CultTech Lab 2026
Education → Production → Showcase

CultTech Lab is a full-cycle program where creative teams address cultural challenges defined together with the Lab’s partners, transforming them into artistic works and tech-enabled products.
Groovedeck, the winner of CultTech Lab 2025
© Video: Florin Gorgos, Radu Gorgos
Open call is closed
How it works
Structured around thematic tracks, the Lab unfolds in three stages:
School
Explore and develop your ideas with curators and experts

online
25 April – 20 June 2026
Studio
Turn your idea into a real project with funding and guidance

hybrid
26 June – 1 November 2026
Showcase
Present your work at the CultTech Summit and on partner platforms

onsite
4–5 November 2026
Why CultTech Lab
  • To explore industry challenges through experimentation and develop research-based projects across art and technology.
  • To connect artists, technologists, and partners through long-term collaboration around shared challenges.
  • To make culture accessible to more people through technology.
Join the Lab — Two Tracks Open
Apply: 9 March – 15 April 2026
  • Track 1
    Contemporary Classical Music. Understanding Through Gamification
    Focus: Interactive and game-based approaches to contemporary classical music

    Contemporary classical music challenges listening habits through new sounds, structures, and technologies.

    This track invites participants to design interactive, game-based experiences that make complex music engaging and accessible.
  • Track 2
    Memory and Identity. Reconnection Through AI
    Focus: Artistic research on reconnecting memory and cultural identity through AI

    Migration and cultural displacement reshape how memory and identity travel across languages, borders, and digital environments.

    This track invites participants to use AI as a tool for artistic research, developing performative, spatial, and digital works that reactivate memory as a living, evolving process.
How to Apply
CultTech Lab is open to individuals and teams worldwide, with no restrictions regarding age, gender, education, or professional status.

To apply, read the industry challenge statement of the selected track, develop a project idea in response, and outline it in the application. Introduce the team behind the proposal and their roles in bringing it to life. If applying individually, make sure the project can be developed independently.

Full submission details are available on the track pages.
Fees & Grants
  • Application is free of charge.
  • Teams selected for the School phase pay a €450 participation fee per team, regardless of team size.
  • 8 full Participation Grants are available, covering 100% of the fee. Partial grants are also available for teams that need support. All applicants are automatically considered — no separate application required.
  • Selection for the Studio phase is competitive.
  • Studio participation is fully funded. Selected teams receive tailored Production Grants to develop their projects.
FAQ
Program Benefits
CultTech Weekly
A public short-form series following Lab projects from concept to prototype
  • Sustained public visibility throughout the program
  • Early audience-building around your project
  • Audience feedback to test ideas in real time
  • A wider professional network and new collaboration opportunities
  • A stronger public narrative around your project
  • Media-ready documentation for future grants, partners, and showcases
School Phase
An online development phase that helps turn ideas into clear project plans through mentoring and exchange with peers
  • A two-month guided program led by art and tech curators
  • Ongoing support from the Lab’s learning team and invited experts
  • A vibrant interdisciplinary network fostering dialogue and collaborative problem-solving
  • Support in developing your concept into a production-ready project plan
  • A one-year CultTech Association membership
  • Certificate of completion
  • CultTech Summit pass
Studio Phase
A production phase focused on turning developed concepts into showcase-ready prototypes
  • A 3-day Studio Camp (travel and accommodation covered)
  • Ongoing support from a dedicated producer
  • Presentation at the CultTech Summit (travel and accommodation covered)
  • Additional opportunities to present through partner platforms
  • Production grants
Looking for collaborators?
Explore the matchmaking table to share who you’re looking for, or find someone who might be looking for you.
Have a question?

You may find the answer in our FAQ page. If not, feel free to contact us at lab@culttech.at