24 Dec 2010

2012 Open Call - Watermans New Media Exhibitions project

CALL FOR ENTRIES - 2012 PROJECT

To coincide with the Olympics in London in 2012, Watermans is pleased to announce a unique opportunity to present a series of groundbreaking installations exploring interactivity and participation in New Media and Digital Art. Much New Media / Digital Art is increasingly aimed at interaction with the audience and artists are continuously exploring new ways of viewer participation.

This year long project proposes to showcase the work of distinguished artists from all continents, including a British artist, with an interest in projects concerned with ways of participation, interactivity or collaboration and consider the use or importance of technologies in their work. With this we are hoping to initiate and enable a series of discussions around the meaning, possibilities and issues around human interaction and engagement in New Media art and bring in responses from artists, academics, students, art professionals and visitors in the UK and internationally.

OPEN CALL:
Artists and art collectives from all countries working with new media and digital technologies are invited to submit proposals of existing or new projects. Interested artists can propose to show more than one installation or projects and we will welcome applications from individuals, art collectives or collaborations between artists.

We would like to invite artists to propose imaginative, ambitious and inspirational projects that will transform our understanding of art and the way it can be experienced. We will particularly focus on installations with an emphasis on participatory activity (interaction with the audience) in order to engage visitors in a creative, exploratory and inspirational journey prior to and during the Games.

Please send your proposals including:
- work(s) description
- CV(s) and artist statement
- supporting material with description (jpgs, urls, videos etc)
- list of technical requirements, equipment, materials required for the proposed work(s)
- contact details

Budget
Each artist/art collective will receive a fixed fee of £3,500 to cover fees & project costs, installation and work transport. In addition, Watermans will cover travel and accommodation costs in London and will also provide technical assistance and exhibition promotion.

The deadline for receiving proposals is 24th February 2011.

Please send all application material to:

Irini Papadimitriou
Head of New Media Arts Development
Watermans
40 High Street
Brentford, London
TW8 0DS
UK
email: irini@watermans.org.uk

A judging panel will select the six projects which will be announced in March/April 2011. The exhibitions will run throughout 2012 (January - October) and the project will provide an opportunity for presenting a series of innovative and interactive digital/new media art installations never before staged in London. With this project we hope to engage and challenge artists and audiences in new and unexpected ways.

In conjunction with the exhibitions, and in partnership with Goldsmiths, University of London, we are planning to run a series of seminars related to the exhibitions, a mentoring scheme for students as well as generate online activity with a website dedicated to the project and the use of social media such as blogs, feeds etc to engage wider audiences in the project and enable critical debate. Online visitors will be able to follow the development of each exhibition as well as the artists' work from their studio on its way to the gallery in London. Information about the seminars and mentoring scheme will be announced soon.