NET:REALITY (call for proposals)

Net:Reality - A UK national touring exhibition of New Media artworks which simultaneously exist within networked and physical space.

Background:

20-21 is a contemporary visual arts centre, situated in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire. The centre comprises a former church built in the 1890s which has been extended on its south side to provide a cafe, retail area, education room and IT suite. The nave and chancel of the former church are now the main gallery. The centre opened in May 2001 and since this time, 20-21 has developed a reputation for producing high quality touring exhibitions.

Q Arts is a leading visual and digital arts development organisation based in Derby, with a core aim to create an innovative, challenging and socially engaged programme. Q Arts exhibits contemporary art, media, digital and lens-based work, seeking to promote and develop emerging fields of practice. The organisation also engages with new and existing audiences through a core integrated education, interpretation and commissioning programme.

In January of this year, these organisations secured funding from Arts Council England to develop a touring exhibition encompassing Internet and New Media work in conjunction with artist, Michael Takeo Magruder.

Concept:

Indicative of the advance of ubiquitous computing, technology is currently undergoing an evolutionary shift away from a personal experience towards an omnipresent framework, where design and form are increasingly characterised by device convergence and seamless integration into mainstream surroundings and situations.

Parallel to this development, there is an expanding group of New Media practitioners who are concerned with blending elements from networked and physical worlds, in order to reflect upon the perceived ‘void’ between the relational spaces of the data-driven Internet and the organic, physical presence and interaction of the viewer. Through the creation of mixed reality constructions, such artists are addressing the nature of the amorphous connections that bridge these disparate entities rather than their points of origin.

It is the examination of the ‘dot’ within net.art.

[excerpt from working text, Jessica Loseby and Michael Takeo Magruder, 2003]

Exhibition:

Net:Reality will exist in two distinct and interconnected strands; an exhibition of New Media artworks for the physical gallery space and a live online exhibition of Internet art. The physical and online formats of the work within the exhibition will be intrinsically linked and will reference one another in a variety of ways. There be a catalogue and CD Rom to accompany the physical touring exhibition and documentation of the Internet-based exhibition of the work will remain online for a minimum of three years.

Rather than having a ‘theme’ for the works, the media itself will unite the pieces within the exhibition. At present five participants have been selected; Glorious Ninth [Kate Southworth and Patrick Simons], Neil Jenkins, Jessica Loseby, Michael Takeo Magruder and Michael Szpakowski.

The exhibition will commence at 20-21 on Saturday 23 July 2005 and will run until Saturday 29 October 2005. It will then travel to Q-Arts [Derby], Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery and other venues in the UK.

Eligibility:

We are currently seeking a further two artists/artist groups to participate in this exhibition. Applicants must reside in the UK and demonstrate a high standard of practice in both Internet and physical space settings. Submissions from ‘emerging’ practitioners are encouraged.

Call for Artwork Proposals:

As the media itself is the unifying theme for the exhibition, proposed works may address any conceptual or aesthetic concerns. The artwork must be accessible both physically in a gallery environment and remotely via the Internet. These components of the artwork must be intrinsically linked, in which one element cannot exist without the other.

The physical form of the proposed artwork must be:
• modular/adaptable to generic gallery space. • constructed with professional, high quality equipment and materials. • robust and sustainable for the duration of the tour (min. 1 year - max. 2 years). • compliant with all UK health and safety requirements. • able to be set-up/maintained by gallery staff without the artist being present. • able to function on a shared, standard broadband connection (e.g. no static IP addresses and bandwidth must be shared with other artworks). • equipped with both G band wireless and 10/100 wired network facilities which can be used to connect to a host router/server for Internet access.

The Internet form for the artworks must:
• be cross platform (Windows 98/2000/XP and Mac 0S9/X). • be cross browser (IE, Firefox, etc.). • utilise free, easily installed plug-ins which are cross platform/browser.

Commissioning Fee:

The budget for each commission is 2,000, and must include:
• artist fee • all materials and equipment for the artwork (including any consumable items) • the delivery and set-up of the artwork at 20-21 • resolving major breakdowns or technical problems with the artwork during the exhibition tour

Submissions:

All applications must include:
• Artwork Proposal
• CV/Bio/Artist Statement
• Supporting Visual/Sonic Materials

Proposals must be submitted via email to Michael Takeo Magruder ([email protected] or [email protected]). Please send all writing as Word or plain/rich text attachments and supporting visual/sonic material as low-bandwidth attachments or URL links. For submission materials which cannot be sent electronically, please request posting instructions via email.

The deadline for submissions is 10/04/2005, all material received after this date will not be considered.

Timescale:

10/04/2005 Deadline for submissions
25/04/2005 Notification of successful applicants
11/07/2005 Delivery and installation of commissions (ending 18/07/2005)
23/07/2005 Exhibition opens at 20-21
12/11/2005 Exhibition opens at Q Arts