Ars Independent Festival 2026
ABOUT THE COMPETITIONBlack Horse of Video Games is a yearly Polish exhibition and competition of independent games from all over the world, whose winners can win the Black Horse statuette and a cash prize.“This year, we are once again striving to offer unusual, subversive, and provocative titles. Last year was very fruitful in this regard, so it was with difficulty and a heavy heart that we selected the final six. On behalf of the entire selection team, we hope that you will find it just as difficult and painful to choose the winner.” - Magdalena Cielecka, exhibition curator. ABOUT FESTIVALArs Independent is a Polish multimedia and pop-culture festival dedicated to film, animation, music videos and video games. Its emblem is the Black Horse — a symbol of an unexpected winner, a reference to Eadweard Muybridge’s pioneering experiments with motion photography, an ironic response to the golden animals traditionally awarded at film festivals, and a nod to the mining heritage of Upper Silesia. Film screenings, video game exhibitions, concerts and live acts, meetings and discussions — Ars Independent is a festival with an open and interdisciplinary formula.The event is organized by the culture institution Katowice the City of Gardens and Silesia Film Institutionhttps://arsindependent.pl/?lang=en
ABOUT THE COMPETITION
Black Horse of Video Games is a yearly Polish exhibition and competition of independent games from all over the world, whose winners can win the Black Horse statuette and a cash prize.
“This year, we are once again striving to offer unusual, subversive, and provocative titles. Last year was very fruitful in this regard, so it was with difficulty and a heavy heart that we selected the final six. On behalf of the entire selection team, we hope that you will find it just as difficult and painful to choose the winner.” - Magdalena Cielecka, exhibition curator.
ABOUT FESTIVAL
Ars Independent is a Polish multimedia and pop-culture festival dedicated to film, animation, music videos and video games. Its emblem is the Black Horse — a symbol of an unexpected winner, a reference to Eadweard Muybridge’s pioneering experiments with motion photography, an ironic response to the golden animals traditionally awarded at film festivals, and a nod to the mining heritage of Upper Silesia. Film screenings, video game exhibitions, concerts and live acts, meetings and discussions — Ars Independent is a festival with an open and interdisciplinary formula.
The event is organized by the culture institution Katowice the City of Gardens and Silesia Film Institution
