CALL FOR ENTRIES: FILE 2026 (DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 19 2026)
key information
- Submission deadline: 19 February 2026 (free to enter).
- Exhibition dates: 18 August–11 October 2026.
- Venue: Centro Cultural FIESP, São Paulo.
- How many proposals: up to three projects per applicant, with works produced in the last three years (2024–2026).
FILE — the Electronic Language International Festival, has opened its 2026 call for projects, inviting artists, researchers, creators, educators, and developers to propose works and educational activities for the next edition in São Paulo. The programme is scheduled to run from 18 August to 11 October 2026 at Centro Cultural FIESP, with the organisers also noting the possibility of parallel initiatives in other Brazilian states. Submissions are open until February 19, 2026.
The 2026 edition formalises a structural shift that many media-art events have been moving toward more informally: FILE is reorganising its programme into multiple “axes” and sub-festivals, explicitly integrating artificial intelligence across categories rather than isolating it as a novelty sidebar
In the organisers’ language, this is not a change of theme but rather a change of evaluative method: applicants are asked to identify the conceptual and technical area most appropriate to their proposal at the moment of submission, so that works can be assessed in relation to the contexts in which they will be presented.
Robotic Art and AI,
Augmented and Virtual Reality,
Games and Digital Games with AI,
Digital Animation and AI,
Digital Cinema and AI,
Electronic Music and AI, LED Shows,
Digital Video and AI, and Digital Architecture and AI.
Applicants submit through FILE’s online form and are expected to provide accessible links to documentation (video in full, plus supporting materials), with technical riders requested for installation/performance/public-facing proposals. The general regulations also specify the submission window and conditions around completeness of entries. For practitioners used to art-world calls that bury practical constraints, FILE’s documentation is quite explicit about the infrastructural layer: it details exhibition timelines, documentation requirements, and even the LED façade context at Avenida Paulista, where the building itself becomes a display surface. To learn more, click the link below: