The opening weekend of Vienna Digital Cultures 2026 unfolds over three days of exhibition, performances, and discussions dedicated to the shifting conditions of solitude and togetherness in a digitally mediated world. Beginning with the opening on Thursday, artists, theorists, and practitioners gather across the weekend to engage with urgent questions at the intersection of technology and society. Under the theme Alone or Together?, the festival examines how digital infrastructures reshape intimacy, visibility, and belonging. The opening weekend sets the stage for a broader exploration of how connection, presence, and identity are being transformed today.

Entrance for the entire opening weekend is free. More information about each event in the 2026 program can be found in the calendar.

The festival opens across two venues simultaneously. At the Tank Hall of the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, Peter Kutin's light and sound installation opens for a full day of viewing. Evening proceedings begin at FOTO ARSENAL WIEN with an opening from the exhibition Lu Yang – The DOKU Trilogy, followed by speeches. The night continues with a live set from Hyper Hyper and a closing set from KAROLINA.

19:00
Opening Exhibition
Lu Yang – The DOKU Trilogy

Location:
FOTO ARSENAL WIEN



19:30
Opening speeches by Veronica Kaup-Hasler, City Councillor for Culture and Science of the City of Vienna, Nadim Samman Curator Vienna Digital Cultures and Felix Hoffmann Co-Director Vienna Digital Cultures

Location:
FOTO ARSENAL WIEN



20:00–24:00
DJ-sets presented by HYPER HYPER and KAROLINA

Location:
FOTO ARSENAL WIEN



Opening hours follow.
Para Bellum: Light & Sound Installation by Peter Kutin

Location:
Tank Hall, Heeresgeschichtliches Museum

Both venues are open across the day: Peter Kutin’s installation continues at the Tank Hall, while the Lu Yang exhibition opens at FOTO ARSENAL WIEN. The afternoon features workshops. The evening, the Tank Hall hosts a live performance of Kutin's light and sound work, before the programme moves to the Ruhmeshalle for a keynote with welcomes from the directors of Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, FOTO ARSENAL WIEN, and the festival.

11:00–19:00
Exhibition Lu Yang – DOKU Trilogy

Location:
FOTO ARSENAL WIEN



Opening hours follow.
Para Bellum: Light & Sound Installation by Peter Kutin

Location:
Tank Hall, Heeresgeschichtliches Museum



Opening hours follow.
Live-Performance by Peter Kutin
Para Bellum: Light and sound performance

Location:
Tank Hall, Heeresgeschichtliches Museum



19:00–21:00
Keynote
Doors open at 19:15, start at 19:30.

Location:
Ruhmeshalle, Heeresgeschichtliches Museum

The festival's main day of talks takes place at FOTO ARSENAL WIEN, with five consecutive speakers spanning online art commissions, technological abolition, digital inclusion, and AI culture. The morning begins with a guided tour of the Lu Yang exhibition, while the afternoon runs a full programme of workshops. Both the Tank Hall installation and the Lu Yang exhibition are open across the day. In the evening, the festival moves to Badeschiff for a club night in cooperation with Wiener Festwochen, running until dawn with sets from Apex Anima x FRZNTE, Rey Colino, and Inland (Ed Davenport).

11:00–19:00
Exhibition Lu Yang – The DOKU Trilogy

Location:
FOTO ARSENAL WIEN



11:00–12:00 (EN)
Guided tour of the Lu Yang exhibition with Nadim Samman Curator of Vienna Digital Cultures

Location:
FOTO ARSENAL WIEN



12:00–13:00 (EN)
Panel Talk with artists from the digital projects VDC 2026: Kolbeinn Hugi and Joaquina Salgado

Location:
FOTO ARSENAL WIEN



13:00–14:00 (EN)
Lecture: Thomas Dekeyser Techno-phobe! A short history of an insult.

Location:
FOTO ARSENAL WIEN



14:00–15:00 (EN)
Lecture: Clare Birchall Conspirare!

Location:
FOTO ARSENAL WIEN



15:00–16:00 (EN)
Lecture: Olga Goriunova Desiring Truth After AI

Location:
FOTO ARSENAL WIEN



16:00–17:00 (EN)
Lecture: Sarah Bezan Digital Cultures of Species Revival

Location:
FOTO ARSENAL WIEN



Opening hours follow.
Para Bellum: Light and sound installation by Peter Kutin in the Tank Hall

Location:
Panzerhalle, Heeresgeschichtliches Museum



22:00–04:00
Clubnight at the Badeschiff as part of the Wiener Festwochen: Apex Anima x FRZNTE, Rey Colino, Inland (Ed Davenport), Local Support TBC

Location:
Badeschiff, Wiener Festwochen

The final day keeps both venues open, with Peter Kutin's installation at the Tank Hall and the Lu Yang exhibition at FOTO ARSENAL WIEN. The afternoon features workshops on digital and analogue practice and AI basics, alongside a showing of the digital projects. The talk programme is taken over by the Weibel Institute for Digital Cultures, with two panels addressing collective digital consciousness, brain rot content, planetary risk, and more-than-human cognition.

11:00–19:00
Exhibition Lu Yang – The DOKU Trilogy

Location:
FOTO ARSENAL WIEN



12:00–15:00 (EN)
Panel 1: Collectivity, Digital Unconscious & Affective Logic of Brain Rot, curated by Weibel Institute for Digital Cultures

Location:
FOTO ARSENAL WIEN



15:00–16:00 (EN)
Panel 2: Thinking Substrate – Planetary Risk & More-Than-Human Cognition, curated by Weibel Institute for Digital Cultures

Location:
FOTO ARSENAL WIEN



Opening hours follow.
Para Bellum: Light and sound installation by Peter Kutin in the Tank Hall

Location:
Tank Hall, Heeresgeschichtliches Museum