The Ars Electronica Center’s contributions to ARCO 06 in Madrid are a symposium "Directions of Digital Art" and the “Digital Transit” exhibition that will run from February 8 to April 2, 2006.

The ARCO in Madrid (February 9-13, 2006), one of the most important international art fairs, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year with Austria as its 2006 special guest country. Leading Austrian cultural institutions are working together with the Austrian Cultural Forum in Madrid and Austria’s Federal Chancellery to showcase contemporary Austrian painting, digital arts, architecture, design, dance, music and film.

One of the Ars Electronica Center’s contributions to ARCO is the "Directions of Digital Art - Quo vadis Media Art" symposium in conjunction with the International Art Experts Forum. World-renowned participants representing four continents will convene to discuss various aspects of media art: Is it properly to be considered a separate and distinct genre? In which direction will digital art develop in the coming years? What opportunities and challenges will artists encounter? This symposium will place particular emphasis on providing an international overview of artistic work with digital media.

Another key element of "Austria at ARCO 06" is the Ars Electronica Center’s collaboration with MediaLabMadrid to stage the "Digital Transit" exhibition that will run February 8 - April 2, 2006 at the Centro Cultural Conde Duque. In addition to art exhibits, its lineup will include screenings and workshops focusing on the realm of fruitful interplay at the nexus of art, technology and society.

The exhibition will feature outstanding examples of media art by Austrian and international artists associated with Ars Electronica. The exhibit’s approach is to show from an artistic perspective how “the digital” has come to pervade the physical realms in which we live out our daily lives and to critically analyze this phenomenon.