Open Call for collaborative artistic works for the exhibition “Mediterranean Bodies”, relating (public) space, body, digital arts and new media (Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon and France)

(ID)
The exhibition “Mediterranean bodies” is a parallel action of The Underwater Heart of the Mediterranean, an European cultural, educational and environmental project about the Mediterranean and the arts focusing on performance and new media.
(Theme/ Subject)

The exhibition departs from the relation between (public) space, body, senses and digital arts. We call upon emerging artists and young creatives to propose innovative art works, connecting the digital world with the body, within the public space (indoors/outdoors) focusing on interplay, meeting, dialogue, inspired by playful artistic gestures and dynamic interventions, leading to new conversations and revealing the other sides of the Mediterranean. As such, we are proposing to acknowledge senses as a distinct and a positive matter of creation and of communication and as exploration of space and the daily environment of Mediterranean, with digital technology and new media as instruments. We are looking for ideas that are extraordinary, surprising, playful, thought-provoking, subversive, celebratory and transformative.

(Artists)
o Twenty four artists from France, Greece, Cyprus and Lebanon (six from each country) will be selected to work in couples. The artists after being selected and matched by the curating team of the exhibition will work with their partners in distance, using online communication. Participants should be prepared to share their idea with an artistic partner of another country and to create a new single work together. The collaboration can be both on a material way or on a conceptual way.
o Artists and creative professionals of all fields are welcome to apply (performers, dancers, actors, musicians, sound artists, designers, painters, sculptors, new media artists, digital artists, internet artists, software and app developers, video artists, installation and technology artists, architects, social and community artists, writers, etc.). Artistic collectives, groups and artists with disabilities are strongly encouraged to participate. We encourage artists to engage with those less engaged, to empower those who are disempowered. Participants must be younger than 36 years old. They must have the center of their life in Greece, Cyprus, France or Lebanon.
o Via this open call, artists and creatives are invited to apply with an idea for a collaboration within the field of space and body, relevant to the Mediterranean society Performance, digital arts and new media will be the final form of the works, even though the artistic form of proposals can be wider, focusing on artistic interaction and exchange.
o The selection is supervised and realized by the curator of the exhibition, Geert Vermeire.

(Where/Venue)
Selected results of artistic collaborations will be presented in a series of exhibitions during 2016 in the above countries, with first venue Athens, Greece. Outcome of the collaborations, including as well performances (interactive with digital media), has an emphasis on unusual venues and locations of passage and transition, across the city. The exhibition venue will present twelve works, In the case of temporary or site specific works for public space, these will be shown as well in a documentary form (video/sound) during the exhibition.

(Budget)
o A modest production budget or another financial support for the artists may be offered but this can only be confirmed in a next phase, we do provide technical support during the exhibition, curatorial and artistic development, , next to an important media and public campaign.

(Goals/Expectations)
o The exhibition investigates and wants to stimulate connections and exchange between young artists and young creative professionals, living in Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, and France. Through creating an artistic Mediterranean network working on body and technology communication, we anticipate stimulating awareness, care and an incentive for public spaces reconsidering the cultural, political, economical dimensions of the Mediterranean.

(Application)
o Applying via an e-mail at [email protected] with the following attachments: 1. Short CV, 2. Portfolio or (web links to) sample(s) of your work, 3. Answers to the attached questions (pdf).

For any further questions please don’t hesitate to contact us at the e-mail above.
Deadline: 25th of October 2015.


Questionnaire:

1.Mediterranean Bodies, apart from an exhibition, is a dialogue among artists in
the Mediterranean. What do you think is the added value for you as an artist to participate to this creative network?
2.Describe your idea/inspiration as a starting point for a collaborative art work.
3.How do you expect the artistic collaboration develop during the creative process?