S+T+ARTS fellowships | Repairing the Present Open Call

Open international call for 21 artists fellowships at 12 Regional S+T+ARTS Centers from 11 different European countries, who have set out to address the unintended consequences of steadfast technological development contributing to the European continent’s present social, economic, and environmental challenges.

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. We believe this reconfiguration can only be done with the involvement of different perspectives and by tapping into artists’ potential to act as catalysts for change and actively contribute to innovation. We propose shifting the role of artists from that of observers and critics of societal contexts into that of active participants in the reimagination and building of possible futures. With Repairing the Present, we want to create the frameworks needed for this shift.

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.

We now call 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.

We seek 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 final aim is to develop thought-provoking artworks in the form of prototypes that seamlessly bridges between art and technology and propose solutions to a real-life issue that have both artistic and functional value.

Who can apply?

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.

Note that individual artists or collectives of individual artists from any country in the world are eligible provided that they can travel to Europe for the Repairing the Present programme and always provided that the Covid-19 situation allows it. See guidelines for full info.

Deadline: 21 November 2021 at 13:00 CEST

Fellowship: February 2022 – August 2022
Exhibiting & Impact Dissemination: September 2022- December 2022
Budget per challenge: €40.000
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).

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