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This year’s Expanded conference will take place at the skyloft in Ars Electronica Center in Linz, Austria.

Expanded 2026

The fourteenth edition of the Expanded Conference in cooperation with ACM, organized by the Hagenberg Campus of the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria and Ars Electronica, will take place from September 9th to 11th as part of the Ars Electronica Festival 2026.

Location: skyloft at Ars Electronica Center, Ars-Electronica-Straße 1, 4040 Linz, Austria

EXPANDED 2026 – CONFERENCE ON ANIMATION AND INTERACTIVE ART

A vibrant blue explosion in the air, surrounded by a fluffy white cloud.
Image: Martina Stiftinger

The Expanded Conference (Expanded 2026) will take place from September 9th to 11th as part of the Ars Electronica Festival 2026. This call for papers focuses on academic papers in the field of Expanded Animation and Interactive Art that explore and experiment with media expression at the intersection of art, technology, and society. We will have four categories (Research Paper, Art Paper, Doctoral Consortium, Play Gallery), where submissions will undergo a rigorous peer-review process. 

All selected speakers will be given a free pass to the Ars Electronica Festival (September 9th to 13th).

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • 3D Scanning
  • AI-generated media; human-AI collaboration
  • art-science and interdisciplinary collaborations
  • artistic computer animation
  • artistic human-computer interaction (HCI and UX)
  • audio-visual experiments
  • data journalism and animated documentary
  • data visualizations and information aesthetics
  • digital cultural heritage
  • digital media art history
  • digital, hybrid, and expanded theater
  • expanded animation
  • game art and playable media
  • generative and algorithmic art
  • hybrids between animation and game
  • innovative interfaces
  • innovative research and practice-based methodologies
  • music visualization
  • participatory media
  • performance projects
  • physical computing, tangible media/interfaces, robotics
  • projects using NFT, Metaverse, Social Media
  • reactive and interactive visuals
  • real-time CG
  • scientific visualizations
  • site-specific installations, projection mapping, media facades
  • sound art and soundscapes
  • transmedia environments, narratives, and experiences
  • VR, AR, MR, XR; virtual humans and environments

Submission Categories

Research Paper (ACM double-column format)

Research Papers focus on academic works that present study results, literature reviews, theoretical considerations, etc., based on state-of-the-art research methods.

Presentation Format

  • Presentation: 10 min. + panel discussion
  • No exhibition or on-site demonstration
  • Accepted papers will be published in the ACM Digital Library

Submission Guidelines 

  • Word Count Maximum: 3,500 (excluding references), single-column
  • Submitted paper is original and has not been published nor is currently accepted for publication elsewhere
  • Submissions are peer-reviewed (double-blind process)
  • Submission must use the ACM Manuscript Template (see Submission Guidelines on the website)
Art Paper

Art Papers focus on the artwork, a case study, and work in progress, including theory and context.

Presentation Format

  • Presentation: 10 min. + panel discussion
  • No exhibition or on-site demonstration
  • Accepted papers will be published in the ACM Digital Library

Submission Guidelines 

  • Word Count Maximum: 3,500 (excluding references), single-column.
  • Supplementary material: video documentation and images
  • Submissions are peer-reviewed (single-blind process) 
  • Submitted paper has to be original and not previously published or currently accepted for publication elsewhere
  • Submission must use the ACM Manuscript Template (see Submission Guidelines on the website)
Doctoral Consortium

The Doctoral Consortium offers a unique opportunity for doctoral students to explore and develop their research interests in animation, play, and interactive art. In this interdisciplinary workshop, students will receive feedback under the guidance of distinguished researchers.

We invite PhD students who feel they will benefit from expert feedback on their dissertation work to apply. Ideally, candidates should have a clear topic and research approach and have made some progress, but are not yet ready to defend their thesis.

Presentation Format

  • 10-minute presentation
  • Followed by a panel discussion and feedback session
  • Accepted papers will be published in the ACM Digital Library
  • Note: No exhibition or on-site demonstration required

Submission Guidelines 

  • Submissions are peer-reviewed (single-blind process)
  • Submission must use the ACM Manuscript Template (see Submission Guidelines on the website)
    1. Extended Abstract (Max. 2,000 words, excl. references) Please submit a document describing your PhD work. To ensure a productive feedback session, we recommend structuring your text to cover:
      • Motivation: What drives your research?
      • Research Gap & Questions: What problem are you solving?
      • Methodology: Your approach (artistic research, experimental, theoretical, etc.).
      • Current Status: What have you achieved so far?
      • Next Steps: What are your plans for the future?
    2. Additional Material (Appendices)
      • Curriculum Vitae (CV): A brief summary of your academic background.
      • Optional: Video documentation or images representing the work (max 3 min, max size 150MB)
      • Note: Supervisors cannot be authors of the paper, but can be acknowledged inside of it
Expanded Play Gallery

Expanded Play is a gallery track for the Expanded Conference that features interactive and playful artistic works within the context of Expanded Media, including fields such as games, mixed-reality, spatial interaction, and human-computer interaction. In particular, experimental works that span multiple domains and offer innovative approaches to play are highly encouraged. Selected works will be exhibited over the course of a week and typically require supervision.

Presentation Format

  •  Lightning talk (3 min.) + discussion

Submission Guidelines 

  • Submissions are peer-reviewed (single-blind process)
  • Submission must use the ACM Manuscript Template (see Submission Guidelines on the website)
  • Accepted papers will be published in the ACM Digital Library
  • Abstract (1000 words) with the following required information:
    • Description of the interactive work
    • How it fits into the scope of the Expanded Play gallery
    • Short description of implementation (how it is implemented, e.g., HMD or screen-based project, performance, etc.)
  • Representative image
  • Video (max 3 min, max size 150MB)
  • The equipment and technical information required (technical rider, required space, etc.)

Any supplementary material (press kit, portfolio, etc.) which shows your previous work is also welcome but not required! Anonymising the material is not necessary here.
Gallery: Atelierhaus Salzamt

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

Generative AI tools and technologies, such as ChatGPT, may not be listed as authors of an ACM published Work. The use of generative AI tools and technologies to create content is permitted but must be fully disclosed in the Work. For example, the authors could include the following statement in the Acknowledgements section of the Work: ChatGPT was utilized to generate sections of this Work, including text, tables, graphs, code, data, citations, etc. If you are uncertain ­about the need to disclose the use of a particular tool, err on the side of caution, and include a disclosure in the acknowledgements section of the Work.

Basic word processing systems that recommend and insert replacement text, perform spelling or grammar checks and corrections, or systems that do language translations are to be considered exceptions to this disclosure requirement and are generally permitted and need not be disclosed in the Work. As the line between Generative AI tools and basic word processing systems like MS Word or Grammarly blurs, this Policy will be updated.

See also ACM Policy on Authorship.

Important Dates

  • Submission deadline: May 1st, 2026, 23:59 (AoE)
  • Decision Notification: Beginning of June, 2026 (AoE)
  • Camera-Ready Deadline: End of July 2026
  • Conference Days: September 9th–11th 2026
  • Ars Electronica: September 9th–13th 2026

Submission

Submission is via Easy Chair at https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=expanded2026, where you will be prompted to set up a free Easy Chair account if you don’t have one already.

Please read the ACM Submission Guidelines carefully, and prepare your submission following the Microsoft Word Template or LateX Template.

Proceedings and Publication Fees

At least one author of each accepted paper must be registered for the conference and must present their contribution at the Expanded Conference in person in Linz.

Accepted papers will appear in the Proceedings of the Expanded Conference in the ACM Digital Library. Following the new ACM publishing model for conference proceedings, all accepted Expanded 2026 papers will be published Open Access and linked from the Ars Electronica Archives.

Submitters should use institutional email addresses where possible. Many authors will qualify for free OA publishing, while others will be required to pay an applicable article processing charge (APC). If you are the corresponding author of an Expanded’2026 submission, please follow the steps on the ICPS website (https://www.acm.org/publications/icps/author-guidance) prior to your submission to determine whether you will be required to pay an APC. This is a condition to the acceptance of your paper, and no exception will be made.

Please note: For proceedings that are to be published simultaneously with the conference, the payment deadline for applicable APCs is 45 days prior to the start of the conference. The coauthors on a paper are jointly responsible for ensuring timely payment of the applicable article processing charge (APC) for that paper. If the APC remains unpaid 90 days after the initial due date, all authors on the paper will be prohibited from contributing to any ACM venue (including ACM journals, conferences, magazines, and books) until the payment is completed.

Venue

The conference will be held at the Ars Electronica Center from 9th to the 11th of September 2026  as part of the Ars Electronica Festival in Linz, Austria.

The media festival will take place from the 9th to the 13th of September 2026: https://ars.electronica.art/festival/en/.

Organizing Committee

Please follow the link for the Expanded 2026 organizing committee.

Cover of Expanded Conference Proceedings 2025

Expanded ’25: Proceedings of the Conference on Animation and Interactive Art

Hagler, J., Köhl, M., Pasquier, P., Wintersberger, P., Hosea, B., Kim, J. & Kocur, M. 2025. Proceedings of the Conference on Animation and Interactive Art. Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.1145/3749893

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Proceedings of Expanded Conference 2024 Cover.

Expanded ’24: Proceedings of the Conference on Animation and Interactive Art

Hagler, J., Szabo, V., Wintersberger, P., Guljajeva, V., Mitchell, B. & Kocur, M. 2024. Proceedings of the Expanded 2024 – Conference on Animation and Interactive Art. Expanded Animation Conference on Animation and Interactive Art (Expanded ’24), Linz, Austria. Ars Electronica Linz. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13382838

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SPEAKERS

The speakers for Expanded Conference 2026 will be listed here once they are confirmed.

PROGRAM

This year’s conference schedule will be listed here once the submissions and speakers have been confirmed.

All scheduled times are local Austrian time (Europe/Vienna). Use the dropdown below to switch to a different timezone.

LIVE

Visit the Expanded YouTube channel to see current and past content.

Switch to the current or next scheduled live stream by clicking on the button below.

Expanded Animation Publication

Expanded Animation – Mapping and Unlimited Landscape

The symposium Expanded Animation began in 2013 and offered a first approach to the expanding field of computer animation. It has since become an established part of the Ars Electronica Animation Festival and the international competition Prix Ars Electronica Computer Animation. Every year under an overarching theme, the symposium has researched the field of technology, art, animation, and aesthetics, investigated the collapsing boundaries in digital animation, and explored positions and future trends. As with the first conferences on computer animation at Ars Electronica in the 1980s, practice and theory are equally important. The richly illustrated publication Expanded Animation: Mapping an Unlimited Landscape features contributions from speakers and artists from the past six years and presents an overview of the prize winners in prix category Computer Animation from 2011 to 2018.

250 pages, 250 Illustrations

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EXPANDED PLAY EXHIBITION

The Expanded Play exhibition features an interactive collection of playful and experimental works that explore the boundaries of mixed reality, spatial interaction, and Artificial Intelligence within the realm of playful media.

Datails about Expanded Play 2026 will be published here soon.

VIDEOS

Videos from Expanded Animation 2025.

PARTNERS & CREDITS

In Cooperation With

Expanded 2026 is in-cooperation with ACM SIGGRAPH.

Partners

The conference has been made possible through a collaboration between the Digital Media department at the Hagenberg Campus of the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria and the Ars Electronica Festival. We want to thank the following sponsors for their support.

Supported by

Organization

General Chairs

TPCs Research

TPCs Art

Doctoral Consortium

Expanded Play Gallery

Proceedings Chairs

Panel Chairs

Summer School

Inclusion Chair

Sponsorship & Funding Chair

Web & Social Media

Event Production Chairs

Trailer, Visual Art & Corporate Design

Ars Electronica Animation Festival

Copyright 2025 Expanded