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Korea National University of Arts (K-ARTS) Art & Technology Lab (AT Lab) Invited to Ars Electronica Festival for the 5th Consecutive Year

  • 2026.09.04


 

Korea National University of Arts (K-ARTS) Art & Technology Lab (AT Lab) 

Invited to Ars Electronica Festival for the 5th Consecutive Year


  -  Featured works include the generative AI-powered immersive VR content I love you, Customer and the location-based VR performance Kimchi S Witch

  -  Proven global convergence art creation capabilities as the only domestic university invited for five consecutive years




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<Ars Electronica Festival 2026>


The Art & Technology Lab (AT Lab) of the Convergence Art Center at the Korea National University of Arts (President Pyun Jang-wan, hereafter K-ARTS) has been officially invited to the Ars Electronica Festival in Linz, Austria, for the 5th consecutive year.


Held every September, the Ars Electronica Festival is a world-renowned media art festival launched in 1979 with a history spanning over 40 years. Under the consistent theme of "Art, Technology, and Society," the festival continuously examines the impact of rapid technological advancements on human life and social structures from an artistic perspective. It is widely recognized as a global exchange platform where artists, scientists, and technologists gather to discuss the future direction of art and technology.


In particular, this year’s festival centers on the main theme, "Negotiating Humanity." Amid rapid AI advancements, ecological crises, and diverse social conflicts, the festival delivers a profound message: rather than rushing to premature value judgments or definitive answers, art must serve as a "democratic negotiation space" where differing perspectives can explore coexistence.



 At this year's festival, AT Lab will present the immersive VR content I love you, Customer and the location-based VR performance Kimchi S Witch.

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<I love you, Customer>

I love you, Customer, audiences are employed "AMAZOOM", a fictional logistics company that converts emotions into energy. Utilizing a Facial Action Coding System (FACS)-based emotion recognition system and generative AI technology, this work critically explores the process by which human emotions are dataified and commodified, as well as the hidden structures of emotional labor.

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<Kimchi S Witch>

Kimchi S Witch is an immersive VR performance that allows audiences to sensually experience the "fermentation" process of maturing kimchi. It reimagines the fermentation process into a mystical virtual space where scent, memory, microorganisms, and bodily movement intertwine. Wearing VR headsets, audiences enter the work alongside performers to interact. When viewers move their bodies in reality, their movements intricately blend with microorganisms, witch-like figures, and unique structures within the virtual space, allowing them to freshly experience kimchi not merely as food, but as a living medium carrying Korean culture.

Supporting the production of these works, the K-ARTS AT Lab is a pioneering creative research institute leading convergence art creation and research utilizing advanced technologies. The lab has a proven track record of being invited to major global film festivals such as Sundance, Cannes, Tribeca, and Venice with works like Scarecrow, Rain Fruits, and 8 PM and the Cat. Furthermore, it is leading the R&D and global industrialization of AI storytelling by carrying out the "Global Culture Technology (CT) Specialist Training Project" supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA).