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Transmediale, stylised as transmediale, is an annual festival for art and Cyberculture in Berlin, usually held over three to five days at the end of January and the beginning of February. transmediale takes the form of a conference (sometimes called a festival), an exhibition, and a film and video programme that often contain or support performances and workshops. Throughout the year, transmediale is also involved in a number of long- and short-term cooperative projects. From its initial focus on video culture, it came to cultivate an artistic and critical dialogue with television and multimedia, emerging as the leading international platform for media art.
The CTM Festival, which began as a part of transmediale, has since become an independent event.
In 2001, art historian and curator Andreas Broeckmann took over the artistic direction of transmediale, adding events and a new venue, the Haus der Kulturen der Welt. These changes resulted in an increase in attendance and international audience. That same year, Broeckmann introduced the transmediale Award to honour visionary works and projects centering technology-led societies. In 2002, transmediale introduced an extensive media art exhibition. Shortly thereafter, in 2004, the Kulturstiftung des Bundes (German Federal Cultural Foundation) starting funding transmediale. In 2006, the festival's subheading changed from "international media art festival" to "festival for art and digital culture" in a marked shift to include art, technology, and everyday life as opposed to its previously narrower focus on media art alone. In 2007, media and arts researcher Stephen Kovats became the artistic director of transmediale and one year later, in 2008, he introduced the Vilém Flusser Theory Award, named after Vilém Flusser, to promote "outstanding, media-theoretical and research-based artworks". In April 2011, curator and media researcher Kristoffer Gansing took over transmediale. In 2012, he replaced the existing awards with a residency program for artistic research. In an interview in Ocula Magazine, Gansing commented on the changes in direction of transmediale under his leadership: "When I first came on board ... my idea was to bring a curatorial coherency to what I saw as a festival dissipating into a kind of 'creative crowd' without much focus, so I brought in more exhibitions."
In 2021, Dr Nóra Ó Murchú became the artistic director of transmediale, Nora O Murchú new artistic director of transmediale starting from 2021, 2 May 2019 widening the festival's programme to include a notably more diverse programme in terms of scope, content, and curatorial teams (including Ben Evans James, Elise Misao Hunchuck, Lorena Juan, and Dani Admiss in 2021/22, and Ben Evans James, Elise Misao Hunchuck, Lorena Juan, and Bani Brusadin in 2022/23, and Nadim Choufi, Elise Misao Hunchuck, Lorena Juan, and Yasemin Keskintepe in 2023/24). In 2024, Dr Nóra Ó Murchú left the festival. Artistic director departs transmediale festival, 18 July 2024 Elise Misao Hunchuck and Ben Evans James were invited to be co-curators for the 2025 festival, (near) near but—far. Neema Githere and Juan Pablo García Sossa are the curators for the 2026 festival, By the Mango Belt & Tamarind Road: Compassing, Protocoling, Metaphoring.
In 2011, transmediale/resource was established as a framework for transmediale's year-round activities. Its aim is to provide a sustainable structure for feedback, research, and reflection beyond the timeframe of the festival. In addition to varying cooperative projects and network activities, transmediale/resource includes the Vilém Flusser Residency Program for Artistic Research, online publication format transmediale/journal and pre-festival program Vorspiel, presented in collaboration with the CTM Festival and a network of organizations, galleries, independent project spaces, and venues all over Berlin.
From 2002 to 2005, the Haus der Kulturen der Welt became the festival's main location. In 2006, transmediale relocated to Akademie der Künste, returning to the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in 2008. In addition to Haus der Kulturen der Welt, the festival edition 2021–22 took place in the transmediale studio, Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien and Betonhalle. In 2023, the festival ( a map, a model, a fiction) and exhibition ( Or So It Seems) took place in the Akademie der Künste, Hanseatenweg, Berlin, as well as the distributed exhibition ( Out of Scale) that unfolded in networks (Spätis, eBay Kleinenzeigen, and so on) across the city. In 2024, the festival ( you're doing amazing sweetie) took place in silent green Kulturquartier and Haus der Kulturen der Welt.
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