion of art and technology but also a collision of global creative thinking. The XJTLU stood out among more than 300 universities worldwide and joined 29 top universities to present an international feast of art and technology, adding a unique Eastern color to it.

Ars Eletronica Festival 2024

Since 1979, the Ars Electronica Festival has become an important festival for the intersection of international art, technology, and society, focusing on cutting-edge academic and artistic fields such as electronic art and media theory.The 2023 festival attracted 1,542 artists, scientists, developers, designers, and activists from 88 countries, with a total of 575 events, and attracted more than 88,000 visitors. This year's Ars Electronica Festival is the largest to date, hosting 112,000 visitors in just five days.Click there to know more about the festival: https://ars.electronica.art/news/en/

Zhonghao Chen Assistant Professor

Zhonghao Chen is an award-winning artist, academic, and curator based in China and New Zealand.His research explores the intersection of movement, materiality, imaging phenomenon, narrativity, curatoriality, and technology. He has over 20 years of trans-cultural experience as an artist, curator, and educator. His works are in major public and private collections globally. He co-organized the Chinese Digital Games Research Association Conference, taking part in reviewing, editing, and translating; reviewer of ArtsIT/DLI conference; reviewer of ISEA conference reviewer of The MIT Press; published journal papers and proceeding with Springer, Palgrave Macmillan, etc.; He has been directing the ABC art collective in NZ, represented by several galleries and curated numerous projects which fuse art and industrial media of expression. Furthermore,, Zhonghao maintains a practice of sound art and experimental music.Web: zhonghaochen.com

Zhonghao is currently an assistant professor and the PDP director at the School of Cultural Technology and the previous program director of the BA Art, Technology, and Entertainment with Contemporary Entrepreneurialism at XJTLU, Suzhou.

Modules: CAT107TC，CAT302TC，CAT002TC，CAT103TC，CAT207TC，CAT102TC，CAT201TC，CAT209TC，CAT107TC.

Juan Carlos Vasquez Gomez Assistant Professor/ Programme Director

Dr. Juan Carlos Vasquez (www.jcvasquez.com) boasts a remarkable trajectory as an award-winning composer, video game researcher, and academic. With two decades of dedicated engagement in intermedia projects, his innovative journey has illuminated the global stage. His creations, ranging from spatial audio works to immersive interactive experiences and game art, have resonated across continents, being featured in over 30 countries spanning the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Prof. Vasquez is the current Programme Director of the BA in Arts, Technology, and Entertainment with Contemporary Entrepreneurialism at the School of Cultural Technology.Vasquez has received grants, commissions, and/or prizes from numerous esteemed institutions, including the ZKM, the Nokia Research Center, Colombia's Ministry of Culture, the Sibelius Academy Foundation, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the Arts Promotion Centre in Finland, the Finnish National Gallery, and CW+ in partnership with the Royal College of Music in London, UK. Events and venues featuring Vasquez’s works include Ars Electronica (AU), the Ateneum Art Museum (FI), The Lincoln Center (NY, USA), Hanshan Art Museum (CN), Matera Intermedia Festival (IT), Sonorities Festival Belfast (UK), along with numerous academic events at universities worldwide.As a researcher, Vasquez's writings can be found in journals and proceedings from leading conferences in the field. He earned his M.A. in New Media from Aalto University (Finland) and pursued further academic pursuits, achieving both a Ph.D. and M.A. in Composition and Computer Technologies from the University of Virginia (United States).

Modules：CAT208TC - Audio Landscape DesignCAT403TC - Interactive TechnologyCAT105TC - Entertainment Technology

Introduction to Special Exhibition Works

Interwoven ExistenceZhonghao Chen (CN), Andrew O’Dowd (IE), Juan Carlos Vasquez (CO), Isadora Petrauskas (BR)

Among the exhibited works, the representative work "Interwoven Existence" by Chen, Z., Vasquez, J. C., Santini, G., Petrauskas, I. & O'Dowd, A. from SCT, was created through interdisciplinary collaboration, presenting the interdependent relationship between human culture and non-human entities in an artistic form.

The work was also exhibited at the "Future Archives" exhibition at the Suzhou Hanshan Art Museum, receiving widespread attention and praise, promoting international dialogue on the intersection of art, technology, and media at local and global levels. In addition, the exhibition was successfully selected for the "Artron Monthly Curator Influence List" in June this year, becoming one of the top 9 exhibitions in China. So far, "Future Archives" has welcomed nearly 20,000 visitors, making a significant contribution to the international cultural and artistic value of the Suzhou community.

LagoGiovanni Santini (IT)

Lago (lake in Italian) is a VR experience situated on a lake. The water surface can be a mirror, but also a window (or a portal) into another dimension. The user travels through space and across spaces. A forest can transform into a particle cloud, while the lake reflects the original image.

Reunión Familiar 2

Luciano Zubillaga (AR/GB)

Reunion Familiar 2 (Family Reunion) is a new VR experimental project developing visual and sonic impressions about the production of energy on Earth.

Tongue-TiedIsadora Petrauskas (BR), Zhonghao Chen (CN)

By exploring how technology plays a crucial role in promoting contemporary imperialist languages, this video installation echoes the inquiries about modernization and objectification of nature proposed by “Interwoven Existence”.

Drift - Álvaro Collar (ES)

Inspired by Debord’s concept of dérive, the project proposes an abstract VR drift through a symbolic cityscape and its liminal spaces. Configured as a digital palimpsest, the piece deconstructs traditional film language, exploring abstraction, narrative recursiveness, low-resolution imagery and flux as alternative post-hyperrealistic modes of representation.

Here's the full info: https://ars.electronica.art/hope/en/interwoven-existence/

Exhibition Highlights

The faculty and students of SCT combined reeds with cutting-edge technology such as modern art forms, XR technology, sound landscapes, and interactive light and shadow technologies, creating a series of works with distinct media characteristics and mutual integration that are truly admirable.These works not only showcase artistic innovation but also serve as an example of the harmonious coexistence of technology and nature, adding a unique Eastern element to the festival. They also present the Chinese perspective on interdisciplinary practice methods and the cultural application of creative technology.

Special Contributions of SCT

To showcase the unique charm of Chinese culture, the interdisciplinary project of SCT, centered around the ecology of Suzhou, specially transported reeds from Taihu Lake in Suzhou, China. This innovative move not only showcases the unique fusion of natural beauty and technological art but also symbolizes the cultural history of the integration of humans and nature in traditional Chinese culture.The display of the reed artwork at the festival became a bridge connecting Chinese and world cultures, allowing international audiences to feel the profound heritage of Chinese culture. It also built new topics and dialogues at the intersection of art, technology, and the environment.

The Significance of Cultural Exchange

During the exhibition, representatives from SCT were interviewed by Austrian national television and the Ars Electronica Festival radio, sharing the preparation process and cultural significance behind the exhibition.Austrian audiences highly praised the exhibition, showing a strong interest in the profound heritage of Chinese culture and the innovative forms of artistic creation.

Through this exhibition, the faculty and students of SCT not only showcased Chinese artistic creations but also engaged in in-depth exchanges and dialogues with Austrian locals and a large number of international experts, including the famous technological artist duo Christa and Laurent. （Click here to view the whole interview:https://on.orf.at/video/14241786/oberoesterreich-heute-vom-06092024）

This cross-cultural exchange has enhanced mutual understanding and friendship among international individuals and contributed to Chinese wisdom of the diversity of world cultures.

The journey of the School of Cultural Technology at the Ars Electronica Festival in Austria was not only a display of art, technology, and environmental research but also a cultural exchange and dissemination. At the same time, the team from the School of Cultural Technology has been invited by several European universities and art institutions to continue academic and creative practice exchanges in Europe. On this land full of artistic atmosphere, the seeds of Chinese culture have been sown, looking forward to blooming more brilliantly in the future.

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【Event Review】SCT_The Ars Electronica Festival in Austria