Presseinformation
donaufestival: Mad Hope Sound. Performance. Art. Film. Discourse May 1–3/8–10, 2026 | various locations in Krems In our present era of multiple crises, clinging to a “principle of hope” (Ernst Bloch) seems downright naive. One would have to be crazy to still believe in a better tomorrow or even a utopia in the face of authoritarian violence, ecological calamity, and fascist menaces. Mad Hope: It’s an unswerving passion for the promise of transformation, a scattered insurrection of ideas precisely where there is supposedly nothing left to hope for or to gain. Terry Eagleton calls this tenacious belief in change “hope without optimism.” “When the world is friction, lube isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity,” says electropunk icon Peaches, expressing the queer-feminist hope that reverberates in her new album No Lube So Rude. Jazz drummer Makaya McCraven named one of his earlier albums Universal Beings – a title that conveys his enduring desire for musical, intimate togetherness. Music as a collective experience between happiness and madness is also celebrated by the gothic folk quartet The New Eves, the hypereuphoric formation caroline, the polyrhythmic-driven noise artists of Selvhenter, the energetic young performers in the metal-heavy dance and concert piece out of hands by fABULEUS & Michiel Vandevelde, and the post-rock electronic trio Radian, who join forces with the performance company Liquid Loft for the first time. Alan Sparhawk, in turn, channels his grief over the death of his wife and musical partner – Mimi Parker, from their slowcore band Low – into heart-wrenching songs, one of which is titled “Not Broken.” Performance artist Julian Warner invokes psychiatrist and author Frantz Fanon in his piece Der Soldat (The Soldier), questioning the repercussions and legitimacy of anti-colonial violence. Oscillating between expressionlessness and slapstick, the different guises of repression also underpin Ligia Lewis’s performance deader than dead: a video documentation of the piece will be on display at Kunsthalle Krems. A congenial nihilism, coupled with a desire for enlightenment, characterizes the current work of musician and artist Chino Amobi, whose sound now falls somewhere between postrap and sacred minimalism. “I’ve waited all my life for you,” he sings in one song: Mad Hope – in spite of it all, still, time and again. Music, performance, art, film, and discourse. Under the guidance of artistic director Thomas Edlinger, donaufestival presents audacious aesthetics and vibes in current contemporary art. This year, a programme of around 50 events awaits the audience on two spring weekends (Friday to Sunday) at various locations in Krems. Early Bird weekend passes are already available. The first artists have been announced. The full programme will be online in early March. Venues: Festival Centre and Stadtsaal, Utzstraße 12 (festival centre); Klangraum Krems in the Minorite Church, Minoritenplatz 5; Dominikanerkirche/museumkrems, Körnermarkt 14; Kunstmeile Krems; and others, all: 3500 Krems a.d. Donau
www.donaufestival.at
PRESS PHOTOS: Artists (selection) Early Bird 2026: https://celum.noeku.at/pinaccess/pinaccess.do?pinCode=2026_DF_Jahresvorschau Atmosphere: https://celum.noeku.at/pinaccess/showpin.do?pinCode=AtmoDonaufestival
www.donaufestival.at
Nö Festival und Kino GmbH., Minoritenplatz 4, 3500 Krems an der Donau, Pressekontakt: Barbara Pluch, barbara.pluch@noe-festival.at; Tel: 0664 60499332 17.12.2026 Änderungen vorbehalten