it’s our pleasure to welcome Hanna Hofmann to our subnetAIR program 2026!
As every year, a mixture of local and international artistic positions has been sought out. The selected project proposals and persons are characterised by ambitious objectives and thematic relevance.
The jury’s decision was to give one subnetAIR slot to Hanna Hofmann because „the jury was interested in the idea to approach folklore through a process of technological mediation. Hanna plans to build a system where visitors can summon fragments of the myth in an interactive digital space. Similarly to the comparison of the Alpine tradition of Perchten and the Japanese Setsubun or Oni rituals the jury also sees a correlation to contemporary performative acts of cleansing and renewal in the digital culture. With their decision the jury supports the fascinating concept and the project’s ability to weave together cultural memory and emerging technologies.“
Hanna Hofmann on her project:
The project explores parallels between the Alpine tradition of Perchten and the Japanese Setsubun or Oni rituals – two cultural practices that use masks, sound, and collective performance to banish evil and mark transition. Through an experimental short film and audiovisual installation, I aim to connect these traditional gestures of cleansing and renewal with contemporary digital culture: What does it mean today to “drive away demons” when our ghosts live in data, networks, and inherited myths?
This project is right now in a research phase, with plans of filming key rituals and scenes during the Rauhnächte 2025/26 in the Baverian mountains, focusing on the Schnabelpercht – a bird-like figure that sweeps away evil – and the Tengu, its Japanese counterpart. Both figures are being created based on scientific and also artistic research into craft, culture and superstition. The masks, outfits and scenes will be the outcome of this first phase.
My motivation to apply to subnet stems from Salzburg’s unique link to the Perchtenlauf tradition. Being in the region that still performs these rituals allows me to engage with local craftspeople and ethnographic sources while translating these encounters into contemporary digital form. The residency would therefore function as both research and production phase – combining documentation, coding, and reflection on how technology mediates folklore today.
Hanna Hofmann is a designer & artist working at the intersection of language, perception, and technology. With a background in visual communication, she creates research-based artworks using code, sound, and interactive installations to explore hidden systems—translating complex ideas into accessible experiences. Her practice bridges disciplines, treating art as a tool for communication to reveal overlooked connections between science, culture, and digital media. Through data-driven visuals, generative processes, and immersive environments, she invites audiences to engage with the unseen structures shaping our understanding of the world.
More about her works here.
Picture credit: Hanna Hofmann: „Greenprint“
subnetAIR27 will be calling this summer and deadlining on October 31st 2026.
subnetAIRs 2019-2024 are presented here
subnetAIR Exhibitions:
2022 Medien.Kunst.Realitäten – Katalog
2018 possible bodies – Katalog
2015 Klanghypothesen – Katalog
subnetAIR 2016 -2022:
# Jana De Troyer – documentation
# Martina Fröschl – documentation
# Scarlett Yang
# Corrie Francis Parks (MediaART Stadt Salzburg) – documentation
# Chun Shao – documentation
# Katsuki Nogami – documentation
# Margarethe Maierhofer-Lischka – documentation
# Nora Jacobs (MediaART Stadt Salzburg) – documentation
# Lukas Gwechenberger – documentation
# Stefan Tiefengraber – documentation
# Stefano Mori – documentation
# Simon Whetham – documentation
# Silvia Rosani and Tom Jacques – documentation
# Vera Sebert – documentation
# Michaela Schwentner – documentation
# Mac Krebernik – documentation
subnetAIR Ausstellung: possible bodies (2018) – Katalog
# Lale Rodgarkia-Dara – documentation
# Simon Faulhaber
# Georg Scherlin – documentation
# Iulia Radu
# Nicolò Cervello
# Robert B. Lisek – documentation
# Kanari Shirao – documentation
# Laura Splan documentation
#Antoni Raijekov – documentation
# Young Suk Lee – documentation
# Danny Bracken
# Lucie Strecker
2015subnetAIR Ausstellung: Klanghypothesen (2015) – Katalog
# Myriam Bleau
# Robert Praxmarer – documentation
# Nikolas Psaroudakis – documentation