Supersense x BMW Experience Lab Project at the international Ars Electronica Festival 2022. Visitors are invited to explore future notions of mobility under the festival theme “Welcome to Planet B”.

Munich/Linz. From September 7 to 11, the Ars Electronica Festival for art, technology and society following the theme “Welcome to Planet B” opens its doors in Linz, comprising exhibitions, performances and discussions. The Supersense x BMW Experience Lab Project will be on display and open to be explored by festival visitors. In addition, in-depth workshops will be held as part of the Ars Electronica Festival University and impulses about the project will be given at the Ars Electronica Futurelab Day.

As an agent of society, BMW is dealing with the transformation processes of our time. Questions around mobility and tomorrow's driving experience are researched on eye level with experts and opinion leaders from the fields of technology, science and art. BMW explores the intersection of man and machine and the true essence of human centricity.

In a collaborative approach with Supersense, an exploration lab for sensual perception and the confluence of the analogue and digital sphere from Vienna, the BMW i3 Urban Suite was re-built into the Supersense x BMW Experience Lab Project by an interdisciplinary team. Activating the five human senses, selected analogue experiences and tokens in the interior of the car invite visitors to reflect on how they would design their ideal mobile space. In addition, an inscribable black lacquering surface on the exterior allows for a personalized and interactive analogue approach to creative design.

Florian “Doc” Kaps, Founder & Director of Supersense:
"The Experience Lab Project is much more than a vehicle. It is a perfect space where we can try out and feel how the digital and the analogue can work together in perfect harmony. In close cooperation with the international visitors at the Art Electronica Festival, we will start exploring the incredible possibilities of rethinking mobility with all our five human senses in a more and more digital world."

Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design:
"In the increasingly digitalized world, the question for us is not primarily to what extent the digital can replace the analogue. As designers, we know that people and their needs remain central to innovation at all times. What a person senses, feels and experiences - should be what drives us and inspires us to come up with new ideas every day. That's why we're delighted to engage with visitors to this year's Ars Electronica Festival and hear their thoughts on the Supersense x BMW Experience Lab Project."

Stefan Ponikva, Head of BMW Brand Communication and Experience:
“Co-creation with partners across the disciplines is an essential element of BMW brand communication. In the world of art and culture, we have been collaborating with essential actors in hundreds of cultural initiatives worldwide in the fields of art, music, architecture and design. We are delighted to be part of the Ars Electronica Festival and work with the Supersense team to jointly reflect on central questions of the future experience of mobility at the fruitful intersection of technology, science and art.” 

At this year’s Ars Electronica Festival in Linz, BMW becomes an integral part of the festival by incorporating the Supersense x BMW Experience Lab Project in current discussions of the Ars Electronica Festival University. Thejoint initiative between Ars Electronica and Johannes Kepler University Linz (JKU) invites 200 young citizens from more than 70 countries to jointly develop planetary strategies for change and transformation. At the center of a dedicated workshop led by sociologist Prof. Dr Bernhard Böhm, Florian Kaps and BMW Group Design representatives is the question of individual mobility experiences on Planet B. With their questions, demands and visions, the students are confronted with the world of the automotive industry with its global dimensions, challenges and complexity. In order to learn from each other and ultimately be able to reflect and position themselves, the Supersense x BMW Experience Lab Project represents an open invitation and becomes part of the Festival University syllabus. Two additional workshops will take place on September 8 and 9 during the festival and will be open to the public upon registration here.

Further, in the course of the Ars Electronica Futurelab, taking the role as catalyst and connection between the university and the festival, Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design, will participate in an interdisciplinary discussion about “Creative Resilience for a Planet B” on September 8.

The Supersense x BMW Experience Lab Project will be on display and open for participation during the entire Ars Electronica Festival at the entrance hall of Johannes Kepler University (Altenberger Str. 69, 4040 Linz) as well as at selected locations in Vienna afterwards, like at the Supersense Experience Lab Garage (Ybbsstrasse 5, 1020 Vienna).

Opening hours Ars Electronica Festival
Wednesday, September 7, 2022: 1pm to 7pm
Thursday to Saturday, September 8 to 10, 2022: 10am to 7pm
Sunday, September 11, 2022: 10am to 6pm

Tickets: www.ars.electronica.art/planetb/en/tickets/