Water is political. The Danube connects. It changes. Landscapes, economies, societies. Current generates resistance. Diving means touching.
The next Festival of Regions takes place from 11 to 20 June 2027 on the Danube, upstream from Linz in Upper Austria, with the main focus of attention on Aschach an der Donau as the festival centre. The deadline for the submission of project ideas is 30 April 2026.
Under the theme “Eintauchen / Diving Deeper”, we occupy ourselves with the Danube and water.
With the Danube, the Festival 2027 shifts attention to a body of water for the first time. As a venue for artistic projects, as a figure of thought for movement, as a starting point for installations and interventions. As a fluid space with places and people that are defined by the river and life on the river
The Danube is the river that passes through the most countries in the world. But what does the Danube mean on location, completely locally and beyond? We are looking for new perspectives and connections.
Aschach lies directly and literally on the Danube. This immediacy defines the town and its people. The everyday life and history of Aschach are intricately linked with the Danube.
Industrialisation, the construction of the Danube Bridge and the power plant have lastingly changed townscape, life and infrastructure. In earlier times it was the crews of ships, fishermen and construction workers; today we encounter cycling tourists, people on excursions and passengers of the Danube cruise ships on the shore promenade.
The Danube is regulated and romanticised, navigated and researched, controlled and ideologized, economically managed and administered. What would the Danube say to all these uses?
The Festival of Regions looks at the region and the River Danube not as a backdrop for an art festival, but instead as a team-mate and protagonist of social, political and ecological action.
The curatorial management (Program Board) is newly appointed for each festival edition.
The program board is responsible for the selection and curatorial supervision of the projects.
Simone Barlian (artist and curator; at the University of Art and Design Linz, among others, part of the collective raumarbeiterinnen)
Fina Esslinger (art historian and curator; chairwoman of the Festival of Regions)
Elke Krasny (cultural theorist and curator, professor at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna)
Adriana Torres Topaga (artist and designer; member of maiz – Autonomous Center by and for Migrant Women and the association das kollektiv, among others)
Photos from the press conference on March 10, 2026., Photocredit: Petra Moser
