u19—create your world

Photo: Tom Mesic

Win the Golden Nica and prizes of over 6,500 euros!

Submit your project now in the u19create your world category for the Prix Ars Electronica 2024!

Take part in u19create your world the competition for young artists and critical thinkers up to the age of 19. Present your world and new ideas for a common future in the fields of art, technology and society. All means of expression are welcome! Choose your medium or tool or and send us inspiring concepts or already implemented projects.

We are looking for your ideas and projects for the world of tomorrow!

Young Creatives

up to 14 years

We are looking for your first ideas! Are you creative, do you like trying out new things, do you have crazy ideas and do you like crafting or tinkering? Then Young Creatives from u19–create your world is the right place for you: whether it’s a drawing, a comic, a story, a sculpture, a film, an audio book, a special photo, a remarkable Lego artwork, an experiment or your first programming projects – there are no limits to your creativity! Take a photo or video of your idea and upload it now.

You can win 3 First Prizes of €500 each, 4 Awards of Distinction worth a total of €450 and 3 Honorary Mentions.

Young Professionals

14–19 years

In the Young Professionals category, we are looking for innovative thinkers who use their project to engage with their world and the future in an artistic, critical way and with the courage to engage in social disobedience. The medium for the project is freely selectable: from digital or analog images, sculptures, podcasts, sound installations, games, videos, codes, websites, to performances, protest actions, social media and environmental projects, everything is permitted here. What is needed above all is independence and creativity!

The Golden Nica with €3,000, 2 Awards of Distinction of €800 each and 10 Honorary Mentions are up for grabs.

You have questions or need support? You can contact us via mail to prixars.u19@ars.electronica.art.

Questions and Answers

We are looking for projects or exciting ideas that actively want to shape our present or future in the field of art, technology and/or society or make clear which topics you are dealing with. All means of expression are welcome choose your medium, tool or material and show which technologies and artistic expression you are currently working with. Projects may be up to two years old (not older than 2022).

Anyone who is not older than 19 years and lives in Austria at the annual submission deadline (currently: April 2nd, 2024) can participate. Both individuals and project groups may participate. Works that have been created within the framework of school projects can also be submitted!

A jury made up of five experts in a wide array of fields convenes for three days to evaluate all the entries. They pay particular attention to the degree of self-reliance, meanungfulness and creativity.

In 2023 the following prizes will be awarded: Young Creatives (up to 14 years)

  • 1x u14 First Prize à 500 €
  • 2x u14 Award of Distinction à 150 €
  • 1x u14 Honorary Mention
  • 1x u12 First Prize à 500 €
  • 1x u12 Award of Distinction à 100 €
  • 1x u12 Honorary Mention
  • 1x u10 First Prize à 500 €
  • 1x u10 Award of Distinction à 100 €
  • 1x u10 Honorary Mention

Young Professionals (1419 years)

  • 1x Golden Nica à 3.000 € (Grand Prize u19—create your world)
  • 2x Young Professionals Award of Distinction à 800 €
  • 10x Young Professionals Honorary Mention

All winning projects will be exhibited at the Ars Electronica Festival.

  • Feedback guaranteed! For your submission, you will receive personal feedback from the jury from which you can get tips and inspiration for further projects.
  • Invitation to the Ars Electronica Festival! We invite all submitters to the upcoming Ars Electronica Festival free of charge.
  • Draw attention to your talent! Ars Electronica works with many regional and international partners. Seize the opportunity and become part of this international network. We also award project commissions, presentations, workshops and trips to talented submitters.
  • For school groups: Come to the Ars Electronica Center together! Each completed submission from a school class or group will receive free joint admission to the Ars Electronica Center in the 2024 calendar year for all contributors to the project.

You can submit your projects in our online database: https://calls.ars.electronica.art/2024/u19/

You can also contact us at any time at prixars.u19@ars.electronica.art.

You can submit all year round and always send us information about your ongoing projects. Currently, the call for 2024 is open. All projects submitted by April 2, 2024 at 3 p.m. will be considered in this year’s jury session.

Photographic insights into the u19create your world winning projects can be found here.
u19—create your world Award Ceremony 2023, Photo: Tom Mesic
You can find more photos of the u19—create your world Award Ceremony 2023 here.

Prix Ars Electronica: u19—create your world is supported by Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research and by OeAD.