# Transmediale

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Annual festival for art and digital culture in Berlin

transmediale logo

**transmediale**, stylised in lowercase, is an annual [festival](/source/Festival) and year-round cultural platform for [art](/source/Art), [digital culture](/source/Digital_culture) and [media theory](/source/Media_theory) in [Berlin](/source/Berlin), Germany. Founded in 1988 as **VideoFilmFest**, a video and [media art](/source/Media_art) programme connected to the [Berlin International Film Festival](/source/Berlin_International_Film_Festival) (Berlinale), the event later expanded from [video art](/source/Video_art) into [multimedia](/source/Multimedia), [internet culture](/source/Internet_culture), [software art](/source/Software_art), theory, [performance](/source/Performance_art), exhibitions, workshops and research-based formats.[1][2]

The festival usually takes place in late January or early February. Its programme includes exhibitions, conferences, screenings, performances, workshops and publications, often organised around an annual curatorial theme.[3] Since 2004, transmediale has received long-term support from the [German Federal Cultural Foundation](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=German_Federal_Cultural_Foundation&action=edit&redlink=1) (Kulturstiftung des Bundes).[4][5]

The [CTM Festival](/source/CTM_Festival), originally founded as *club transmediale*, developed in close relation to transmediale but later became an independent festival for [experimental music](/source/Experimental_music), [sound art](/source/Sound_art) and audiovisual performance.[6]

## History

### Origins as VideoFilmFest and VideoFest

transmediale was founded in 1988 as *VideoFilmFest*, a side programme of the Berlinale's International Forum of New Cinema. It was initiated by Hartmut Horst and video artist Micky Kwella as a platform for electronic media productions that were not commonly included in traditional film-festival contexts.[1][2] In 1989, the programme continued under the name *VideoFest*.[2]

During its early years, the event focused on video art, [experimental film](/source/Experimental_film), [television](/source/Television) and electronic image culture. According to the festival's archive, this focus gradually shifted toward a broader engagement with media culture, multimedia and [digital technologies](/source/Digital_technology).[2]

### Expansion into media art and digital culture

In 1997, the festival was renamed *transmedia*, and in 1998 it became *transmediale*.[1][2] The name change reflected the expansion of the programme beyond video into multimedia art forms, including [internet art](/source/Internet_art), software art and [networked cultural practices](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Network_culture&action=edit&redlink=1).[2]

In 1999, *club transmediale* was founded as a related event. According to CTM Festival's own history, the first edition took place at the Berlin club Maria am Ostbahnhof and was conceived as a series of experimental club nights connecting [electronic music](/source/Electronic_music), underground dance culture and contemporary media art.[6] The event later developed into the independent CTM Festival, while continuing to cooperate with transmediale.[6]

In 2001, art historian and curator [Andreas Broeckmann](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Andreas_Broeckmann&action=edit&redlink=1) became artistic director of transmediale.[7] During his tenure from 2001 to 2007, the festival expanded its exhibition, conference and award formats and increasingly positioned itself within international media-art discourse.[1] In 2002, transmediale introduced a more extensive media-art exhibition, and in 2004 the German Federal Cultural Foundation began funding the festival.[4]

In 2006, the festival changed its subtitle from "international media art festival" to "festival for art and digital culture", indicating a broader orientation toward the relations between art, technology, politics and everyday life.[1][2]

### Artistic directors since 2007

In 2007, media and arts researcher Stephen Kovats became artistic director. In 2008, the festival introduced the Vilém Flusser Theory Award, named after the philosopher [Vilém Flusser](/source/Vil%C3%A9m_Flusser), for theoretical and research-based artistic work.[1][8]

Curator and media researcher Kristoffer Gansing took over as artistic director in 2011, beginning with the 2012 edition. Under his direction, the festival placed increased emphasis on exhibitions, research formats and the discourse around [post-digital culture](/source/Postdigital).[9][10] In 2012, the festival replaced its existing awards structure with the Vilém Flusser Residency Programme for Artistic Research.[1]

In 2017, the [Sternberg Press](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sternberg_Press&action=edit&redlink=1) volume *Across & Beyond: A Transmediale Reader on Post-Digital Practices, Concepts, and Institutions*, edited by Ryan Bishop, Kristoffer Gansing, [Jussi Parikka](/source/Jussi_Parikka) and Elvia Wilk, was published. A review in *[Leonardo Reviews](/source/Leonardo_(journal))* described the book as stemming from the festival's engagement with post-digital practices and as contributing to debates in media theory and post-digital culture.[11]

Nóra Ó Murchú became artistic director in 2021.[12] Her tenure included the 2021–22 edition *for refusal*, the 2023 edition *a model, a map, a fiction* and the 2024 edition *you're doing amazing sweetie*.[13] In July 2024, transmediale announced that Ó Murchú had concluded her tenure as artistic director.[14]

The 2025 festival, titled *(near) near but—far*, was co-curated by Elise Misao Hunchuck and Ben Evans James.[15] The 2026 edition, *By the Mango Belt & Tamarind Road: Compassing, Protocoling, Metaphoring*, was conceived by Neema Githere and Juan Pablo García Sossa.[16][17]

## Programme and themes

transmediale combines exhibition, conference, screening, performance and workshop formats. Its programme addresses the cultural, political and social implications of media technologies, with attention to digital infrastructures, [artistic research](/source/Artistic_research), network cultures and the relation between technological systems and everyday life.[3]

From 2001 onward, the festival increasingly adopted annual thematic frameworks, though the consistency and prominence of these themes varied across editions. These themes have included *DIY [do it yourself!]* in 2001, *CAPTURE ALL* in 2015, *ever elusive* in 2017, *face value* in 2018, *E2E* in 2020, *for refusal* in 2021–22, *a model, a map, a fiction* in 2023 and *you're doing amazing sweetie* in 2024.[13][18]

The 2018 edition, *face value*, addressed questions of image culture, finance, online politics and social inequality, with particular attention to [facial recognition technology](/source/Facial_recognition_system) and what can be taken "at face value" in digital culture.[13][19][20]

The 2023 edition, *a model, a map, a fiction*, included the exhibition *Out of Scale*, which distributed parts of the programme through sites and networks across Berlin. In *Kunstkritikk*, Nicholas Norton described transmediale as a recurring meeting point for artists, academics and designers interested in the creative and speculative potential of digital culture, noting the festival's emphasis on lectures and panel discussions as well as aesthetic formats.[21]

The 2024 edition, *you're doing amazing sweetie*, focused on content culture and the social and political consequences of platformed media. A review in *Spike Art Magazine* described the festival as a forum for publicly thinking through the role of media and technology in social change and discussed its attempt to create in-person spaces for media practices resisting atomisation.[22]

## Organisation

Until 2020, transmediale was organised and supported by Kulturprojekte Berlin. In 2020, the independent association transmediale e.V. took over the organisation and management of the festival.[4] The German Federal Cultural Foundation has funded transmediale as a cultural institution of excellence since 2004.[5]

In 2011, *transmediale/resource* was established as a framework for year-round activities, including research, publishing, cooperation projects and the Vilém Flusser Residency Programme for Artistic Research.[1] The festival also organises or co-organises *Vorspiel*, a pre-festival programme developed in cooperation with CTM Festival and a network of Berlin-based organisations, galleries, independent project spaces and venues.[1]

## Venues

Until 1992, VideoFilmFest took place at MedienOperative and the Deutsche Akademie der Künste in East Berlin.[1] In 1993, the festival moved to Podewil, which later also housed the transmediale offices.[1]

From 2002 to 2005, the [Haus der Kulturen der Welt](/source/Haus_der_Kulturen_der_Welt) was the festival's main location. In 2006, transmediale relocated to the [Akademie der Künste](/source/Academy_of_Arts%2C_Berlin), before returning to the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in 2008.[1][2]

In 2020, the transmediale office moved to silent green Kulturquartier, where the festival also opened a project space called transmediale studio.[1] The 2021–22 edition took place across several sites, including Haus der Kulturen der Welt, transmediale studio, [Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kunstraum_Kreuzberg/Bethanien&action=edit&redlink=1) and Betonhalle.[13] Later editions have used venues including Akademie der Künste, silent green Kulturquartier, Haus der Kulturen der Welt and CANK.[3]

## Relationship with CTM Festival

CTM Festival began in 1999 as *club transmediale*. Its founders developed the event as an adjacent platform for experimental club culture, electronic music and media art.[6] While CTM and transmediale have remained closely associated in timing, audience and thematic concerns, CTM is financially and curatorially independent and is organised by DISK Initiative Bild & Ton.[23]

Writing about Club Transmediale 2009 in *Frieze*, Frances Morgan described the event as a ten-day music and visual-arts festival combining discussions of new music and sonic art with night events, electronic music and audiovisual performance.[24]

## Reception and significance

transmediale has been discussed in international art and media-culture criticism as a forum for digital culture, media theory and artistic research. *Kunstkritikk* described it as a recurring meeting point for artists, academics and designers interested in the creative and speculative potential of digital culture, while noting the festival's emphasis on lectures, panel discussions and aesthetic formats.[21] *Spike Art Magazine* described the 2024 edition as an attempt to create in-person spaces for media practices resisting atomisation.[22] Berlin Art Link characterised transmediale as a major German meeting point for art, technology and media culture.[25]

The festival's publishing activity has also contributed to debates about the post-digital. *Leonardo Reviews* described *Across & Beyond*, a reader emerging from transmediale's programme and institutional context, as a contribution to discussions in media theory, post-digital practices and artistic research.[11]

## See also

- [CTM Festival](/source/CTM_Festival)

- [Digital art](/source/Digital_art)

- [Internet art](/source/Internet_art)

- [Media art](/source/Media_art)

- [New media art](/source/New_media_art)

- [Postdigital](/source/Postdigital)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-history_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-history_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-history_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-history_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-history_1-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-history_1-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-history_1-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-history_1-7) [***i***](#cite_ref-history_1-8) [***j***](#cite_ref-history_1-9) [***k***](#cite_ref-history_1-10) [***l***](#cite_ref-history_1-11) [***m***](#cite_ref-history_1-12) ["History"](https://transmediale.de/en/history). *transmediale*. Retrieved 16 May 2026.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-archive-history_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-archive-history_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-archive-history_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-archive-history_2-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-archive-history_2-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-archive-history_2-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-archive-history_2-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-archive-history_2-7) ["History of transmediale"](https://archive.transmediale.de/content/history-transmediale). *transmediale archive*. Retrieved 16 May 2026.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-berlinde_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-berlinde_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-berlinde_3-2) ["Transmediale"](https://www.berlin.de/en/events/2322875-2842498-transmediale.en.html). *Berlin.de*. State of Berlin. Retrieved 16 May 2026.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-kulturprojekte_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-kulturprojekte_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-kulturprojekte_4-2) ["Transmediale"](https://kulturprojekte.berlin/en/projects/transmediale/). *Kulturprojekte Berlin*. Retrieved 16 May 2026.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-bundes-2020_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-bundes-2020_5-1) ["transmediale 2020"](https://www.kulturstiftung-des-bundes.de/en/programmes_projects/film_and_new_media/detail/transmediale_2020.html). *Kulturstiftung des Bundes*. Retrieved 16 May 2026.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ctm-history_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ctm-history_6-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-ctm-history_6-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-ctm-history_6-3) ["History"](https://www.ctm-festival.de/about/history). *CTM Festival*. Retrieved 16 May 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-broeckmann_7-0)** Broeckmann, Andreas. ["Andreas Broeckmann"](https://portal.research.lu.se/en/persons/andreas-broeckmann/). *Lund University Research Portal*. Retrieved 16 May 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-kovats-08_8-0)** ["transmediale.08: conspire!"](https://www.kulturstiftung-des-bundes.de/en/programmes_projects/film_and_new_media/detail/transmediale08_conspire.html). *Kulturstiftung des Bundes*. Retrieved 16 May 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ocula-gansing_9-0)** Sharpe, Terence (17 January 2020). ["transmediale Artistic Director Kristoffer Gansing Looks Back"](https://ocula.com/magazine/conversations/kristoffer-gansing/). *Ocula*. Retrieved 16 May 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-gansing-press_10-0)** ["transmediale mit neuem künstlerischen Leiter"](https://www.kulturstiftung-des-bundes.de/de/presse/pressemitteilungen/detail/08-11-2010-transmediale_mit_neuem_kuenstlerischen_l). *Kulturstiftung des Bundes*. 8 November 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2026.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-leonardo-reader_11-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-leonardo-reader_11-1) ["Review of Across and Beyond: A Transmediale Reader on Post-Digital Practices, Concepts, and Institutions"](https://leonardo.info/review/2017/06/review-of-across-and-beyond-a-transmediale-reader-on-post-digital-practices-concepts). *Leonardo Reviews*. June 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-nora_12-0)** ["Nóra Ó Murchú new artistic director of transmediale starting from 2021"](https://transmediale.de/content/nora-o-murch-new-artistic-director-of-transmediale-starting-from-2021). *transmediale*. 2 May 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2026.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-past-festivals_13-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-past-festivals_13-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-past-festivals_13-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-past-festivals_13-3) ["Past festivals"](https://transmediale.de/en/all-past-festivals). *transmediale*. Retrieved 16 May 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-nora-departs_14-0)** ["Artistic director departs transmediale festival"](https://transmediale.de/en/news/artistic-director-concluded-tenure). *transmediale*. 18 July 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-tm2025_15-0)** ["transmediale 2025"](https://transmediale.de/en/festival/2025). *transmediale*. Retrieved 16 May 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-tm2026_16-0)** ["transmediale 2026 festival announcement"](https://transmediale.de/en/2026/news/transmediale-2026-festival-announcement). *transmediale*. Retrieved 16 May 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-visitberlin-2026_17-0)** ["transmediale 2026"](https://www.visitberlin.de/en/event/transmediale-2026). *Visit Berlin*. 1 August 2025. Retrieved 16 May 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-bundes-editions_18-0)** ["transmediale"](https://www.kulturstiftung-des-bundes.de/en/programmes_projects/film_and_new_media/detail/transmediale.html). *Kulturstiftung des Bundes*. Retrieved 16 May 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-dlf-facevalue_19-0)** ["Transmediale – das Festival für Digitale Kultur"](https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/transmediale-das-festival-fuer-digitale-kultur-reaktionaere-100.html). *Deutschlandfunk*. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-theseen-2018_20-0)** ["Face Value: Transmediale 2018"](https://theseenjournal.org/face-value-transmediale-2018/). *The Seen Journal*. Retrieved 16 May 2026.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-kunstkritikk-2023_21-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-kunstkritikk-2023_21-1) Norton, Nicholas (10 February 2023). ["The Right Kind of Demented"](https://kunstkritikk.com/the-right-kind-of-demented/). *Kunstkritikk*. Retrieved 16 May 2026.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-spike-2024_22-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-spike-2024_22-1) ["The Highs and Lows of transmediale 2024"](https://www.spikeartmagazine.com/articles/essay-the-highs-and-lows-of-transmediale-2024). *Spike Art Magazine*. 14 February 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ctm-relation_23-0)** ["transmediale"](https://archive.ctm-festival.de/about/transmediale.html). *CTM Festival archive*. Retrieved 16 May 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-frieze-ctm_24-0)** Morgan, Frances (13 February 2009). ["Club Transmediale 2009"](https://www.frieze.com/article/club-transmediale-2009). *Frieze*. Retrieved 16 May 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-berlinartlink_25-0)** ["Review of transmediale.11 – RESPONSE:ABILITY"](https://www.berlinartlink.com/2011/02/15/annual-festival-concerning-the-role-of-digital-technologies-in-contemporary-society/). *Berlin Art Link*. 14 February 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2026.

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [transmediale](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/transmediale).

- [Official website](https://transmediale.de/)

- [transmediale archive](https://archive.transmediale.de/)

- [CTM Festival](https://www.ctm-festival.de/)

Authority control databases International VIAF GND Other IdRef MusicBrainz series ELMCIP

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Transmediale](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmediale) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmediale?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.