The ZKM - Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologiea is a cultural institution founded in 1989 in Karlsruhe with the mission of advancing the classical arts into the digital age. It is located in a former ammunition factory converted into a museum space. The ZKM organizes temporary exhibitions and thematic events, conducts research on the effects of digitalization and globalization, and offers public educational programs. The ZKM is a place for all forms of contemporary art. Research, production and presentation embrace all forms and multimedia processes: from oil painting to apps, from classical composition to sampling. Exhibitions, publications and conferences open up new perspectives on topical issues and aim to define innovative and trendy themes.

Inside the ZKM there are two museum sections: the Media Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art. The first deals with the history and criticism of new media and how they have shaped our lives up to now, as significant interventions in social and individual life. The media museum also highlights the new relationship between man and work: many of these are created only through the actions and reactions of visitors: the person himself becomes part of the installation and can thus explore the use of new technologies. The contemporary art museum instead presents works from the second half of the twentieth century up to current positions in contemporary art.