POSITION.PRACTICE.INSIGHT.

YOUR POSITION BECOMES A CONTRIBUTION.

The third semester deepens an established practice. Existing works, skills and open questions provide the starting point. At semester end, you have an advanced work, an evaluated research process and an agreed graduation plan to develop further.

Artistic independence

Develop a distinctive work from your existing practice. Substantiate its media form, aesthetic decisions and societal context through precise references.

Methodological rigour

Formulate a research question that can be addressed. Choose a traceable method; distinguish observation, interpretation and assertion. Show what insight becomes possible only through practice.

Professional realisation

Bring a complex media system to a reliable semester stage. Test effects, technical reliability and audience engagement under realistic conditions.

Readiness to graduate

Connect artistic development, writing and individual mentoring into a realistic path to the master’s examination. Identify outstanding research and deliberately limit the scope.

TWO FORMS. ONE PROCESS OF INQUIRY.

The winter semester prepares the master’s work and begins its development process. The proposed relationship between project and thesis must be agreed with the responsible supervisor; it does not replace formal topic approval.

Master project / the artistic investigation

The work is an independent design achievement and may also be an experimental setup. Define experience, material, system, space and audience. Document decisive variants, including rejected ones.

Master’s thesis / substantiated knowledge

The written thesis places the question in its research and artistic context, substantiates methods and decisions, analyses results and discusses limitations. It develops an argument beyond a mere description of production.

Make the connection visible

Maintain a matrix: research question / artistic intervention / observation material / analysis / claim / implications for the work. Support each central claim with traceable evidence.

Coordinate responsibilities

The course supports artistic research and the semester stage of development. Coordinate content with the Exposé Workshop, Coaching & Consulting and formal thesis supervision. Supervisory acceptance, topic approval and examination requirements remain subject to institutional clarification. [1]

FROM EXPERIENCE TO A RESEARCH QUESTION.

V 01

15 OCT 2026 / individual

POSITION + SCOPE

Review your existing practice. Formulate a central research question, your anticipated contribution and one deliberately excluded sub-question.

Evidence: a 2–3-page position paper; 5 annotated key references; overview of works and skills profile.

Quality: a recognisable individual position, manageable scope and an identified artistic risk.

V 02

19 NOV 2026 / draft 29 OCT

EXPOSÉ + EXPERIMENTAL PLAN

Design your investigation and the architecture of the work. Plan two meaningful experiments with a counter-test; test the most critical technical or methodological bottleneck first.

Evidence: a 6–8-page working exposé plus literature, schedule and experimental sketches; coordinate with the Exposé Workshop.

Quality: question, context, method, expected contribution and feasibility form a coherent whole.

DEVELOP A WORK. SUBSTANTIATE A CLAIM.

V 03

3 DEC interim review / 15 DEC laboratory version

RESEARCH PROTOTYPE

Realise the central experience of your project. Compare at least two variants in relation to your research question. Choose an appropriate form of testing.

Evidence: a working setup; 2 experiment dossiers recording setup, material, observation, analysis and revision.

Quality: technical complexity serves the artistic question; observations lead to justified decisions.

V 04

7/11 JAN reviews / 18 JAN, 18:00: submission / 21 JAN: colloquium

WORK + THESIS DOSSIER

Consolidate the work into a convincing semester version and develop a sound written argument. Agree the next stage of the master’s research process.

Evidence: work demonstration; 60–90-second video, 3 artwork images and a technical sheet; 8–12-page writing sample; outline, sources, graduation roadmap and individual contribution.

Quality: an independent work, evidenced findings and a realistic graduation plan; a complete thesis is not required in the winter semester.

OCTOBER → NOVEMBER

Dates, rooms and lecturers follow the screenshot. Topic assignments are a teaching draft. Additional submissions are proposed internal milestones.

DECEMBER / PART 1

Dates, rooms and lecturers follow the screenshot. Topic assignments are a teaching draft. Additional submissions are proposed internal milestones.

DECEMBER → JANUARY

Dates, rooms and lecturers follow the screenshot. Topic assignments are a teaching draft. Additional submissions are proposed internal milestones.

CONTINUITY CREATES DEPTH AND COMMITMENT.

Mentoring agreement / by 15 Oct

Each person records their topic, two development goals, required expertise and preferred feedback format. A contact person coordinates course mentoring. Formal thesis supervision is agreed separately.

Four documented development discussions

15 Oct: position and scope. 19 Nov: method and feasibility. 14–15 Dec: work, observations and revision. 7/11 Jan: argument and completion plan. Record: decision, next step, responsibility and date.

Use expertise purposefully

Proposed focus areas: Wintersberger — position and context; Munk — artistic development and dramaturgy; Passecker — technical realisation and tests; Wagensommerer — aesthetic reflection and argumentation. Agree flexible allocation within the team.

Plan capacity concretely

Laboratory: one reserved 20-minute appointment per person plus flexible brief feedback. For twelve students, this is 240 minutes over two days. January: writing samples submitted in advance, individual feedback in the relevant session; form discussion groups for larger cohorts.

Final colloquium on 21 January: for twelve students, allow 8 minutes of presentation, 3 of questions and 1 for changeover per person = 144 minutes in total. For larger cohorts, parallel teaching-team groups use a shared rubric and subsequent moderation.

THE WORK ENTERS A CONTEXT.

Public presentation opens opportunities for insight and professional contacts. Limit its demands so that the thesis and graduation remain achievable within the agreed timeframe.

ECHOES / 03.12.2026

The provisional programme in Tulln offers a context for audience response, interpretation and exhibition practice. Coordinate attendance logistically after the teaching sessions ending at 13:45. An individual contribution requires curatorial agreement and technical readiness. [3]

Lucid Dreams / 4–5 JUNE 2027

EUTOPAI in St. Pölten offers a possible public test of advanced master projects: Bühne im Hof; Löwinnenhof has been approached according to current planning. Format and scope follow the research question and graduation plan. [4]

Partners as precise working contexts

Bühne im Hof: performance and staging. Virtuelles Haus and Künstlerbund: possible interpretation and exhibition contexts. Festspielhaus: potential questions about audiences and engagement. Every collaboration requires specific curatorial and organisational agreement.

Graduation as the time horizon

No BIP participation in Warsaw is planned for this masterclass. 2028 remains an optional post-study perspective, for example further development in a museum context; it creates no work package.

FROM THE SEMESTER VERSION TO COMPLETED WORK.

21.01.

Individual handover plan

Record research question, current work, outstanding steps and responsibilities; add official deadlines when available.

FEB–MAR

Consolidate topic and method

With your supervisor: agree exposé, outline, method and realistic scope; clarify approvals.

MAR–APR

Investigate and write

Carry out targeted experiments; analyse results continuously; submit individual chapters for feedback.

APR–MAY

Consolidate work and argument

Limit the feature set. Assemble the full draft; check evidence, your contribution and limitations.

04.–05.06.

Public testing / optional

A festival contribution in St. Pölten if compatible with the submission deadline. Document and contextualise findings.

UNTIL GRADUATION

Submission and master’s examination

Revision, formal checks, archiving and examination discussion according to the individual schedule.

This roadmap is a proposal. Official submission and examination dates have not been supplied. If the thesis must be submitted before June, complete investigation and analysis earlier; festival responses then become a subsequent development.

COMPLETE A WORK. DEFEND A POSITION.

Plan backwards

Work backwards from confirmed submission date T: T−8 weeks, full draft and stable experimental basis; T−4, substantive feedback; T−2, final revision and formal checks; T−1, export, backup and submission checks. Agree firm feedback windows.

Hand over the work

Deliver a reproducible version: version identifier, technical instructions, setup plan, required media, documentation, sources and rights clearance. A stable demo or video recording supports presentation in the event of technical failure.

Rehearse the examination discussion

Practice format: a 10-minute presentation and 15 minutes of critical questions. Explain problem, context, method, work, results, contribution and limitations. The duration and specific content of the actual examination follow official requirements.

Defend your contribution

Prepare answers: what is new? Why this method? What evidence supports the claim? What alternative interpretation is possible? What demonstrably comes from you? Prepare broader examination topics once they are announced.

THE PROCESS REMAINS VISIBLE AND MANAGEABLE.

A shared working archive

Maintain a project folder containing exposé, sources, experiments, work versions, writing and mentoring. Each experiment record includes date, question, setup, observation, interpretation and next decision. Plan regular backups.

Writing as part of practice

Write a short weekly insight memo: what observation changes my assumption? What evidence supports it? What must I test next? The writing sample develops from revised memos and does not replace a full thesis draft.

Collaboration and integrity

In group works, research questions, contributions and thesis components remain individually traceable. Transparently document sources, third-party media and AI tools used. For audience research, clarify methods, consent and data handling with the supervisor in advance.

Manage workload deliberately

53 contact teaching units according to the timetable. Coordinate independent study and assignments with the applicable ECTS, Exposé Workshop and Coaching. In January, agree a minimum completion scope; prioritise extensions only when sufficient time remains.

FIVE PARTNERS. FIVE WORKING CONTEXTS.

The following project options make the partner relationships concrete for this course. Choosing an appropriate context is integrated into the existing work packages; public contributions require agreement with the respective institution.

Bühne im Hof

Translate the master project into a performance context. V 03/04: test dramaturgy and technical version; connect a possible Lucid Dreams presentation to the thesis question.

https://www.buehneimhof.at

Festspielhaus St. Pölten / BIG BANG

BIG BANG option: an advanced sound installation or participatory performance. V 02/03: research design and testing; fit participation into the graduation plan.

https://www.festspielhaus.at

Virtuelles Haus / Haus der Digitalisierung

Haus der Digitalisierung, Tulln: spatial media effects as a research field. V 03: examine the ECHOES connection and technical translation; analyse documented findings for the thesis.

https://virtuelleshaus.at

Löwinnenhof

Develop the master project as a site-specific work. V 03/04: investigate spatial conditions and audience encounters; a festival contribution follows the agreed completion scope.

https://loewinnenhof.at

Künstlerbund St. Pölten

Prepare a critical work discussion or presentation as an option. V 04: consolidate your statement, portfolio and research contribution for an artistic-curatorial counterpart.

https://www.kuenstlerbundstpoelten.at

Partner names identify working contexts. The formats are teaching proposals, not confirmation of a booked contribution. Space, technology, budget, mentoring and curatorial decisions must be agreed jointly.

100 YEARS OF MICKEY MOUSE CHARACTER. MOVEMENT. VOICE.

18 NOVEMBER 2028

The officially celebrated birthday refers to 18 November 1928, the premiere of Steamboat Willie. Its centenary falls on 18 November 2028. The anniversary opens a research perspective linking animation, popular culture and experimental media.

Connect to your own research

If relevant to the topic, the thesis may investigate Maryam Maus, voice, animation or recognisability. The anniversary is a possible context and does not alter the completion scope.

Optional transfer after graduation

A completed master project may lead to a two-page museum pitch: artistic question, view of the work, audience experience and technical specifications. No additional winter-semester submission.

Outlook / Karikaturmuseum Krems

A later curatorial dialogue could provide a route for alumni transfer. 18 November 2028 lies beyond the planned study period; graduation and the master’s examination are therefore not timed around the anniversary.

For public development, agree the specific materials, sources and usage conditions. The artistic proposals can use an independently designed Maryam Maus and original sound and visual worlds.

https://www.kunstmeile.at/de/institutionen/karikaturmuseum

Date source: The Walt Disney Company / official birthday (linked)

MARYAM MAUS. A STORY IN SPACE.

4–6 SCENES / 3–5 MINUTES EACH / AR + AI + 3D

Source: Gottfried Gusenbauer, Unstoppable MMouse! – Nichts stoppt MMaus!, supplied PDF MMaus_Master.pdf, 190 pages, version dated 1 September 2026. Described as a treatment in the brief, the PDF itself is labelled a novel. Gusenbauer is its author and director of Karikaturmuseum Krems.

The human–mouse character is Maryam

Maryam Maus lives in Great West in 2057. A biotechnologist and genetically created mouse–human, she begins to question the prescribed world of happiness. Her search for Sejla leads her to Benny, Zac and collective resistance to surveillance and oppression. [Source pp. 4, 7–24, 97–104]

Music drives the story

Dance, voice, friendship and humour confront a technologically controlled society. The AR adaptation preserves this conflict and recurring motifs: the EMO ring, BIG AI EYE, friendship ring and shared rhythm. [pp. 13–15, 102, 162–180, 185–188]

One shared work / six episodes

Preferred version: six scenes of approximately 4 minutes = approximately 24 minutes of playing time. Each scene has its own conflict and narrative connection. Travel and interaction time are additional; the sites need not be visited in one day.

The following scene titles, site assignments and AR actions are new adaptation proposals. They condense the source and require dramaturgical coordination with Gottfried Gusenbauer. The anniversary horizon is 18 November 2028.

FROM THE PROMISE OF HAPPINESS TO DISAPPEARANCE.

01

I am more than my data

APPROX. 4 MIN / USTP ST. PÖLTEN / CH. 1, pp. 7–24

Maryam awakens in a seemingly perfect world. The EMO ring promises help while controlling her. Her first independent question opens a crack in her prescribed identity.

Space + sound: A life-size character appears at an agreed campus location. Data imagery surrounds her body; changing position reveals her inner voice. Research, education and self-determination connect the scene to the site.

02

Who owns the future?

APPROX. 4 MIN / ZWENTENDORF / CH. 3 + 8, pp. 31–40, 83–96

Maryam and Benny work on nanotechnology. Behind the promise of progress, they discover how their research is being instrumentalised and other mouse–humans threatened. Their knowledge acquires political significance.

Space + sound: A virtual laboratory combines human scale with a greatly enlarged nanobot. Machine sounds give way to questioning dialogue. Zwentendorf connects technological promises with societal decisions.

03

Jelly Star / The missing voice

APPROX. 4 MIN / KUNSTMEILE KREMS / CH. 6 + 7, pp. 53–82

Maryam and her friends experience community through music. The MMediators’ raid shatters this space. Zac helps Maryam escape; Sejla remains missing. The search begins.

Space + sound: An agreed outdoor area becomes a virtual stage. Animated 3D characters and swing music open the space; interrupted voices and an empty position convey disappearance. Visual wit and artistic freedom connect the scene to the site.

TRUST BECOMES COLLECTIVE ACTION.

04

The ring / Trust instead of control

APPROX. 4 MIN / TULLN / CH. 9 + 13, pp. 97–104, 137–142

Zac shows Maryam Sejla’s friendship ring. They join forces to find Sejla and David. In parallel, the two prisoners emerge as people with relationships and memories.

Space + sound: At Haus der Digitalisierung, the EMO ring and friendship ring form spatial counter-images. Visitors choose between two audible perspectives. Rushing water from the source protects the dialogue; data knowledge meets trust.

05

HUMOR / Breaking the connection

APPROX. 4 MIN / ZWENTENDORF / CH. 14–16, pp. 143–171

The demonstration of HUMOR becomes a turning point. Maryam and Benny activate the fictional nanobots; after the setback, Amira disconnects the president from AI. Zac’s injury reveals the personal stakes.

Space + sound: A virtual connection runs through the agreed spatial area. Sound and movement alter the grid of control; Amira’s animated action breaks it apart. The technological site raises questions of power, responsibility and democratic decision-making.

06

Unstoppable / Freedom remains in motion

APPROX. 4 MIN / KUNSTMEILE KREMS / CH. 17–18, pp. 173–181

At Jelly Star 2, the friends celebrate their new freedom. Behind the dancing mouse mask, the recovered Zac appears. A brief closing moment from the epilogue reminds us that freedom is never secured once and for all.

Space + sound: The 3D ensemble’s movement opens towards the audience; listening and voluntarily joining in are equally valid. An electro-swing motif links the stations. Kunstmeile is the potential setting for the finale, satire and public reflection.

THE SITES TELL THE STORY TOO. TECHNOLOGY SERVES THE SCENE.

Distinguish contemporary history from fiction

For each site, produce a one-page dossier with two verifiable sources, one concrete spatial feature and one dramaturgical implication. Zwentendorf: the 1978 referendum and a nuclear power station that never entered operation. Tulln: digitalisation; USTP: education and research; Kunstmeile: art and the public sphere. Research additional historical connections.

One scene / approximately four minutes

Guide: 30 seconds for orientation, 45 for character and situation, 90 for conflict and movement, 60 for the turning point and 15 for the ending. Each episode briefly locates itself within the overall story. A map and scene numbers connect the sites; a central overview allows the story to be resumed.

Think AR, 3D, AI and audiovisual media together

3D provides character, space and animation; AR anchors them at the site. AI supports controlled design exploration and variants in movement, imagery or sound. Video is deliberately integrated as memory or a second image layer. Speech and spatial sound guide attention. Narrative and character continuity are determined editorially.

Four or five scenes as a compact version

Five scenes: combine 01 and 02 into one episode of no more than 5 minutes; the others run approximately 4 minutes each, totalling approximately 21 minutes. Four scenes: also combine 03 and 04, totalling approximately 18 minutes. Four-site version: USTP / Tulln / Zwentendorf / Krems. Short versions are rewritten, not merely concatenated.

The literary nanobots and medical procedures are fictional. The authoritarian world of Great West makes no statement about the participating institutions. Source for Zwentendorf’s history: zwentendorf.com/AKW-Zwentendorf/Geschichte; further site sources appear in the partner section.

ONE SHARED NARRATIVE. A CLEAR INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTION.

V 02/03 / an in-depth research task

If it fits your master’s question, select one scene or a cross-cutting task: character presence, spatial dramaturgy, sound guidance or controlled AI variation. Investigate a limited excerpt through documented comparative variants.

V 04 / results and individual authorship

Hand over scene design, tested AR excerpt, sources and findings in the work and thesis dossier. Identify your contribution and shared assets. Production of all six scenes is not attributed to a single master’s thesis.

Graduation first / continuation as alumni

Complete research and assessed work within the actual study schedule. Voluntary participation in the 2028 production may follow; it is not a condition of thesis submission or the master’s examination.

Shared production foundation: a character sheet for Maryam, a consistent rig and movement repertoire, visual rules for rings and AI, a recurring sound motif and an overview of all scenes. A named editorial lead maintains the narrative arc.

Review before further production: story understandable within 3–5 minutes; stable AR anchoring and restart; usable sound and subtitles; recognisable site relationship. Resolve the Amira/Amari name variation in the source through discussion with the author. BIG BANG remains a separate participation option tailored to its audience.

Literary source: Gottfried Gusenbauer, MMaus_Master.pdf, version dated 1 September 2026, especially pp. 4–5, 7–24, 31–40, 53–104, 137–188. Scene selection and spatial adaptation: a masterclass concept draft, not an agreed screenplay.

REFERENCES. REQUIREMENTS. FREEDOM.

As of 21 September 2026. Standalone concept paper for MDD-3 full-time Masterclass Experimental Media – MKL-V-EM (PR), group MKL-ExM-mdd3. The supplied timetable entries total 53 teaching units; planned hours also total 53.

1 / Programme structure

Official Experimental Media curriculum: Exposé Workshop and Coaching in semester three; master’s thesis and master’s examination in semester four. Check applicability to this cohort before use.

https://www.ustp.at/de/mediathek/pdfs/folder/masterklasse-experimentelle-medien.pdf

2 / Teaching approach

An open, project-based laboratory supporting individual artistic development.

https://www.ustp.at/de/onepager/masterklasse-experimentelle-medien

3 / ECHOES

Event context and provisional programme; no automatically confirmed contribution by this cohort.

https://www.lucid-dreams.eu/echoes/

4 / Lucid Dreams

2027 festival framework; EUTOPAI is the published spelling. EUTOPIA is also used in the teaching context. Partner contributions require agreement.

https://www.lucid-dreams.eu/

5 / Design

Design reference of the approved semester papers: Anton, Archivo, Space Mono; a warm base colour, blue, magenta, yellow and experimental grids.

https://www.masterdigitaldesign.at/

Adopted as supplied: teaching dates, rooms and lecturers from the screenshot. Teaching proposals: content, submissions, assessment, mentoring and summer-semester milestones. Agree before semester start: cohort size, resources, course rules, formal thesis supervision, topic approval and official submission and examination dates.