Art Is Not a Thing

Ars Electronica
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Art Is Not a Thing is a podcast series about art as a practice of critical inquiry, knowledge production and world-building. From media art, bio-art, sound art to digital activism, speculative design, or data storytelling, the series delves into artistic work that reflects on, questions, and reimagines our practices in and of the world.    The series is developed in collaboration with Radio Ö1.  Host: Hannah BalberProducers: Ana-Maria Carabelea, Christopher Sonnleitner, Marlene GrinnerEditing: Hannah Balber, Ana-Maria Carabelea Music: Karl Julian Schmidinger Design: Jelena Mönch  

  1. The Politics of Seeing and Being Seen

    JAN 31

    The Politics of Seeing and Being Seen

    Using both the conditions and limitations of the photographic medium, Trevor Paglen's investigations into state surveillance, military operations, and data collection raise questions about truth, deception, and imagination. In this episode, Hannah Balber talks to the American photographer, author, and geographer about UFOs, psyops, the power of manipulation, and how seeing and being seen are deeply political. Art Is Not a Thing is produced by Ars Electronica and developed in collaboration with Radio Ö1. Host: Hannah Balber Producers: Ana-Maria Carabelea, Christopher Sonnleitner, Marlene Grinner Editing: Hannah Balber, Ana-Maria Carabelea Music: Karl Julian Schmidinger Ars Electronica: https://ars.electronica.art/ https://www.instagram.com/arselectronica/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/arselectronica Trevor Paglen

    20 min
  2. Computational Compost: Against the Resource Intensivity of Data Centers

    12/29/2025

    Computational Compost: Against the Resource Intensivity of Data Centers

    In this episode, Hanna Balber talks with architect Marina Otero Verzier about the environmental cost of data centres. Challenging the image of the 'cloud' as an immaterial entity, her project, Computational Compost, uses heat from computer servers to power a vermi-composting machine, thus imagining a potential symbiotic relationship between digital technology and nature.  Art Is Not a Thing is produced by Ars Electronica and developed in collaboration with Radio Ö1. Host: Hannah Balber Producers: Ana-Maria Carabelea, Christopher Sonnleitner, Marlene Grinner Editing: Hannah Balber, Ana-Maria Carabelea Music: Karl Julian Schmidinger Ars Electronica: https://ars.electronica.art/ https://www.instagram.com/arselectronica/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/arselectronica Marina Otero Verzier

    21 min
  3. System Vulnerability

    11/30/2025

    System Vulnerability

    In this episode, Hannah talks to German media artist Simon Weckert about the societal impacts of digitalisation and his artistic strategies to disrupt, redirect, or reduce the logic of systems to absurdity. His work points to the vulnerability of allegedly infallible digital systems and the risks of relying on them. Art Is Not a Thing is produced by Ars Electronica and developed in collaboration with Radio Ö1. Host: Hannah Balber Producers: Ana-Maria Carabelea, Christopher Sonnleitner, Marlene Grinner Editing: Hannah Balber, Ana-Maria Carabelea Music: Karl Julian Schmidinger Ars Electronica: https://ars.electronica.art/ https://www.instagram.com/arselectronica/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/arselectronica Simon Weckert

    17 min
  4. Post-truth Museums and Their Post-colonial Directors

    10/31/2025

    Post-truth Museums and Their Post-colonial Directors

    In this episode, Hannah Balber talks to German-Iraqi artist Nora Al-Badri about the colonial inscriptions borne by Europe’s cultural heritage. Her work, The Post-truth Museum, reignites seemingly irresolvable debates about restitution. In glitchy deepfakes, the artist puts postcolonial theory in the mouths of former museum directors (rather than institutional discourse), in an attempt to signal where discussions of restitution need to start. Art Is Not a Thing is produced by Ars Electronica and developed in collaboration with Radio Ö1. Host: Hannah Balber Producers: Ana-Maria Carabelea, Christopher Sonnleitner, Marlene Grinner Editing: Hannah Balber, Ana-Maria Carabelea Music: Karl Julian Schmidinger Ars Electronica: https://ars.electronica.art/ https://www.instagram.com/arselectronica/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/arselectronica Nora Al-Badri The Post-truth Museum

    23 min
  5. Imaginative Futuring for Social Change

    09/30/2025

    Imaginative Futuring for Social Change

    In this episode, Hannah talks to members of the Kairos Futura collective from Nairobi, Ajax Axe, Abdul Rop and Willie Ng'ang'a. Their project, The Wild Future Lab, won this year's S+T+ARTS Prize Africa, an initiative of the European Commission, recognising pioneering projects in Africa that catalyse social change by blending science, technology, and art. The Wild Future Lab not only creates a blueprint for the future but tries to build that future with resources available in the present. Art Is Not a Thing is produced by Ars Electronica and developed in collaboration with Radio Ö1. Host: Hannah Balber Producers: Ana-Maria Carabelea, Christopher Sonnleitner, Marlene Grinner Editing: Hannah Balber, Ana-Maria Carabelea Music: Karl Julian Schmidinger Ars Electronica: https://ars.electronica.art/ https://www.instagram.com/arselectronica/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/arselectronica Kairos Futura https://www.thefutureisonearth.org/

    20 min
  6. Robotic Journeys through the Andes

    08/31/2025

    Robotic Journeys through the Andes

    In this episode, Hannah talks to Golden Nica winner Paula Gaetano Adi about Guanaquerx, the first robot in history to cross the Andes Mountains. More than a technical object, Guanaquerx is a poetic, political, and collective operation that was two years in the making, involved a transdisciplinary team and fused ancestral knowledge with contemporary robotic technologies. Its symbolic crossing of the Andes hints at a new kind of revolution, one that brings about alternative technological futures. Art Is Not a Thing is produced by Ars Electronica and developed in collaboration with Radio Ö1. Host: Hannah Balber Producers: Ana-Maria Carabelea, Christopher Sonnleitner, Marlene Grinner Editing: Hannah Balber, Ana-Maria Carabelea Music: Karl Julian Schmidinger Ars Electronica: https://ars.electronica.art/ https://www.instagram.com/arselectronica/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/arselectronica Paula Gaetano Adi https://www.paulagaetanoadi.com/

    20 min
  7. Outsourcing Ethics: A Robot Speaks Our Violence

    07/31/2025

    Outsourcing Ethics: A Robot Speaks Our Violence

    In the podcast episode, Hannah talks to artists Thomas Kvam and Frode Oldereid about their installation Requiem for an Exit - a piece featuring a towering robot delivering a haunting monologue about the darker side of humanity. The piece confronts audiences with the enduring legacy of human violence and the ethical responsibilities humans outsource to bureaucratic and technological structures. Art Is Not a Thing is produced by Ars Electronica and developed in collaboration with Radio Ö1. Host: Hannah Balber Producers: Ana-Maria Carabelea, Christopher Sonnleitner, Marlene Grinner Editing: Hannah Balber, Ana-Maria Carabelea Music: Karl Julian Schmidinger Ars Electronica: https://ars.electronica.art/ https://www.instagram.com/arselectronica/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/arselectronica Thomas Kvam & Frode Oldereid https://www.oldereid-kvam.com/

    19 min
  8. Web of AI: Linking Homes and Battlefields

    06/30/2025

    Web of AI: Linking Homes and Battlefields

    In today's episode, we talk to Sarah Ciston about their award-winning project, AI War Cloud Database. The project visualises the links between everyday life technologies and military infrastructure, and reflects on the increasing automation of war. Art Is Not a Thing is produced by Ars Electronica and developed in collaboration with Radio Ö1. Host: Hannah Balber Producers: Ana-Maria Carabelea, Christopher Sonnleitner, Marlene Grinner Editing: Hannah Balber, Ana-Maria Carabelea Music: Karl Julian Schmidinger Ars Electronica: https://ars.electronica.art/ https://www.instagram.com/arselectronica/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/arselectronica Sarah Ciston: https://sarahciston.com/ https://www.instagram.com/sarahciston/

    19 min
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About

Art Is Not a Thing is a podcast series about art as a practice of critical inquiry, knowledge production and world-building. From media art, bio-art, sound art to digital activism, speculative design, or data storytelling, the series delves into artistic work that reflects on, questions, and reimagines our practices in and of the world.    The series is developed in collaboration with Radio Ö1.  Host: Hannah BalberProducers: Ana-Maria Carabelea, Christopher Sonnleitner, Marlene GrinnerEditing: Hannah Balber, Ana-Maria Carabelea Music: Karl Julian Schmidinger Design: Jelena Mönch  

Information

  • Creator
    Ars Electronica
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    22
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Art Is Not a Thing
  • Show Website
    Art Is Not a Thing

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