A New Sonic Spatial Experience Unfolds in Austria’s Largest Cathedral: Sound xR Supports Japanese Artist evala's Immersive Sound Installation at Ars Electronica Festival 2026

At Ars Electronica Festival 2026, one of the world's leading festivals for media art, Japanese sound artist evala will unveil a new large-scale sound installation in Linz, Austria. Set within Mariendom, one of Austria's largest and most iconic cathedrals, the work will transform the historic architecture into an immersive sonic environment realised through the Yamaha Group's spatial audio solution, Sound xR.

Based in Linz, Ars Electronica is internationally renowned for exploring the intersection of art, technology and society. Alongside the prestigious Prix Ars Electronica, one of the world's longest-running and most respected awards in media art, the organisation presents the annual Ars Electronica Festival, bringing together leading artists, researchers and innovators from around the globe.

In 2025, evala became the first Japanese recipient of the Isao Tomita Special Prize at Prix Ars Electronica. At this year's festival, he will premiere Holy Echo, a new site-specific installation that occupies the vast interior of Mariendom, one of the festival's principal venues. Spanning a space approximately 134 metres high and 130 metres long, the work employs advanced spatial audio technology to compose with the cathedral itself as its medium. A place shaped by centuries of prayer and contemplation will be reimagined through sound, inviting visitors into a new perceptual experience that can be sensed not through sight, but through listening.

At the heart of the installation is Sound xR Image, a solution that enables sounds to be precisely positioned, moved and shaped throughout a three-dimensional space. By giving artists unprecedented freedom to sculpt sound within architecture, Sound xR helps bring creative visions into immersive reality. Its ambition to foster deeper connections between people, spaces and artistic expression strongly resonates with evala's ongoing exploration of sound as a catalyst for new forms of perception.

A world-renowned media art festival. A monumental cathedral. Contemporary Japanese sound art. Next-generation spatial audio technology. This project emerges from the convergence of all four. As sound reshapes architectural space and expands the boundaries of human perception, “Holy Echo” offers a compelling glimpse into the future possibilities of artistic and sonic expression.

evala is a Japanese sound artist and composer. At the core of his artistry is the project “See by Your Ears,” which presents new auditory experiences to awaken the inherent, dormant potential of human hearing. The practice centers on “spatial composition”: utilizing 3D sound systems that transcend existing formats, he composes and weaves sound within the site-specific resonances of each location, transforming environments into installations that melt sensory boundaries.

His work has been presented globally in diverse settings, including anechoic chambers, gardens, ruins, public spaces, museums, and theaters. For his visionary exploration of spatial sound art within a vision-centric world and his role in democratizing it, evala was awarded the Isao Tomita Special Prize at Prix Ars Electronica in 2025. He was further honored with the Ministry of Education’s Art Encouragement Prize in 2026, recognizing his pioneering contributions as a leading figure in contemporary sound art.

Major solo exhibitions include “evala: Emerging Site / Disappearing Sight” (NTT InterCommunication Center [ICC], 2024). He has also presented unique, invisible works at diverse venues worldwide, from the Site of Reversible Destiny – Yoro and the World Heritage site Yakushi-ji Temple to Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum, Towada Art Center, Sonar (Spain), SXSW (USA), Asia Culture Center (South Korea) and ENNOVA Art Museum (China).

The theme of Ars Electronica Festival 2026 is "Negotiating Humanity", exploring the fundamental question of how humanity may be redefined in the age of artificial intelligence through the perspectives of art, science and society.

Moving beyond its former central venue, POSTCITY, this year's festival places a greater emphasis on the Festival Walk, inviting visitors to experience Linz itself as a living cultural landscape. From evala's immersive spatial audio installation Holy Echo inside Mariendom to participatory dialogue projects in Hauptplatz, award-winning exhibitions at Lentos Art Museum, and programmes hosted across universities, schools, hospitals, monasteries and artist studios, the festival transforms the city into a network of encounters that blend technology, culture and civic engagement.

Experimental showcases celebrating the 30th anniversary of Ars Electronica Center will also be presented throughout the venue.

Sound xR is Yamaha Group's immersive audio platform and shared vision for the future of immersive experiences. By combining advanced sound image positioning and acoustic field enhancement technologies, Sound xR expands creative possibilities for artists and creators while supporting the delivery of immersive sonic experiences that transcend conventional listening environments.