In the unique setting of St. Ulrich’s Church, SILBERSALZ 2026 kicks off with five days of festivities centered on the theme “Ich, verbesserlich?”

The focus is on health in all its facets—and the question of the possibilities and limits of human optimization.

The festival opens with a powerful performance installation, SHRINK 01995, by the internationally acclaimed Belgian artist Lawrence Malstaf, who will be present in person. In two performances, people are suspended between transparent sheets and appear to float weightlessly within the church space. The body is visibly at the mercy of the situation; only breathing and the slightest movements reveal its vitality. In this way, SHRINK 01995 allows visitors to directly experience just how vulnerable and, at the same time, adaptable the human body is.

Let the festival begin!