New paths with AI - contemporary media production in focus.

The use of artificial intelligence and participation by means of digital technologies were the major topics among the submissions for the Content Vienna competition in 2023. Five of the projects submitted in 2023 each received production grants worth 10,000 euros each. Two projects were awarded the Digital Literacy special prize of EUR 5,000. Seven projects also received the women's bonus as they are being implemented by women in leading roles. And five projects will travel to the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, with the special prize of the same name.

We are also looking for ideas in 2024: Creative, digital projects in development – from games to XR to AI – can be submitted to this year’s competition. The competition runs from 5 June to 18 September 2024.

"CiSci" (pronounced Sissi) by the social start-up Logische Phantasie Lab deals with a socio-politically relevant topic: How do we deal with water as a resource? The forthcoming open-source app aims to make environmental data accessible and understandable for a wide range of target groups. A central aspect of this is the community concept. As a community-building project, "CiSci" aims to bring together people from different backgrounds to work towards water justice in Austria. Together with scientists, citizen science experts, climate activists and app developers, an application is being developed to close the gap in critical water and soil information in Austria and enable people to take action and bring about measurable, meaningful change.

The upcoming virtual reality (VR) experience "Horizon" addresses the topic of mental health in the treatment of physically impaired people. It builds on Vienna's cultural heritage as the cradle of modern psychiatry. The creatively designed virtual experience aims to help people with paralysis through motor imagery (the imaginary movements of limbs) to strengthen their body movements and provide them with a positive experience that strengthens their mental health. "Horizon" explores new ways of interacting with digital media by relying solely on brainwaves to interact with the virtual environment. With its intuitive usability, the project is aimed specifically at people who are often excluded from technological innovations.

The project is implemented by a transdisciplinary team centred around architect and artist Oliver Alunovic, consisting of experts from the fields of digital art, psychiatry and psychotherapy, AI, computer science and music.

The coffee house cultures of Austria and Japan can be explored in the forthcoming game project "Kissaten Vienna" by Rebecca Merlic. Using 3D scans, interviews, research in Vienna and Tokyo and digital technologies, the special experience of the two cultures is to be captured and digitised in a playable prototype. The design is inspired by real Viennese coffee houses and Japanese kissaten (literally "tea room", a Japanese-style café). The aim is not only to playfully explore the two worlds, but also to archive, preserve and further develop cultural heritage. A research project between Vienna and Tokyo aims to pass on knowledge to younger target groups in a playful way and strengthen intercultural exchange.

The "Symbiotic Devices" project by Viennese media artist Ekaterina Kormilitsyna focuses on the connection between science and digital design. It is a prototyping project in which "living electronics", i.e. electronic devices with biological properties, are constructed. The project shows that the digital and biological fields are increasingly overlapping. For example, it is now possible to virtually design a DNA structure, generate it through plasmid transformation and then replicate it in nature. In collaboration with several international bio- and fab-labs such as BioClub Tokyo and FabCafe Taipei as well as MIT in Boston, the aim is to demonstrate the fallacies of the assumed gap between technology and biology.

In line with the boom that artificial intelligence (AI) is currently experiencing, numerous entries were submitted to Content Vienna 2023 that utilise this technology in impressive ways. One example is the "Third Impact" project by S()fia Braga, which was awarded the Content Vienna production grant. The result will be an AI-generated short film that shows the future of human and non-human collaboration from the perspective of a quantum computer. Italian-born artist S()fia Braga explores digital and post-digital practices by creating speculative fables and exploring themes such as transhumanism and transmedia.

Content Vienna production grants 2023:

• „CiSci“ by Logische Phantasie Lab
• „HORIZON“ by Oliver Alunovic
• „Kissaten Vienna“ by Rebecca Merlic
• „SYMBIOTIC DEVICES: PARASITIC PROTOTYPES; LIVING ELECTRONICS AND LOGIC FAILURES" by Ekaterina Kormilitsyna
• „THIRD IMPACT” by S()fia Braga

Digital Literacy-Sonderpreise 2023: 

• „AI#Metropolis. AN AI-SHORT FILM BASED ON METROPOLIS“ by Stephanie Meisl and KimkaVienna
• „Gemeinsam smart: Wie gestalten Bürger:innen die Städte von morgen?“ by relevant. Verein für lösungsorientierte Berichterstattung

Content Vienna Connecting South by Southwest-Sonderpreis 2023:

•  AI#Metropolis. AN AI-SHORT FILM BASED ON METROPOLIS“ by Stephanie Meisl and KimkaVienna 
• „Blöööpi in der Bass-Dimension“ by Anthony Kroytor
• „CiSci“ by Logische Phantasie Lab
• „Kissaten Vienna“ by Rebecca Merlic
• „SYMBIOTIC DEVICES: PARASITIC PROTOTYPES; LIVING ELECTRONICS AND LOGIC FAILURES" by Ekaterina Kormilitsyna

Content Vienna offers low-threshold support for creative and media professionals in the digital sector even before company foundation. They are supported in the completion and further development of outstanding media content both financially and through accompanying networking and service offers. Digital expertise, talent and innovation at the interface between the creative industries and technology are promoted and Vienna is strengthened as a creative and media location.

Since 2009, a total of around 1,400 projects have been submitted for Content Vienna and over 150 have been awarded prizes. Creative, digital projects in development – from games to XR to AI – are also invited to participate in Content Vienna 2024. This year's competition starts on 5 June 2024 as part of the Creative Days Vienna and runs until 18 September 2024.