Open Call: Repairing the Present

To repair the present, the EU's economy must be transformed and adapted for the sustainable future we all want. The Regional S+T+ARTS Centers focus on a ​resource, urban​, ​ICT & ​art-driven​ transformation as the path towards reconfiguring the current social, cultural and economic landscape.

As a first step, each Regional S+T+ARTS Center has gathered a group of local experts and together defined 21 challenges in their localities. The 21 challenges have been informed by the EU Green Deal, the New European Bauhaus and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals to reflect pan-European or global issues that nonetheless, require a focus on local regions.

S+T+ARTS now calls for international artists to join in coming up with solutions to these challenges in 21 artist fellowships. The fellowships will encourage artists to critique the present, explore beyond its current limitations and reimagine sustainable futures.

It is seeked to have artists with a strong motivation to help change behaviours, reduce waste, fight climate change, improve energy efficiency or make cities and communities more sustainable - in essence, a motivation to challenge existing actions and propose more responsible and sustainable ones. Besides the motivation, artists should have proven experience working with technologies (with a focus on ICT technologies) and integrating them into their artistic practice.

The call is open to professional individual artists and collectives from any art-related field, excited and ready to collaborate with a network of experts and technology (ICT) professionals in addressing local challenges. Previous experience in collaboration with industrial companies and/or research institutions will be valued, but is not a condition for participation.

Throughout the fellowships, artists are expected to engage with regional issues, local communities and local expert groups to expand their role in society and integrate their artistic practice with the development process of innovative solutions. The goal of the proposals should be the development of a thought-provoking hybrid between an artwork and a prototype that seamlessly bridges between art and technology and proposes a solution with both functional and artistic value to a real-life issue. Furthermore, artists should aim to break the old dichotomies between autonomous and applied art and create space for novel approaches.

What is offered?

• Budget up to EUR 40.000 for artist fellowships to cover the artist fee and other fellowship-related costs (including but not limited to artwork/prototype production, transportation to joint Prototyping Park exhibitions, travel and accommodation expenses, insurance)
• Access to the regional fellowship host organisation and local expert group
• Access to the Europe-wide S+T+ARTS network
• Access to new technologies and R&D departments
• Participation in Prototyping Parks showcasing the outcomes of the fellowships at MAXXI Rome, ZKM Karlsruhe, as well as at regional locations of the Regional S+T+ARTS Centers upon selection
• Visibility through high impact communication activities to promote the artistic output and its innovation spillovers (including dissemination events foreseen from July-December 2022)

Fellowship will take place between February 2022 – August 2022. Exhibiting & impact dissemination is scheduled for September 2022- December 2022. The budget allocated per challenge is €40.000. The deadline for application is 21 November 2021 at 13:00 CET.

Regional S+T+ARTS Centres: Snowball (Coord., BE), MAXXI Museum (IT), Art Hub Copenhagen (DK), STATE (DE), Onassis Stegi (EL), In4Art (NL), MEET (IT), CCCB (ES), Ars Electronica (AT), SONY CSL Lab (FR), Kersnikova (SI), CYENS Centre of Excellence (CY).

For more information about the eligibility criteria, please read the Guide for Applicants and FAQs. Find more on the open call here and contact [email protected] for further questions.

Repairing the Present is a European project which has received funding from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology under grant agreement LC01641664.