WERKSCHAU 2026

The 2026 Student Exhibition presents current Bachelor’s and Master’s projects from the MultiMediaArt and Code & Interactive Systems programs at Salzburg University of Applied Sciences. Across design, film, animation, photography, creative coding, games, audio, and interactive media, students present works that reflect diverse perspectives, interdisciplinary collaboration, and experimental approaches to contemporary media. In a time when artificial intelligence is increasingly capable of generating images, texts, music, and code, it is easy to mistake simulation for creativity. AI can recognize patterns, predict outcomes, and imitate styles—but it cannot experience the world. It cannot feel curiosity, joy, uncertainty, or empathy. It cannot trust intuition or draw from memories, relationships, and lived experience. Human at Core highlights this essential difference. What defines us is more than intelligence. It is our embodied experience, our emotions, our instincts, and our ability to sense and respond to the world around us. We create not only from knowledge, but from vulnerability, imagination, and the countless moments that shape who we are. Often, we know something is meaningful long before we can explain why. That understanding does not come from data or algorithms—it comes from being human. The projects on display are made by people, for people. They explore stories, identities, technologies, and futures while remaining grounded in human experience. They aim to move, challenge, inspire, and connect—because the most meaningful creative work begins where technology reaches its limits. Human at Core is more than the theme of the Werkschau 2026. It is a reminder that technology may transform the tools we use, but the heart of creativity will always remain human.