Ars Electronica and the media art economy

ABSTRACT

Gallerists and collectors have often looked sceptically at works in electronic media for quite different reasons: their novelty and highly experimental approach; their technical aspects; their virtual and ephemeral nature; and the difficulties of preservation and maintenance. In an effort to change this Ars Electronica (Linz, Austria) initiated the Gallery Spaces Program in 2017. Using the example of Ars Electronica, this article discusses the important role that media art holds as cultural heritage and argues that societies risk losing important artworks if the value system of the art world does not change. The art market itself is experiencing a digital transformation, and new possibilities and business models are being explored that place Ars Electronica and its legacy of fostering media arts in a very important position. Ars Electronica becomes a mediator between media art and the art market by opening its platform for exchanges between the different stakeholders.

KEYWORDS:

• Art market
• Ars Electronica
• collection
• conservation
• digital art
• media art

Disclosure statement

The author is Head of the Ars Electronica Festival.

Notes on contributor

Christl Baur is head of the Ars Electronica Festival and is a researcher with an interdisciplinary background in art history, cultural management, and natural science. She is particularly interested in the conjunction of aesthetic and social practices that centre on collaboration and experimentation and that challenge dominant social, political, and economic protocols. Her research field encompasses topics such as video art, new media technologies, and computer, biotechnology and interactive art. She works at the nexus of art and science.