HOPE: the touch of many at Ars Electronica 2024

Olga Tykhonova, Head of Research and Strategic Development, co-curated the exhibition HOPE: The Touch of Many at the Ars Electronica Festival 2024.

For those unfamiliar, Ars Electronica is a celebrated annual festival held in Linz, Austria, known for exploring the boundaries between art, technology, and society. It’s a hub for groundbreaking work that challenges our understanding of the world through digital and new media. The festival draws together some of the most forward-thinking artists and innovators, creating a vibrant space for new ideas and discussions.

Co-curated by Olga, this visionary exhibition brought together an impressive lineup of artists such as Tega Brain, LaJuné McMillian, and the Time’s Up Collective. The exhibition took place in the intriguing setting of the POSTCITY bunker, a unique venue that added depth to the experiential nature of the show. Split into five thematic sections, the exhibition transformed this industrial space into a shared contact zone where art, science, and technology intersected. The installations offered visitors a deeply engaging experience, as they journeyed through works that prompted reflection on the future of humanity, environmental challenges, and our relationship with technology.

Visitors encountered Sam Lavigne and Tega Brain's Cold Call: Time Theft as Avoided Emissions, a striking critique of the fossil fuel industry through the lens of worker sabotage and carbon offsetting, and the Time's Up Collective's Just Asking for a Friend, which posed thoughtful questions about maintaining hope in the face of contemporary global crises. These works, alongside many others, captivated audiences, sparking both conceptual and emotional reactions as they navigated the exhibition’s maze-like corridors.

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