transmediale e.V.
For over thirty years, transmediale has been a platform for critical reflection on cultural and technological transformations from a post-digital perspective.
TRANSMEDIALE – FESTIVAL FOR ART AND DIGITAL CULTURE
The annual festival brings together international artists, researchers, activists, and thinkers to develop new perspectives on our technological age through the interconnections of various genres and curatorial approaches. Throughout its history, transmediale has evolved from its beginnings as VideoFilmFest into one of the most important events for art and digital culture worldwide.
Beyond the annual event, transmediale is a transversal, dynamic platform with a vibrant community and a strong network that enables regular publications and year-round activities such as commissions and a residency program with various partner institutions. Since 2021, and for the first time in the festival's history, transmediale has had its own studio space in the silent green cultural quarter, where various event formats take place throughout the year. One of transmediale's closest cooperation partners is the CTM Festival.
At the heart of transmediale's activities is the annual festival. Each festival edition focuses on a specific theme within the spectrum of art and digital culture, which translates into a variety of programs such as exhibitions, discourse formats, performances, screenings, and workshops. Past festival editions have discussed, for example, the role of emotions and cultural upheaval in digital culture, the political, economic, and cultural divides of our time, and the transience of ever-changing media cultures.
Since 2020, transmediale has operated under the artistic direction of Nóra Ó Murchú alongside Filippo Gianetta, who, as a long-time collaborator, now holds the role of managing director. In response to the unprecedented impacts of the global pandemic on art and society, which exacerbate inequalities and underscore the need for a more sustainable approach to cultural work, transmediale transformed the 2021–22 for refusal festival edition into a year-long program that took place in a hybrid format online and on-site in Berlin. In 2023, transmediale returned to its on-site festival mode with an audience.
transmediale is part of a broad network of partners, supporters, and initiatives that ranges from local to international, including independent and institutional actors such as cultural organizations, renowned universities, and like-minded festivals. The CTM Festival is transmediale's sister festival; other regular cooperation partners include Aarhus University, the Berlin Resource Network, the Embassy of Canada in Berlin, and the Vilém Flusser Archive at the University of the Arts Berlin (UdK). transmediale is part of the three-year international cooperation project Artsformation, which is supported by the European Union. Additionally, there are temporary partnerships with other cultural institutions as part of national and international funding and residency programs.