21 May 2012

Call for Submissions: The Baltic Goes Digital

The Baltic Goes Digital is an open contest for artworks that utilize web-based, mobile or locative media to create a vision of an imaginary, non-existent 'Baltic City'.

The contest is organized by the Baltic Sea Cultural Centre in Gdansk and the Gdansk City Gallery as part of the international ART LINE project, which is co-financed with funds from the European Regional Development Fund operating within the South Baltic Cross-Border Cooperation Programme 2007-2013.

The contest is aimed at artists and people interested in its subject-matter – i.e. graphic artists, designers, architects, programmers – from the Baltic states (Poland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Russia).

TARGET GROUP:
The contest is open to artists and anyone interested in its subject matter (e.g. graphic artists, designers, architects, programmers, etc.) from the Baltic states – i.e. Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Poland, Germany and Denmark.
The teams need to be composed of a maximum of three people. In such a case, at least 1 member needs to be an artist.

WINNERS:
The authors of the 3 winning projects chosen by an international jury will be invited to cooperate with us and complete their works.
Each winning contestant will receive remuneration of EUR 1500 and a budget of EUR 1000 to realize the concept. The organizers will also cover the costs of accommodation and travel to Gdansk for the opening of the Fall 2012 exhibition .

The works will be presented in a virtual gallery, available on the Art Line project website until 2018 and as an exhibition in the Gdansk City Gallery (the Fall of 2012). The winning artworks will be also presented in partner art institutions or during public events.

DEADLINE:
The deadline for submitting applications for the contest is the 15th of June 2012.

JURY:
The winners shall be announced by an international jury composed of 5 experts.

THE GOAL OF THE CONTEST
The goal of the contest is to select three artistic projects that use locative, mobile or online media. They will be completed and presented in a virtual gallery on the ART LINE's website and in the Fall 2012 exhibition held at the Gdansk City Gallery.

THEMATIC APPROACH:
The theme of the contest involves the creation of an imaginary and utopian version of a 'Baltic City' – i.e. a town that no longer exists or does not exist yet. Obviously, the very idea of creating an utopian city is nothing new. History knows many urban planning and architectural designs that aimed to create the perfect municipal tapestry that would be ideal for its residents. What is new is the fact that the starting point of 'The Baltic Goes Digital' contest is s modern technique that supports unlimited urban visions. Taking advantage of the fact that the internet allows us to get to know the world, the Gdansk City Gallery together with the Baltic Sea Cultural Centre would like to invite artists to compose interactive spaces combining the cultural and urban aspects of cities located on the Baltic Sea. The digitally-generated cities can be both a combination of existing ones, expansions or improvements on them or an utopian vision of a single Baltic city that goes beyond our reality or remains parallel to it.
The Gdansk City Gallery and the Baltic Sea Cultural invite artists and teams whose projects explore and redefine the public space concept.
We ask whether the new digitalized public space offered by the internet can be used to create and communicate art. Can works of art that function in the internet arena or are widely accessible through our mobile phones be treated in the same way as a bronze sculpture in the main square of a city? What new public space opportunities are offered by these new technologies? The Gdansk City Gallery and the Baltic Sea Cultural would like to invite artists to submit projects that explore these issues and provide interesting answers.

PRINCIPLES OF PARTICIPATION

1. Applications should be sent to the following e-mail address: balticgoesdigital@nck.org.pl
or by mail to:
the Baltic Sea Cultural Centre
Korzenna 33/35, Gdansk, 81-851 Poland
please add the words 'The Baltic Goes Digital'

2. General principles of participation:
a. Applications shall only be accepted in the English language.
b. The strict deadline for filing applications shall be the 15th of June 2012. The date on the postal stamp (date of sending) shall be decisive for applications sent by mail or courier; the final deadline for applications sent by e-mail shall be the 15th of June 2012 at 23:59.
c. The costs of delivering the applications, including the costs of CDs/DVDs/pen drives sent with them, as well as any and all transportation fees shall be borne by the applicant. The applicant shall also be responsible for any and all customs fees payable outside Poland and obliged to comply with the customs regulations applicable to the transportation of mail.
d. The contest is open to individuals as well as teams (composed of a maximum of three). All the members of a team need to come from the countries indicated to in point 1.3 and at least one person needs to have an artistic CV. The application should also name one person who is responsible for the entire project.
e. Every contestant (or a team) can submit no more than two projects and each of the projects should be sent with a separate application form.
f. The full application shall consist of a completed application form and an attachment containing the project/prototype of work.
g. Any and all materials sent by mail (the form and attachments) need to be in an electronic form (CD / DVD-ROM, pen drive)
h. The project/prototype of work must be sent in a widely-used format (e.g. PDF, JPG, doc, mpeg4, mov, avi, wmv, etc.)
i. The materials and applications submitted shall not be returned.
j. Works that do not meet the aforementioned formal criteria shall not be admitted to the contest.

DURATION AND COURSE OF THE CONTEST:

1. Applications shall be accepted until the 15th of June 2012.
2. The jury will hold its deliberations in June 2012, after the applications have been accepted.
3. The results of the contest shall be published on the 9th of July 2012 at the latest on ART LINE's website at www.artline-southbaltic.eu, as well as on the organizers' websites at www.nck.org.pl and www.ggm.gda.pl. Moreover, the winners will be notified directly by e-mail.
4. The winners shall work on completing the selected projects between July and August 2012.
5. The exhibition in the Gdańsk City Gallery shall be held in the Fall of 2012.
6. The awarded projects shall be completed and presented in a virtual gallery available on ART LINE's website, as well as during the exhibition held in the Gdańsk City Gallery. The works could also be presented by partner institutions of the project at later dates.
7. The authors of the three projects chosen by an international jury composed of five experts shall be invited to complete them. The organizers shall conclude contracts with the winners for specific work connected to the completion of the selected projects, whose value shall be EUR 1500 (gross). In the case of a team, the amount shall be equally distributed among all the members.
8. Moreover, the organizers shall cover the costs of producing the winning works up to EUR 1000 gross.
9. The organizers shall cover the costs of the participants' travel and accommodation in Gdansk during the exhibition.

CONTEST REGULATIONS:
The regulations for the contest have been specified in the 'Baltic Goes Digital Contest Guidelines', which are available at www.artline-southbaltic.eu, www.nck.org.pl and www.ggm.gda.pl.

CONTACT:
Secretary of the Contest: Aleksandra Musielak
email: aleksandra.musielak@nck.org.pl