Since 2015, the SCHLOSSLICHTSPIELE Light Festival Karlsruhe has been inspiring artists to break new ground in order to inspire audiences. For four weeks, every evening between mid-August and mid-September, the 170-metre-long façade of Karlsruhe’s baroque palace becomes a grand stage for artistic contributions to projection mapping. Since 2023, the dm connecting worlds award has been presented to outstanding projects that combine digital and analog space and take the projections beyond the palace façade and into the audience and the city center.
As a UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts, Karlsruhe is committed to the sustainable development goals of the United Nations, for which we have the perfect partner in dm-drogerie markt as a sustainable and future-oriented company from Karlsruhe.
With the dm-Award connecting worlds, international artists and collectives are invited to submit innovative projects that connect the digital space of the SCHLOSSLICHTSPIELE projection mappings on the façade with the analog space in front of the palace and into the city. We particularly welcome concepts that go beyond the immediate venue and include or extend into the city center.
The projects to be submitted must therefore consist of two elements: A digital element on the castle façade (projection mapping) and an analog element that can also function independently of the projection. The submitted projects must take place outdoors or be accessible to the public and free of charge in an urban space.
Possible formats and contents are for example:
Interactive elements in which the audience interacts with the façade
Installations or media artworks that relate to the castle
Staging of the square in front of the castle or other places, squares or buildings in the city
Combinations of other art forms with projection mapping (e.g. concerts or performances over several days) Interactive projects with audience participation 3D experiences or immersive formats Integration of new technical possibilities e.g. concerts or performances over several days)
Interactive projects with audience participation
3D experiences or immersive formats
Integration of new technical possibilities
Inclusion of dm markets as part of the project
Creation of new spatial experiences and public interaction
The winning project will be realized as part of the SCHLOSSLICHTSPIELE Light Festival and the exhibition Media art is here (mid-August to mid-September 2026). The prize is endowed with €10,000, and production costs of up to €20,000 will also be covered.
Application deadline: November 24, 2025