Linz/Aschach – Following the “Summerauerbahn” (2023) and the “Innviertel with Braunau as its capital” (2025), the next Festival of Regions in the 2027 election year in upper Austria will be dedicated to the “Danube” region – from Linz upstream to Passau. With Aschach an der Donau as its central capital.
The Danube as a co-player
From 11 to 20 June 2027, the Danube region from Linz upstream to Passau will become the venue and starting point for contemporary art and socio-political discourse. With “Danube” as its theme, the 18th edition of the festival focuses on a body of water that is much more than a passive backdrop for contemporary art – the Danube becomes an active “co-player”.
Transformation instead of stagnation
The Danube does not stand still. Neither does the Festival of Regions. We regard the Danube as a metaphor for ecological, economic and social transformation. With Upper Austria as the vibrant centre within a European network.
From division to unity: a political space of freedom
In a time of increasing polarisation and isolation, the Festival of Regions 2027 makes a clear cultural policy statement. The festival breaks with the idea of the Danube as a border. Instead of the logic of division, we seek artistic strategies for sharing and connecting. The Danube, which connects ten countries and millions of people, becomes the ultimate space of freedom and an anti-isolation metaphor. A symbol of resistance and cross-border solidarity!
Open call and press conference
Festival dates: 11 to 20 June 2027
Region: Danube – upstream from Linz to Passau
Festival centre: Aschach an der Donau
PRESS CONFERENCE Motto & Open Call: 10 March 2026, 10:00 a.m., University of Art and Design Linz, Hauptplatz 8, Hörsaal 8, 5th floor
Details about the artistic theme, the newly appointed programme board and the guidelines for the international open call will be announced at the press conference.
The festival invites artists and collectives to reclaim the Danube as a space for social utopias and radical openness.
The 2027 festival region stretches along the Upper Austrian Danube Valley and offers opportunities for international cooperation with artists and institutions throughout the Danube region.
