Replacement and simulation 
in the early 21st century 

From the onset of World War I, German military replacement battalions became an active part of the conflict. Due to the intensity and gravity of the war, these substitute troops were urgently needed and stood in, massively, for the depleted forces and soldiers who were originally intended to fight. As the war dragged on and Germany faced a blockade from 1914 to 1919, thousands of substitute products - from groceries to industrial tools - were developed and sold across Europe to face the growing scarcity of the wartime economy. 

Ersatz has since become a common name to describe these replacement goods - services, brands, experiences, and situations. The German word literally means substitute or replacement.

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ERSATZ is our annual theme in 2024/2025. The project explores the creative potential of the ideas of replacement and simulation in contemporary societies.

We want to question the concept of authenticity in an age of endless mechanical and digital reproduction, biological simulation, distributed and chaotic identity formation.

Through a series of artworks, articles, open calls, curated exhibitions, online discussions, and community engagements, ERSATZ - Replacement and simulation in the early 21st century brings together artists, collectors and general audiences to engage with the often indistinguishable boundaries between the genuine and the artificial, and to provoke a deeper contemplation on the nature of reality itself in our increasingly complex and mediated geopolitical environment.