Call for Submissions: 2013 Subtle Technologies

What questions arise, now that creating life (once believed to be the role of immortal beings) is in the hands of modern science?

From Subtle Technologies:

• Location: Toronto, Canada
• Festival dates: June 8 & 9, 2013
• Submission deadline: February 25, 2013

“In 2013, Subtle Technologies will be holding its 16th Annual Festival in Toronto.

Our symposium, performances, workshops, screenings, exhibitions and networking sessions provide a forum to explore ideas and pose questions at the intersection of art, science and technology. Subtle Technologies is known internationally for presenting artists and scientists whose work is at the leading edge of their respective disciplines and creating a space for dialogue that will lead to future discussions and collaborations.

Our 2013 festival takes place on June 8th and 9th at various venues throughout Toronto. In 2013 we will be exploring the theme of Immortality. Through history, concepts of immortality have had an important place in virtually all spiritual and philosophical traditions. As we have with past festival themes, we will be exploring this year’s theme from a broad perspective bridging art, science and society. We encourage and welcome submissions that explore ideas of immortality that arise from outside the Western framework. There are a number of areas related to immortality that we would like to probe during this year’s festival.

The average life expectancy continues to climb in many parts of the world and there are those who believe we can and should push this threshold ever higher. While many see physical life extension as the route to immortality, there are others who believe immortality can be achieved by merely preserving an individual’s consciousness, through either biological or digital means. If consciousness could be digitally represented, could a person “live” forever in a virtual world? We want to look at the science behind life extension as well as the numerous philosophical, ethical, practical and social questions that arise. These sciences include the realms of cyborgs, life extension through pharmacological means, cryogenic preservation and ideas surrounding the collection of an individual’s connectome – the complete mapping and re-creation of a brain’s electrical structure…”

READ THE FULL CALL [web]
Subtle Technologies [web]

Open Call: ScienceInspiresArt 2012

14th annual, art-science, juried competition exhibition will be held at the New York Hall of Science from September 1, 2012 – February 3, 2013.

Deadline: June 17, 2012

From ASCI, Inc:

“We are seeking original art inspired by our biological world with a special interest in what lies beneath its surface, and/or reflects upon scientific research questions, processes, ethics, and the stunning discoveries being made in biology and the biosciences today.

For many 21st century artists, the Internet’s rich supply of public domain images of living organisms (animals, including humans and insects; plants, and even bacteria) has dramatically affected the degree to which biology inspires art. Powerful scientific imaging tools have opened a new aesthetic “window” on what previously could only be seen after a subject’s death and dissection. Additionally, our global “information super-highway” has revolutionized public access to scientific research data and to its researchers. The bold field of live bio-art is gaining practitioners as university labs open their doors to artistic investigations and experiments. More recently, scientific funding agencies are requiring that scientists share their current research in more publicly accessible and engaging ways, and this is creating a new avenue for artists to collaborate on visual projects and art-science exhibitions…”

READ FULL INTRODUCTION [web]
HOW TO APPLY [web]
ABOUT ASCI, Inc [web]

Nikon Small World and Nikon Small World in Motion Announce 2012 Call for Entries

The oldest and most respected competition of its kind, Nikon Small World celebrates the world’s best photomicrographers, who successfully find the intersection of art and science under the microscope by using a variety of sophisticated microscopy techniques.

Deadline: April 30, 2012

From MarketWatch:

“Nikon Instruments Inc. announced today that April 30th is the deadline for photomicrographers, scientists, artists, and the public to submit images for the 38th annual Nikon Small World competition, as well as the 2nd annual Nikon Small World in Motion contest.

The oldest and most respected competition of its kind, Nikon Small World celebrates the world’s best photomicrographers, who successfully find the intersection of art and science under the microscope by using a variety of sophisticated microscopy techniques.

Nikon Small World in Motion is a sister competition, exploring the exciting new trend in digital photomicrography of recording movies or digital time-lapse photography through the microscope. Movies are judged on the merit of being visually outstanding as well as depicting the intersection of science and art.

“Year after year, we prove that there is no better barometer for competitive scientific imaging than the Nikon Small World competition,” said Eric Flem, communications manager for Nikon Instruments Inc. “And with the incredible work we saw in our inaugural Nikon Small World in Motion contest, we are very excited to see how our entrants continue to raise the bar when it comes to imagery under the microscope.”

Entries for both images and movies will be judged by top industry experts and distinguished scientific media on a variety of criteria including originality, informational content, technical proficiency and visual impact. Entrants may use any brand of equipment to create their images…”

READ PRESS RELEASE [web]
Nikon Small World [web] [Twitter]
2011 Nikon Small World in Motion Winners [web]

Call for Entries – Art of the Small Exhibition & Competition

This open call is for work in virtually any media inspired by nanotechnology, nanobiotech, biotechnology, genomics, DNA, and genetics.

Deadline: March 17, 2012

“Artists are invited to participate in the Art of the Small Competition and Exhibition, to be held in conjunction with the Nanotech Commercialization Conference. The Conference will be hosted by the State of North Carolina Department of Commerce, the Center of Innovation for Nanobiotechnology (COIN), and the NanoBusiness Commercialization Association on April 4th and 5th, 2012, in Bay 7 at the American Tobacco Campus in downtown Durham, North Carolina.

This open call is for work in virtually any media inspired by nanotechnology, nanobiotech, biotechnology, genomics, DNA, and genetics. Winning artists in several categories will receive a cash award.

Art submissions will be on display all day on Wednesday, April 4th and Thursday, April 5th during the Nanotech Commercialization Conference. A VIP Reception and Awards Ceremony will be held on Wednesday April 4th from 5 to 7pm. All artists whose work has been selected for inclusion in the exhibition will be invited to attend.

A panel of expert judges drawn from the worlds of art, science, and science communication will select the winning entries. The art will be judged on three key criteria: depiction and representation of the theme, creativity of image representation and innovation in style or technique. A Best of Show ($1,000) and two Runner Up ($250 each) awards will be given. The winning artists will receive cash awards.

Following the Conference, images of the exhibition and works from the exhibition will appear in an online gallery supported by COIN for a period of 36 months. The work will also be reproduced on promotional materials related to the contest.

The show will be widely attended by local, regional, national and international cultural leaders, scientists, investors, government officials and others interested in the intersection of nanotechnology and creativity…”

READ FULL ANNOUNCEMENT [web]
Application Form [web]
Nanotech Commercialization Conference [web]

Call for Art – Artists for the Ocean, ASCI

Our immediate goal is to begin the online exhibition with a small, strong group of international artists whose work [in all media] can be beautifully documented online.

Deadline: Open

From ASCI:

“The mission of this project is to demonstrate how the arts can be an effective tool in raising public awareness about the critical state of our oceans, its role as the fabric of life on our planet, the plight of endangered marine life, as well as the “dance” of interdependency required to sustain its ecological balance… [or about the current imbalance and its affects]. The artwork should not didactically reference these ideas, but most likely will be inspired by some aspect of them and a desire for your aesthetic “voice” to be heard about one of the most important environmental topics of our time.

Our immediate goal is to begin the online exhibition with a small, strong group of international artists whose work [in all media] can be beautifully documented online. This “seed” group provides a way of inviting others to submit their work for consideration, and also inspiring artists to create new work, thus creating a cannonball effect. Growing over the years, we anticipate it will become a major online portal for this environmental [and humanitarian] cause.

Ideally along the way, the online exhibition will:
- become a physical exhibition
- inspire museums to select artists from the online exhibition for their shows
- stimulate science and art teachers/professors to share the artworks with their students for classroom discussion and student projects
- and hopefully, ASCI will produce a coffee-table book of selections from the online exhibition…”

READ FULL ANNOUNCEMENT [web]
About ASCI [web]

Call for Entries – PRIX ARS Electronica 2012

Since 1987, the Prix Ars Electronica has served as an interdisciplinary platform for everyone who uses the computer as a universal medium for implementing and designing their creative projects at the interface of art, technology and society.

Deadline: March 02, 2012

From ARS Electronica:

“The competition is organized by the Ars Electronica Linz GmbH and ORF’s Upper Austria Regional Studio in collaboration with the OK Center for Contemporary Art and the Brucknerhaus Linz, and the prizes are awarded during the Ars Electronica Festival each year. The Prix Ars Electronica is one of the most important awards for creativity and pioneering spirit in the field of digital media.

The event calls for entries in seven categories, including a youth competition. And since internationally renowned artists from over 70 countries also participate in the Prix Ars Electronica, it has established itself as a barometer for trends in contemporary media art.

The Prix Ars Electronica calls for entries and awards prizes in the following categories:

Computer Animation / Film / VFX
Interactive Art
Digital Musics & Sound Art
Hybrid Art
Digital Communities
u19–Create Your World
[the next idea] voestalpine Art and Technology Grant

READ FULL ANNOUNCEMENT [web]
Submission Information/Form [web]
Previous Winners [web]