In addition to the Golden Nicas of Prix Ars Electronica 2026, the AI for Social Impact Initiative, a collaboration between CARE Austria & Ars Electronica, will be awarded for the first time as part of Prix Ars Electronica. Every submission to the Prix Ars Electronica and the S+T+ARTS Prize competition is eligible for consideration for the AI for Social Impact Initiative.

uropean Digital Deal — made possible by Creative Europe — is an investigation into how the accelerated, but at times unconsidered, adoption of new technologies affects democracy. Since January 2023, Ars Electronica has successfully coordinated the European Digital Deal consortium, uniting 13 high-level cultural organizations from across Europe. Now, after three years, the project is coming to an end — marked by significant achievements.

S+T+ARTS is an initiative of the European Commission to foster alliances of technology and artistic practice that effectively implement European policymaking to nurture innovation and that benefit the art world as well. The focus is on people and projects that contribute to mastering the social, ecological and economic challenges this continent faces. ars.electronica.art/starts-prize/en/

he Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (CIFO) x Ars Electronica Awards honor artists from Latin America who stand out through innovative and creative approaches and demonstrate pioneering work in digital art. In its fifth edition, the awards go to Berenice Olmedo Peña (MX) and Lorena Solís Bravo (PE), who were selected from more than 100 submissions from 11 Latin American countries.