This Is NOT Artificial – Artificial. Real. Exhibition Opening at ORF Landesstudio Eisenstadt & Participation in the Funktsalon
With the exhibition “This Is Not Artificial,” The Pannonians make a powerful statement at the intersection of art, technology, and perception. The festive opening at ORF Landesstudio Eisenstadt marked not only the start of an extraordinary show, but also a moment in which central questions of our time converge: What is art in the age of artificial intelligence – and who is actually the creator?
The evening began with the Funktsalon of ORF Burgenland – a deliberately open discourse format that brings together different perspectives. At its center was a question that could hardly be more timely: “Can AI create art – is AI art – should AI create art?”
The discussion featured Kristina Sprenger, Thomas Rabitsch, Thomas Foster, Mira Perusich, and Hannes Millendorfer from The Pannonians. The panel brought together perspectives from acting, music, media, and artistic practice.
It was precisely this diversity that made the evening so compelling: between skepticism, curiosity, and a genuine desire to shape the future, it became clear that artificial intelligence is no longer a fringe topic but is already profoundly transforming creative processes.
Immediately afterward, the exhibition opened its doors – shifting the discussion from the spoken word into visual space.
The presented works deliberately occupy the tension between analog intuition and digital generation. What at first glance appears to be classical imagery reveals itself upon closer inspection as a multilayered dialogue between human and machine. This is exactly where the exhibition takes hold: it challenges viewers to question familiar patterns of thought and to redefine the boundaries between “real” and “artificial.”
The atmosphere of the evening was marked by intense conversations, curious gazes, and a palpable sense of new beginnings. Visitors from art, media, and technology seized the opportunity to exchange ideas not only about the works themselves but also about the processes behind them.
“This Is Not Artificial” is more than just an exhibition title. It is a deliberate contradiction – and at the same time an invitation: to look more closely, to think anew, and to redefine the role of humans in a world increasingly shaped by AI.
With this exhibition, The Pannonians demonstrate that art in the age of AI does not lose its authenticity – but opens up new spaces. Spaces in which uncertainty is understood not as a threat, but as creative potential.
The journey has only just begun.
