TwInn4MicroUp at Ars Electronica Festival 2026 – Future Begins: Negotiating Humanity
In September 2026, researchers Dušan Milivojević and Tatjana Ilić-Tomić from the Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering (IMGGE), EDB lab, participated in the Ars Electronica Festival 2026, held in Linz, Austria. The Festival, themed “Future Begins: Negotiating Humanity”, is one of the world’s leading annual platforms for the exploration of art, technology and society. In 2026, the event took place across approximately 40 locations in the city centre, gathering more than 1,200 artists, scientists, developers and activists from 77 countries.
The IMGGE researchers joined the Ars Electronica Festival as the scientific component of the Montenegro pavilion, presenting the installation Terram Intelligere: INTERSTITIUM (authors Ivan Šuković, Dejan Todorović and Emir Šehanović; curator Miljana Zeković). This installation had previously been presented at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia 2025, and was brought to Ars Electronica 2026 on the invitation of the Festival’s curatorial team. The participation marked the first appearance of Montenegro at the Ars Electronica Festival, and was reported in Montenegrin media.
The installation Terram Intelligere: INTERSTITIUM frames the land as a living system. Floating, translucent polycarbonate forms suspended on cables host soil samples and cultures of soil bacteria isolated from different locations in Montenegro. These bacteria grow within the installation and produce natural pigments over time, alongside bacterial nanocellulose, living materials that slowly transform the artwork throughout its presentation. This concept is grounded in the scientific work of the IMGGE team on microbial cultures and bio-based materials.
The scientific work of the EDB lab directly supports the goals of TwInn4MicroUp in synthetic microbial biotechnology and the development of sustainable, bio-based materials. By bringing this research into the context of the Ars Electronica Festival, together with artists, curators and scientists from around the world, the project demonstrated how microbial research can be meaningfully communicated to a wide public through art. The participation enhanced the international visibility of both IMGGE and TwInn4MicroUp as an initiative at the frontier of science and sustainability.
The event provided valuable opportunities for networking with artists, curators, researchers and institutions active at the intersection of art, science and technology, opening new possibilities for future interdisciplinary collaborations. The participation at Ars Electronica 2026 represents an important milestone for TwInn4MicroUp’s outreach, communication and dissemination activities, strengthening the project’s presence in international scientific and cultural discourse.
