The Expanded Conference (Expanded 2026) will take place from September 9th to 11th as part of the Ars Electronica Festival 2026. This call for papers focuses on academic papers in the field of Expanded Animation and Interactive Art that explore and experiment with media expression at the intersection of art, technology, and society. We will have four categories (Research Paper, Art Paper, Doctoral Consortium, Play Gallery), where submissions will undergo a rigorous peer-review process.

All selected speakers will be given a free pass to the Ars Electronica Festival (September 9th to 13th).

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

3D Scanning
AI-generated media; human-AI collaboration
art-science and interdisciplinary collaborations
artistic computer animation
artistic human-computer interaction (HCI and UX)
audio-visual experiments
data journalism and animated documentary
data visualizations and information aesthetics
digital cultural heritage
digital media art history
digital, hybrid, and expanded theater
expanded animation
game art and playable media
generative and algorithmic art
hybrids between animation and game
innovative interfaces
innovative research and practice-based methodologies
music visualization
participatory media
performance projects
physical computing, tangible media/interfaces, robotics
projects using NFT, Metaverse, Social Media
reactive and interactive visuals
real-time CG
scientific visualizations
site-specific installations, projection mapping, media facades
sound art and soundscapes
transmedia environments, narratives, and experiences
VR, AR, MR, XR; virtual humans and environments