In 2026, the UNESCO City of Media Arts Karlsruhe will once again transform art karlsruhe into a hub for innovative media art. Visitors are invited to explore the intersections of creativity, technology, and the future, and to learn more about the work of the UNESCO City of Media Arts Office at the stand.
This year, the presentation of the UNESCO City of Media Arts is titled The Shape of Tomorrow. The focus is on artistic visions of future living environments that rethink the relationship between people, technology, and space. Selected through an open call, the walk-in installation Soft Utopia by Veronika Biebrich, Verena Stella Gompf, Stefan Lotze, and Nikolaus Völzow was developed specifically for art karlsruhe 2026. The call sought works that make utopian ideas of coexistence, sustainability, and digital design tangible and experiential.
Soft Utopia invites visitors to settle into a large, soft lounging landscape—alone or with others. The installation’s organically shaped surface envelops the body, gently moulding itself to each visitor. Above, a luminous screen hovers like a sky and responds to their movements.
In contrast to an anticipated reality that can feel hard, contested, and often inaccessible, Soft Utopia proposes an alternative image of the future: tomorrow’s architecture as a malleable, living counterpart. Soft Utopia places the human being at its centre. Rigid structures become flexible and soft through movement, and one’s own agency becomes visible. Architecture adapts to the organic form of the body and gently cushions and cradles it. The work presents architecture not as a boundary, but as a feeling of shelter and belonging.
With the kind and generous support of the Werner Stober Foundation and karlsruhe.digital.
On Friday, February 6, Karlsruhe comes alive for the Long Night of Project Spaces: Kunstrauschen 2026. Spread across the entire city, off-spaces, studios, and independent art venues open their doors. Visitors can discover new and experimental works on a citywide tour, engage directly with artists, and experience the diversity of Karlsruhe’s art scene up close. Further information here.
