Digital Art Lab

With talks by:

• Alistair Hudson (Direktor, ZKM Karlsruhe)
• Dr. Heinrich-Wilhelm Wörmann (Board Member, Haus am Lützowplatz)
• Peggy Schoenegge (Curator of the Digital Art Labs)

The DIGITAL ART LAB celebrates its opening with a talk by Alistair Hudson, the new director of the ZKM Karlsruhe (Center for Art and Media). Hudson will address the significance of new technologies for art and society, and their future. What will be the long-term influence of digital media, and what role does contemporary art play? Other introductory talks will be given by Katharina Schilling, the interim artistic director of the Haus am Lützowplatz, and Peggy Schoenegge, curator of the Digital Art Lab.

PERFORMANCE
20.00 – 21.00 h

• Anan Fries (nominated for the VR ART PRIZE by DKB in Cooperation with CAA Berlin 2023; Performance Artist) 

Anan Fries expands upon their VR piece with a performance, linking the virtual and physical space. The performance will also impart the context of the work.

• Lauren Moffatt (nominated for the VR ART PRIZE by DKB in Cooperation with CAA Berlin 2023; winner of the VR ART PRIZE 2021)

Learn from the professionals: In the CODING ART LABS artists will demonstrate how digital applications are made and how different programs are used. In this workshop, VR artist Lauren Moffatt will show experienced artists how to hone their expertise.

• Rebecca Merlic (nominated for the VR ART PRIZE by DKB in Cooperation with CAA Berlin 2023; artist)
• in conversation with Curator and Artistic Director of the VR ART PRIZE Tina Sauerländer

The artistic director and curator of the show Tina Sauerländer talks with Rebecca Merlic about her VR artwork GLITCHBODIES. In a Q&A session, she invites the audience to ask the artist their own questions. 

PANEL (English)

• Emma Enderby (Head Curator, Haus der Kunst, Munich, & jury member, VR ART PRIZE 2023)
• Lívia Nolasco-Rózsás (Curator, ZKM Karlsruhe)
• Marlene Bart (VR Artist, nominated for the VR ART PRIZE 2023)
• Laura Hirvi (Academic Partnerships Manager for Meta)
• Moderated by Jan Kage (Yaneq, Moderator FluxFm – Radio Arty)

What is VR art and what makes it so special? How does the virtual experience of art differ from commercial, immersive projects or gaming? And what kinds of applications are there for the new medium in today’s art institutions?

The PANEL will discuss the potential of VR art and explain why it is a new, unique genre of art. Also highlighted are the opportunities that VR art offers to the practice of art and art institutions.

The discussion will be conducted in English.

INPUT Talk

The Future in Sight: Visions of a Technologized Society

• Wenzel Mehnert (Futurologist at the Austrian Institute for Technology)

In his INPUT, the futurologist Wenzel Mehnert will talk about the development of new technologies and their impacts on our society. He draws a picture of the future that fluctuates between speculative fiction and scientific knowledge. Mehnert is a co-founder of the Ethics Lab at the Technical University Berlin. Currently, he works at the Austrian Institute of Technology, where he is developing ethical guidelines for new technologies for the European Commission. 

• Rebecca Merlic (nominated for the VR ART PRIZE by DKB in Cooperation with CAA Berlin 2023)

The VR work by Rebecca Merlic, GLITCHBODIES, is an experimental game that investigates the new feminism and LGBTQ+ and drag transformations through intimate, sensitive portraits of more than 47 participants. Monika Freinberger, Judith Kranz und Selina Huber, one of the participants in this piece, will perform her act in the space at HaL, creating an interplay involving transformation and a catwalk for feminism, exhibitionism, and voyeurism that oscillates between the digital and the analog.

• Mohsen Hazrati (nominated for the VR ART PRIZE by DKB in Cooperation with CAA Berlin 2023)

Learn from the professionals: In the CODING ART LABS artists will demonstrate how digital applications are made and how different programs are used. In this workshop, Mohsen Hazrati, VR artist, shows artists interested in digital work how they can build on their expertise in digital art.

The workshop is fully booked! 

MEET THE ARTIST
12.00 – 13.00 h

• Lauren Moffatt (winner, VR ART PRIZE by DKB in Cooperation with CAA Berlin 2021 and nominee for the VR ART PRIZE 2023)
• Anan Fries (nominated for the VR ART PRIZE by DKB in Cooperation with CAA Berlin 2023)
• in conversation with Curator and Artistic Director Tina Sauerländer

Artistic Director and Curator of the exhibition, Tina Sauerländer talks with Lauren Moffatt about her VR work Local Binaries and with Anan Fries on their virtual reality experience [Posthuman Wombs]. In a Q&A session, members of the audience will be invited to ask the artists their own questions.

AWARD CEREMONY for the VR ART PRIZE by DKB in Cooperation with CAA Berlin

• Tina Sauerländer (Artistic Director of the VR ART PRIZE 2023)

• Jury Members: 
• Yolanda Kaddu-Mulindwa, Director of the municipal galleries Neukölln
• Nora O Murchú, Artistic Director, transmediale
• PD Dr. Ursula Ströbele, Head of Study Center for Modern and Contemporary Art, Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte, Munich
• Jan Walther, Member of the Management Board, Deutsche Kreditbank AG, Berlin
• Dr. Marc Wellmann, Artistic Director, Haus am Lützowplatz

The winners of the VR ART PRIZE by DKB in Cooperation with CAA Berlin 2023 will be selected by a jury of renowned experts in the fields of art and virtual reality. Winners will receive their awards in a formal ceremony.

PARTY

20.00 – 0.00 h

• DJ Trutz der Trutz 

We will celebrate the finalists and winners of the VR ART PRIZE 2023 and dance the night away to the sounds of DJ Trutz der Trutz in the HaL garden.

CODING ART LAB – Beginners
11.00 – 15.00 h

• Moritz Tontsch (Digital Artist)

Learn from the professionals: In the CODING ART LABS artists will demonstrate how digital applications are made and how different programs are used. Moritz Tontsch, digital artist, will show how easy it is to make your own face filters. No experience is required for this workshop, which is designed for anyone who is interested.

The workshop is fully booked! 

• Mohsen Hazrati (nominated for the VR ART PRIZE by DKB in Cooperation with CAA Berlin 2023)
• in conversation with Artistic Director and Curator Tina Sauerländer

Artistic Director and Curator of the VR ART PRIZE exhibition Tina Sauerländer discusses the VR work Fãl Project with its artist, Mohsen Hazrati. In a Q&A session, audience members will be invited to ask their own questions.

TALK (English)

• Matt Mullican (VR Artist) in conversation with Annika von Taube (Publicist, Journalist, Digital Expert)

What are the origins of VR art and its technological development? Which trailblazing works laid the cornerstone for the development of VR art, and what has changed since then?

This TALK concentrates on the art of Matt Mullican and discusses the influence of digital developments on art. In a conversation with Annika von Taube, the origins of technology and early practice of VR will be traced.

This event will be conducted in English.

PANEL

• Wolf Lieser (Digital Art Gallerist, DAM)
• Kristina Leipold (Commercial Director, LAS)
• Moderated by Anne Waak (Author, Moderator)
•  

How is digital art collected, and what are the changes in marketing it? What kinds of new digital artworks will become commercially available, and how will they influence the art market?

The PANEL will discuss the challenges in brokering and sales, as well as in collecting digital art. Moderated by Anne Waak, an author who writes about art and society, the panel features experts in the digital art market who will provide personal insights from their different perspectives.

PERFORMANCE

20.00 – 21.00 

• with Valentina Berthelon & Flora Päär

Media artist Valentina Berthelon and sound artist Flora Päär's performance explore the interconnection of the universe through the metaphor of the tree of life. Individuals are connected to the larger cycle of our natural world through symbolic actions. Visitors are invited to embark on a multi-sensory journey. 

• Dagmar Schürrer (XR Artist)

Learn from the professionals: In the CODING ART LABS, artists will demonstrate how digital applications are made and how different programs are used. In this workshop, Dagmar Schürrer, digital artist, will give beginners some insight into the creation of AR applications and show how easy it is to expand our surroundings digitally.

The workshop is fully booked! 

MEET THE ARTIST
12.00 – 13.00 h

• Marlene Bart (nominated for the VR ART PRIZE by DKB in Cooperation with CAA Berlin 2023)
• in conversation with Artistic Director and Curator Tina Sauerländer

Artistic Director and Curator of the VR ART PRIZE exhibition, Tina Sauerländer converses with Marlene Bart about transdisciplinary VR experience Theatrum Radix. A Q&A session offers visitors the opportunity to ask the artist questions of their own.

INPUT Talk

From Pixels to Blockchain – Why and How are NFTs Collected
13.30 – 14.30 h

• Johanna Neuschäffer (Office Impart)

The curator at the Berlin Galerie Office Impart will provide practical tips on NFTs and recommendations for ambitious digital artists. We will learn more about how current technologies influence the contemporary art world, beginning with a brief look at the history of digital art and its current development for blockchain technology and NFTs. The use of wallets to mint, buy, and collect NFTs will also be examined. 

INPUT Talk

Who is an Artist? On the Interplay of Art and Artificial Intelligence 

15.00 – 16.00 h

• Boris Eldagsen (AI Artist)

AI applications such as DALL-E, Stable Diffusion, or ChatGPT have recently caused an uproar and brought up many questions about the future of humankind. Who is going to need artists if algorithms can create images in all kinds of conceivable styles? Does it really make the role of the artist obsolete?

Boris Eldagsen explains how AI images are generated, and what exactly is happening in the background. In his INPUT he demonstrates its potential and clarifies what roles AI applications play in the artistic process.

PANEL

The Future of Digital Art: Art Institutions Discuss the Influence of New Technologies
16.30 – 18.00 h

• Sabine Himmelsbach (Director, House of Electronic Art, Basel)
• Marlies Wirth (Curator for Digital Culture, Head of Design Collection, MAK - Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna)
• Marcel Schwierin (Director, Edith-Russ-Haus für Medienkunst)
• Moderated by Alexandra von Stosch (Co-founder, CAA Berlin)

In contemporary art, it is becoming increasingly important to establish digital art with new media such as virtual reality. This poses various challenges to institutions. How can things be structured so that intangible works can be accessible, collected and maintained for the future? The experts on this PANEL have been working for many years in this field and will share their wealth of experiences with us.

PANEL

• Sarah Reimann (Curator, HAU4)
• Brit Rodemund (Artist)
• Janne Kummer (XY-Artist)
• moderated by Anne Waak (Author, Moderator)

New media has influence over existing forms of art. This PANEL of experts from the performing arts will examine the new opportunities for performance work connected to new technologies such as VR, AR, or even AI. What do digitally enhanced performances look like? Was happens to the performers and what kinds of interactions result?