Teresa Retzer^DE/CH

Teresa Retzer is the Artistic Director of Mesh – Festival of Art and Technology, and a curator, writer and critic working at the intersection of art, technology and socio-political discourse. Under her direction, Mesh weaves together art, science, and technological innovation, critically examining narratives of progress while translating complex debates into publicly accessible and participatory formats. The festival advocates for infrastructures of care and collective democratic forms of urban coexistence.

Educated in art history, philosophy, and media theory across Vienna, Siena, Zurich, and Basel, Retzer's curatorial practice centers on live art spanning computational systems, performance, time-based media, and discursive formats that interrogate digital infrastructures and contemporary political conditions. She has served as Curator at ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe and Haus der Kunst Munich, organized the performance program of Manifesta 11 in Zurich, and developed international projects across Central and Eastern Europe.

Since 2017, her research has examined right-wing extremist subcultures in Germany, Europe, and the United States, integrating these findings into curatorial frameworks addressing democratic resilience and digital cultures. She has collaborated with Artists at Risk (AR), in partnership with the Goethe-Institut and the German Federal Foreign Office, supporting displaced artists from Afghanistan and Ukraine.

Retzer publishes regularly in international catalogues and magazines, and speaks on art, blockchain, decentralized systems, AI, and the politics of technology.