Since 1987, the year of its inception, the Prix Ars Electronica has served as a barometer for trends in the digitals arts. It is also the award offering the highest prize money for cyberarts worldwide. Geared towards topical issues, it documents the shift in societal and artistic approaches, perspectives and designs brought about by communications and information media.The artistic domains of contemporary media art are not only undergoing a fundamental change due to information technology applications, but are also expanding and transcending traditional boundaries. Art in the social context has become just as pivotal for contemporary cyberarts as art-theoretical positions and discussions are. Digital acoustic spaces alter individual processes of perception, open-source programming languages generate new creative potential, visual storytelling presents dream worlds and nightmarish visions, digital images and sounds turn into material which can be remixed as desired. Once again the Prix Ars Electronica epitomizes where things stand in today’s culturally oriented media discourse.Festival Ars Electronica, Linz 31.8.–5.9.2006