European Media Art Festival (EMAF) 2026

A Festival with International Renown

The European Media Art Festival, EMAF for short, was founded in 1981 and has since become one of the most important international festivals for media art, experimental film, and new visual forms. It brings together filmmakers, visual artists, theorists, and an interested audience from Europe and overseas. Osnabrück is its home and venue.

Theme 2026: An Incomplete Assembly

The theme An Incomplete Assembly refers to the unfinished nature of any social, artistic, and political gathering. In times of polarized debates, fragile democratic spaces, and identities that are constantly being renegotiated, the motto raises an open question: How do we assemble – and what necessarily remains incomplete? The selected works and discourse formats explore this tension from various perspectives.

Program Strands

EMAF is divided into several program strands: an internationally curated film program of short and feature-length films, a central exhibition at the Kunsthalle Osnabrück featuring installations, sculptures, and immersive works, a performance program, artist talks, workshops, and a conference format for reflecting on current trends in media art.

Venues and Exhibition

The Lagerhalle Osnabrück is the main venue for the film program; cinemas and other spaces will also be used. The central exhibition at the Kunsthalle Osnabrück runs from the start of the festival until May 25, 2026, and can therefore be visited after the five festival days. This allows EMAF to extend its impact into the city community beyond the intensive festival week.