Since May 5, the format of artistic and theoretical perspectives organized by Foto Arsenal Vienna and Kunsthalle Vienna has been devoted to political, social and technological conditions of digital culture. The exhibition Model Collapse in the Kunsthalle Vienna Karlsplatz and the accompanying program of several Viennese venues have so far been taken into account and have a lot of interest.
The festival was opened on May 5 with a keynote of Kate Crawford under the title Model Collapse: The Cascading Failures of Algorithms, Ecosystems, and Economies. Together with Vladan Joler, Crawford was awarded the silver lion last weekend at the 19th Architectural Biennale of Venice. Your participation was recognized in the exhibition Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective. With work Calculating Empires: A Genealogy of Technology and Power Since 1500 – a 24 -meter -long visual analysis of the interdependencies of technology, power and physicality since the 16th century. The work is currently also in the Model Collapse exhibition as part of Vienna Digital Cultures in the Kunsthalle Vienna Karlsplatz.
In addition to Crawford and Joler, the exhibition works by Joey HolderMGRAMOSO ATHIAS, Eva & Franco Mattes, Troika as well as Arvida Byström represent. In a combination of video and sculpture, the latter examines the aestheticics and implications of deep pornography as well as digital sex designs. Byström’s work in the Kunsthalle Vienna Karlsplatz refer to their performance A Cybernetic Dollhousewhich she realizes together with the AI-controlled sex doll Harmony on May 17th in the House of the Republic-Funkhaus as part of the Viennese festival weeks.
In addition to the exhibition, the discourse and event program will continue in the coming days. The highlights include a workshop of Paul Feigelfeld and Klimentina li For digital self -defense (May 15th), sound performances by Misonica and Rentcurated by Michael Fischer (May 16), as well as a full-day discussion and lecture program on May 17, which deals with the cultural implications of generative AI, digital desire and the political dimensions of algorithmic image production from different perspectives. Contributions come from Arvida Byström, Matteo Pasquinelli, Ala Roushan & Charles Stankievech and Klaus Speidel. On May 18, a lecture series follows, curated by Spike Art Magazineas well as an AR tour to work // ontological_glitch: // from Belma Beslic-Gál, Catherine again and Markus Wintersbergerwhich can be seen in public space around the Karlsplatz Kunsthalle (in cooperation with Culture 1).
Exhibition Model Collapse
Works by Eva & Franco Mattes, Joey Holder, Kate Crawford & Vladan Joler, Arvida Byström, Mathias Gramoso and the artist collective Troika can be seen during the entire festival duration of Vienna Digital Cultures. The work addresses algorithmically controlled self-pictures, speculative non-human intelligence, historical technopolitics, deep pornography and the aesthetics of mechanical seeing. In public space around the Kunsthalle Vienna Karlsplatz, the augmented reality installation // ontological_Glitch: // by Belma Bešlić-Gál, Catherine Spet and Markus Wintersberger (in cooperation with culture 1) (in cooperation with culture 1) The overlap of physical and digital experience and asks the question of autonomy of artificial intelligence.
Datum: 12.05.2025 – 18.05.2025, 6:00 p.m.
Art: Exhibitions
Ort: Kunsthalle Vienna Karlsplatz
Treitlstraße 2
1040 Wien
Austria
Artist talk with ruth fast
Ruth Schnell in conversation with Astrid Peterle (Head of Curatorial Program Design Kunsthalle Vienna) As part of the Radical Software exhibition: Women, Art & Computing 1960–1991. While radical software looks back on the pioneering work of women in digital art in front of the Internet, Vienna Digital Cultures asks: How do new technologies shape culture today? Ruth Schnell is the artist and curator. From 2010 to 2023 she headed the Department of Digital Art at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. Working on the computer started quickly at the end of the 1970s after her colleague, the artist and curator Peter Weibel, had acquired a number of Commodore 64 computers for the art faculty of the university. Her work was shown in numerous exhibitions at home and abroad, including the 14th Bienal de la Habana in Havana and on 46th and 44th Biennale di Venezia. In 2024 she was awarded the renowned media art prize of the city of Vienna.
Datum: 14.05.2025, 6:00 p.m.
Art: Lectures and discussions
Ort: Kunsthalle Vienna Karlsplatz
Treitlstraße 2
1040 Wien
Austria
URL: https://viennadigitalcultures.at/de/veranstaltungen/kuenstlerinnengespraech-mit-ruth-schnell-de
Workshop Paul Feigelfld & Klimentina Li
Digital Self-Defense: Techno-Authoritarianism and Countercultural Techniques
Datum: 15.05.2025, 3:00 p.m. – 15.05.2025, 6:00 p.m.
Art: Lectures and discussions
Ort: Kunsthalle Vienna Karlsplatz
Treitlstraße 2
1040 Wien
URL: https://viennadigitalcultures.at/de/veranstaltungen/workshop-mit-paul-feigelfeld-und-klimentina-li
Sound and performance with Misonica and Rent
Rotor is a series of events to experiment, discourse and intermediality, which was initiated by Michael Fischer in 2020 and is still curated by him today. Starting from the sound as an ephemer, sculptural metaphor and its discursive possibilities, Rotor has been taking place in the Factory / Künstlerhaus Vienna since the beginning. In multi-layered ambient sets, Rent and Misonica convey strong visions of sound and storytelling.
Datum: May 16, 2025, 6:00 p.m. – 16.05.2025, 8:00 p.m.
Art: Performances/stage
Ort: Kunsthalle Vienna Karlsplatz
Treitlstraße 2
1040 Wien
Austria
URL: https://viennadigitalcultures.at/de/veranstaltungen/sound-und-performance-mit-misonica-und-rent
Artist Talks & Lectures
1:00 p.m.: Artists’ conversation with Arvida Byström: In the Clouds: The Intersection of Technology and Desire (s) 2:00 p.m.: Lecture by Klaus Speidel: “The Totality of Crap Online”? – Towards a Hauntology of Generative AI (EN) 3:00 p.m.: Artists’ conversation with Ala Roushan & Charles Stankievech: Solar Threads: Modeling From Mitraism to Machinism (s) 4:00 p.m.: Lecture by Matteo Pasquinelli: Empire Model Collapse: Information Entropy and the Toxic Implosion of Technofeudalism. (En)
Datum: May 17, 2025, 1:00 p.m. – May 17, 2025, 5:00 p.m.
Art: Lectures and discussions
Ort: Kunsthalle Vienna Karlsplatz
Treitlstraße 2
1040 Wien
Austria
URL: https://viennadigitalcultures.at/de/veranstaltungen?tag=talk
Performance Arvida Byström & Clubnight @wiener Festwochen
In A Cybernetic Doll’s House, Arvida Byström has an interview with Harmony, a AI-controlled sex doll, and deals with our ambivalent relationship with human-like creations. The work focuses on social fears in dealing with advanced technology – a motive that goes back to ancient myths such as the history of Pygmalion. Byström invites the audience to think about the constant fears and the changing relationship between man and machine. Club Night: Away from Keyboard with Anthea (Partisan), Amanda Mussi and Malounadou in cooperation with Wiener Festwochen | Free Republic of Vienna
Datum: May 17, 2025, 10:00 p.m. – 18.05.2025, 3:30 a.m.
Art: Performances/stage
Ort: House of the Republic / Funkhaus
Argentinierstraße 30A
1040 Wien
Austria
URL: https://viennadigitalcultures.at/de/veranstaltungen/performance-von-arvida-bystroem
Guided tour through the exhibition Model Collapse with subsequent AR tour
The Model Collapse exhibition gathers artistic work on politics, technology and digital culture. Among other things, Eva & Franco Mattes’ examination of algorithmic self-awareness on Tikkok, Joey Holder’s speculative world of non-human intelligence as well as Kate Crawford & Vladan Jolers Visual Cartography of Relations between Technology and Power. Further work deals with Deepfake pornography (Arvida Byström), digital narcissism (Mathias Gramoso) and machine perception (troika). After the tour of the exhibition, Belma Bešlić-Gál, Catherine Spet and Markus Wintersberger present their augmented reality installation // ontological_Glitch: // in public space around the Kunsthalle Vienna Karlsplatz. The work negotiates the overlay of digital and physical realities and places artificial intelligence as a fluid, posthuman presence in the room. // ontological_glitch: // asks about the autonomy of AI systems and their possible decoupling of human perception. The works can be made visible and tangible as 3D animations on your own smartphone via the Vdonau Canal app.
Datum: 18.05.2025, 12:00 p.m. – 18.05.2025, 1:00 p.m.
Art: Exhibitions
Ort: Kunsthalle Vienna Karlsplatz
Treitlstraße 2
1040 Wien
Austria
URL: https://viennadigitalcultures.at/de/veranstaltungen/fuehrung2-de
Lectures Series – curated by Spike Art Magazine
In this series of lectures, Alex Quicho, Wassim Alsindi and Günseli Yalcinkaya, deal with the policies of technology, language and future societies. A common Q&A then takes place.
Datum: 18.05.2025, 1:00 p.m. – 18.05.2025, 5:00 p.m.
Art: Lectures and discussions
Ort: Kunsthalle Vienna Karlsplatz
Treitlstraße 2
1040 Wien
Austria
URL: https://viennadigitalcultures.at/de/veranstaltungen/lectures-serie