LINZ Linz 2009. Application for European Capital of Culture. World Cultural World Cultural Heritage Site v Heritage Site Telc (CZ) Holasovicev (CZ) World Cultural Heritage Site v Passau (D) Cesk´y Krumlov (CZ) Linz Upper Austria World Cultural Heritage Site World Cultural Wachau (A) Heritage Site Twin town Tampere (SF) Salzburg (A) World Cultural Twin town Linköping (S) Heritage Site Twin town Norrköping (S) Hallstatt (A) Vilnius Twin town Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf/Berlin (D) Berlin Twin town Halle on Saale (D) London Twin town Linz on Rhine (D) 2009 v Prague Twin town Ceské Budejovicev (CZ) Friendship city Ulm (D) Paris Twin town Saporoshje (UA) Linz Vienna Budapest Resolution adopted by the Cultural Committee on 28 May 2004 Friendship city Dunaújváros (H) LINZ Bucharest Decision in principle by the Government of Upper Austria on 7 June 2004 Twin town Modena (I) Belgrade Decision by the City Council of Linz on 1 July 2004 Rome Madrid Twin town Gabes (TUN) 2009 LINZ 6 Foreword In accordance with, and in the spirit of, Article practitioners from the research and creative com- 7 151 EC Treaty on culture, Linz, the capital of munities in the fields of new media and digital Upper Austria, hereby presents its application to arts, according the city its position as a European become “European Capital of Culture” in 2009. media capital. Digital communication channels and artistic processes transcending traditional In line with the basic objective, namely “to high- boundaries open fascinating perspectives for the light the richness and diversity of European cultu- further development of a modern, future-oriented res and the features they share, as well as to civil society as well as for the identity of the promote greater mutual understanding between citizens and their grass-roots empowerment. European citizens”, the City of Linz affirms its competence and capability to master this great During the European Cultural Month in Septem- challenge as new horizons open up at the ber 1998, Linz has proven its competence and beginning of the third millennium. attractiveness with cultural and artistic offerings committed to contemporary ideas and visions of In cultural and education policy, the economic, the future for residents of the city and of Upper social and cultural development of the city aims Austria, as well as for an international audience. Linz 2009. Application for European Capital of Culture. to strengthen an intact cultural and information And for the year 2009, too, the objectives and society. The foundation was laid 25 years ago ambitions of Linz are clear – as a metropolis of when new ground was broken with the creation of modern media culture and digital arts, as a Ars Electronica, the festival for art, technology and powerhouse in global networking and communi- society. Linz’s commitment to creative and scienti- cation, as a city embracing new technologies fic discussion of the opportunities and risks arising and visions of transboundary artistic activities in the age of digital arts and communications has in an alliance and in partnership with the attracted interest world-wide by academics and European Community. Dr. Erich Watzl Dr. Franz Dobusch Dr. Josef Pühringer Vice-Mayor and Councillor Mayor of the President of Culture, City of Linz City of Linz of Upper Austria 2009 LINZ 8 9 Contents Part 1 Linz – Laboratory of the Future – European Capital of Culture 2009 Page 10 From “Steel City” to “Cultural City” Page 20 2009 Linz’s Journey towards the Cultural and Media Society of the 21st Century Page 26 What’s on in Linz Page 29 Priority Areas and Guidelines Page 39 Part 1 Structural Concept for Linz 2009 Page 51 Linz – Laboratory of the Future – European Capital of Culture 2009 From “Steel City” to “Cultural City” Part 2 st Art and Culture Institutions in Linz Page 58 Linz’s Journey towards the Cultural and Media Society of the 21 Century Festivals in Linz and Upper Austria Page 66 LINZ What’s on in Linz Twin Towns and Friendship Cities Page 81 Priority Areas and Guidelines Linz and Upper Austria in Facts and Figures Page 86 Brief History of Linz and Upper Austria Page 105 Structural Concept for Linz 2009 2009 LINZ 10 Linz – Laboratory of the Future – 11 The European integration process is a challenge trade, medicine, science, arts or public administration use the same tools; the differences between offices, meeting rooms, libraries, labs, museums and that cannot be met by economic, political and artists’ studios are increasingly levelled out through the use of computers. This rapidly progressing change engenders cultural, social and educational legislative means alone; it must be addressed in challenges that will need to be tackled in the decades to come (e-learning, technology networks, the “soft economy”, interactive models of policy- social and cultural terms as well – particularly in making, arts and culture). light of the recent enlargement of the European Union towards Central, Eastern and Southern Linz is well qualified to become a European Capital of Culture, in particular because of the city’s distinctive future orientation. Europe. The European Capitals Linz lies on the Danube, Europe’s second longest river, and is at the crossroads of the East-West axis – from Paris to the Black of Culture epitomise what has Sea – and the North-South axis of the Rhine-Main-Danube route. From 1 May 2004, enlargement promises a revival of the European Capital of Culture 2009 brought Europe together throug- older European North-South axes – from Malmö to Trieste or Valletta – that link not only the north-western region, but also the hout its long and rich history and, north-eastern region with the South. Both the old and new axes pass, for example, through Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania – at the same time, what has divided it: the diver- another European Capital of Culture in 2009. It is precisely this reconstruction and revitalisation of old transport and communi- sity of languages, religions, traditions and ways cation routes between north-eastern and southern Europe that constitutes a significant challenge for a Capital of Culture. of life. But, above all, they must be the embodi- ment of what will unite Europe culturally in the Linz is predestined to assume the role of cultural laboratory of the future, and not only because of its geographical location: future and not only in the past. with the accent on the digital revolution in knowledge and communication, Linz has long positioned itself as a modern industrial and cultural city – for example, with its world-famous Ars Electronica Festival or its Klangwolke. In 1996, a permanent research In the 21st century, an unprecedented media, laboratory was created for a wide variety of new media and information technologies with the construction of the Ars Electronica information and knowledge society is emerging. Center. The Ars Electronica Festival, the Ars Electronica Center and the Ars Electronica Futurelab pool and network regional Global and open electronic networks make pos- expertise and resources from the arts, technology, science and business – to name a few examples: the O.K Center for sible not only new models of democratic partici- Contemporary Art, the University of Art and Industrial Design, Johannes Kepler University, Hagenberg Polytechnic and pation, but also the as yet little-explored charact- initiatives from the independent scene, such as Time’s Up or Stadtwerkstatt. erisation and understanding of societies through their communication flows: whereas in the past Today, Linz is a media city, a centre where new technologies merge with arts and culture and flourish in symbiosis. In this religion, national “crowd symbols” (Elias Canetti) respect, Linz has undergone a major, rapid image change – from industrial city to communications and media technology hub. and commemorative rituals constituted a kind In fact, it was the steel industry itself that started early on to promote art and culture – for example with large-scale projects, such as Forum Metall of “corporate identity” of a country, today it is and Forum Design – and pioneered new forms of co-operation between business and the arts. Thus, the Linz and Upper Austrian business community archives of texts, images, movies or musical financed a major part of the hardware infrastructure for the Ars Electronica Center and assumed a substantial portion of the construction cost for the works and, above all, current communications Lentos Museum of Modern Art Linz. Since 1998, the international corporation voestalpine AG has organised an annual art and cultural festival – the and administrative data flows that define our “voestival” – in which scores of famous artists from all over the world have taken part. The willingness of the Linz and Upper Austrian business experience of social cohesion in everyday life. communities to support innovative and experimental art during the European Cultural Month in September 1998 was particularly impressive. Meanwhile, people active in politics, business, 2009 As early as the 1920’s, during the First LINZ Republic, radio associations in Linz were particularly active and committed. Now, at 12 the beginning of the 21st century – a media 13 century, a century marked by the digital revolution of everyday communication flows – this reference to the past serves to highlight the importance of new technologies for the political and cultural integration of Europe, in particular of the new EU members in Central, Southern and Eastern Europe. Since the 1980’s, Linz has played a pioneering role in this field: in 1979, Ars Electronica was the first festival world-wide to provide an artistic forum for the digital technologies Media – Art of the future. Since then, several other initiatives have made media and contemporary arts the internatio- nally successful trademark of the city. This trademark will be a significant force driving increased linkage between cultural institu- tions and independent cultural associations with a view to achieving full development of digital culture and media science by 2009.