Call for Athens Digital Arts Festival | digital pop

12^th Athens Digital Arts Festival | 19 - 22 May, 2016 - call for entries on the theme of Digital POP.

Through this call, the festival invites proposals to unravel the notion of Pop in the digital era.

Deadline for entries: 25 January 2016

ADAF 2016 explores the different aspects of Pop culture in the digital era, focusing on five strands:

Digital Aesthetics

We take a closer look at the visual language that digital technologies have brought to the forefront. Pixels, glitch, memes, user generated visual imagery and homemade videos have created new visual horizons.

Digital Technologies

Smart devices, computers, video game consoles, virtual & augmented reality, applications, drones, and even more technologies that have inspired artists to critically and playfully reflect on technological developments.

Digital Economies

Through digital economies we look into the world of digital markets where new digital currencies, such as bitcoin and practices, such as crowdfunding, have been created by artists, hackers, activists and users.

Digital Identities

With Digital identities we explore the multiple identities and subcultures that have taken shape through digital media. Avatars, YouTubers, the DIY community, pop icons, pop stars have generated new online communities that affect as well life off the net.

Digital Music

With reference to electronic music, we look into digital sound as it has been shaped and influenced by digital media of the past and the future.

Digital POP What is Pop in the digital era?

Over the last few years, we experience a culture of excess where on one hand the overabundance of information has generated a wave of passive consumption and on the other has allowed many previously unseen trends and voices to emerge. Today, Pop may be as well defined by likes, shares, tweets, views or followers showing in a way the power of the people to decide about trends and attitudes but also highlighting the ephemerality of it, as the culture around us is changing at high speed. In that sense, we might as well say that what is considered Pop in 2015 might be outdated in 2016 and so on.

Back in 1963, Andy Warhol said that “everybody should be a machine” and that “everybody should like everybody”. Acting like machines or liking things is almost typical behaviour and part of the everyday digital routine. Digital culture is omnipresent. It has changed our way of thinking. It has changed our habits and behaviours. The techno-culture that once was odd and distant is now part of most human activities from entertainment, lifestyle, business to art and politics.