UNESCO City of Media Arts

UNESCO City of Media Arts

Ever since the inception of Ars Electronica and the Cloud of Sound in 1979, Linz, Austria – Europe’s 2009 Capital of Culture –has been making impressive strides as a trailblazer and international hotbed of media art and digital competence. The annual Ars Electronica Festival and Prix Ars Electronica showcase and honor excellence, and deliver essential impetus to media culture worldwide, while the Ars Electronica Center and Futurelab are driving forces for innovation both in research and development as well as in education throughout the region.

At present, the city is concentrating on transforming the Tabakfabrik, a former tobacco processing plant located in the heart of the inner city, into a center of the creative economy – with Creative Region, Linz and Upper Austria’s creative industries development company, at its core. Another point high up on the city’s agenda is to become Europe’s first Open Commons region. Furthermore, the City of Linz will acquire a substantial part of the oeuvre of renowned performance and media artist Valie Export and make it available in a brand-new research center. On the basis of recent urban development that has accentuated culture and the creative economy, Linz has the know-how and experience to bring a high level of cooperativeness and