THE ARTS+: A Festival for Digitising the Creative and Cultural Industry
Five days of innovation, inspiration and interaction
Frankfurt, 11.10.2017 – For the second time, the business festival THE ARTS+ will take place parallel to the Frankfurter Buchmesse (11–15 October 2017) in Hall 4.1. The festival will focus on the topics of digitisation, creativity and society. Cultural institutions, publishing houses, technology companies, digital thought leaders and other creative minds will come together over five days and on two stages to analyse current trends and discuss the future of the cultural and creative sectors. In addition, visitors can experiment with innovations, experiencing them first-hand in the exhibition area. This year, admission to THE ARTS+ programme is included in the ticket to the Frankfurter Buchmesse.
Rolf Krämer, Chris Dercon, Peter Weibel, Astrid Welter and Holger Volland will open THE ARTS+
The festival started today with the panel “Voices for a united world of creativity”. Here, Rolf Krämer, Head of Division, Culture and Creative Industries, Hessian Ministry of Economics, Energy, Transport and Regional Development, Volksbühne Artistic Director Chris Dercon, Director of ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe Peter Weibel, Astrid Welter of the Fondazione Prada and THE ARTS+ founder Holger Volland were discussing the chances of digitalisation for the cultural and creative industries. Other speakers include Caroline Atkinson, an economics expert and former Senior Adviser to Obama, Douglas Eck, Senior Research Scientist at Google, as well as artists such as John Craig Freeman and Jeremy Bailey.
“Digital technologies are fundamentally changing the cultural and creative sector,” says Holger Volland. “We are using THE ARTS+ to present cutting-edge developments and to bring pioneers and digital change agents together. At the same time, we will be discussing political and social challenges resulting from ‘Culture 4.0’ at the creative business festival, taking place during the Frankfurter Buchmesse, one of Europe’s major cultural events. This year, publishers like Gestalten and TASCHEN Verlag will participate as exhibitors. In addition, museums such as the Van Gogh Museum, Munch Museum, Städel Museum, Zentrum für Kunst und Medien | ZKM (Center for Art and Media), as well as the exhibition hall SCHIRN KUNSTHALLE FRANKFURT, will show which digital formats are shaping current and future exhibition and art education efforts. Institutions such as Google Arts & Culture, Europeana and the documenta archiv will show how digital media can capture the products of visual, performing and applied arts for posterity.
In cooperation with political, creative and cultural institutions from throughout Europe, the full-day THE ARTS+ Innovation Summit will take place on Wednesday. During the summit, expert groups consisting of start-up founders, entrepreneurs, politicians, academics and representatives of intermediary organisations will discuss the framework conditions for technology-driven innovations in the creative sector across borders and industries.
In addition, during the trade-visitor days (11–13 October 2017), start-up founders and digital entrepreneurs will be using the innovation show “Espresso for the Mind” to present their projects and ideas. Visitors can experience creative artificial intelligence on Friday, 13 October 2017, at THE ARTS+, for example when the artists’ collective robotlab presents “manifest”, one of its robots, during a workshop talk, or when pianist Seda Röder joins “Sonophilia Spark”, a half-day event, to converse with digital pioneers and the audience about artificial intelligence.
Like the Frankfurter Buchmesse in general, THE ARTS+ will be open to the public at the weekend. On Saturday and Sunday, festival visitors can spend time in a pop-up museum, experiencing culture and the arts in an entirely new way. In keeping with the slogan “Innovation made in Germany”, German businesses will demonstrate their innovative power and cutting-edge activities. A fashion show combining creativity and technology will also take place at the weekend.
Parts of THE ARTS+ programme are being organised through ALDUS – European Book Fairs Network (www.aldusnet.eu(opens in a new window)) and co-funded by the European Union’s Creative Europe programme.
More information: www.theartsplus.com(opens in a new window)
Hashtag: #theartsplus17
About THE ARTS+
THE ARTS+ is a creative business festival and international meeting place for the culture and creative industries, launched in October 2016 during the Frankfurter Buchmesse. The goal of the new format is to exploit the potential of digitalisation for creative content and to develop new business areas. International artists, opinion leaders and experts as well as an impressive range of exhibitors present innovative approaches from the fields of publishing, museums, architecture and design, brands and agencies. THE ARTS+ is organized in the framework of ALDUS – European Book Fairs’ Network and is co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union. https://theartsplus.com/(opens in a new window)
About the Frankfurter Buchmesse
The Frankfurter Buchmesse is the international publishing industry’s biggest trade fair – with over 7,150 exhibitors from more than 100 countries, around 278,000 visitors, over 4,000 events and approximately 10,000 accredited journalists and bloggers - in attendance. It also gathers key players from other media, including the film and games industries. Since 1976, the Frankfurter Buchmesse has featured an annual Guest of Honour country, which showcases its book market, literature and culture to attendees in a variety of ways. The Frankfurter Buchmesse organises the participation of German publishers at around 20 international book fairs and hosts trade events throughout the year in major international markets. With its Business Club, the Frankfurter Buchmesse offers essential services and an ideal setting for the activities of publishers, entrepreneurs, pioneers, experts and visionaries. The Frankfurter Buchmesse is a subsidiary of the German Publishers & Booksellers Association. www.book-fair.com(opens in a new window)
Contact for the media:
Press & Corporate Communications Frankfurter Buchmesse
Katja Böhne, Vice President Marketing & Communications, tel.: +49 (0) 69 2102-138, press@book-fair.com(opens in a new window)
Jördis Hille, PR Manager, tel.: +49 (0) 69 2102-271, hille@book-fair.com(opens in a new window)
> Press information online >www.buchmesse.de/en/press/press-releases(opens in a new window)
> Photos in print quality >www.buchmesse.de/en/press/press-material(opens in a new window)