Prix Ars Electronica 2006
International Competition for CyberArts



3,177 entries from 71 countries—in 2006, the Prix Ars Electronica attracted a record number of submissions. A total of € 117,500 in prize money has been awarded to the winners. Since 1987, the Prix Ars Electronica has served as an interdisciplinary platform for everyone who uses the computer as a universal medium for implementing and designing their creative projects at the interface of art, technology and society. The competition is organized by the Ars Electronica Center and ORF’s Upper Austria Regional Studio, and the prizes are awarded during the Ars Electronica Festival each year. The Prix Ars Electronica is one of the most important awards for creativity and pioneering spirit in the field of digital media.

Four of its competitive categories—Computer Animation / Visual Effects, Digital Musics, Interactive Art and Net Vision—focus on digital media design. The introduction of the Digital Communities category in 2004 is emblematic of Prix Ars Electronica’s intensified confrontation with the impact art and technology are having on social developments. The u19—freestyle computing category for youngsters and [the next idea] grant for up-and-coming artists showcase approaches to new media being taken by promising young creatives.

The number of countries represented is indicative of the Prix’s international importance. In addition to the major industrialized nations of the West, Ars Electronica’s activities are also having an impact in smaller countries in distant regions of the globe. Submissions from such diverse places as Azerbaijan, Thailand, Nigeria and Brazil underscore the Prix Ars Electronica’s intercultural reach.

The results of the competition with detailed project descriptions are published in:

CyberArts 2006
International Compendium of Prix Ars Electronica
H. Leopoldseder / C. Schöpf / G. Stocker (eds.)
Hatje Cantz, Ostfildern-Ruit