Simply No

Currently the 27th installment of ars electronica is being held in Linz, Austria.
Following this year's motto "Simplicity" - I simply stayed home.
I concede, when I say the last exciting ars was back in 1990, I am being a bit arrogant. But it's true for myself.
I may have visited only about a third of the annual events since, but every single time a feeling of disappointment has accompanied me through the days.
It's not that I wouldn't have found exciting, outstanding works amidst the avalanche of media art unleashed - you'll find great art and artists at ars.
What spoils ars electronica for me, is the inevitable feeling of visiting a mainstreeam event as soon as you set your feet on Linzer soil.
Of course, the ars has always been a major event with loads of money and Austrian state TV ORF as one of the organizers, etc. - but the times have changed.
Today we have hordes of graduated media artists, electronic arts are nothing exotic in themselves.
Probably it's because of my weak physical condition, but on those occasions I visited the ars in the course of the last one and a half decades, walking all those miles through uninteresting bulls**t didn't really seem worth it.

If you haven't been at ars electronica yet, don't hesitate to visit in the future though, Linz _is_ a nice town, especially since the once notorious smog problem has improved notably.