GAMESCENES

CALL FOR ARTWORKS: HOPS AHEAD: THE ART OF ALTERNATE HISTORIES, PRESENTS, AND FUTURES (DEADLINE: JULY 31 2022)

The International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling (ICIDS) has released the 2022 Art Exhibition's call for work.

It's available here.

This year's curators are Clara Fernández-Vara and Nick Montfort, and the deadline is July 31.

This year's theme is "Hops Ahead: The Art of Alternate Histories, Presents, and Futures." It is inspired by the 60th anniversary of Julio Cortázar's novel Rayuela (in English, Hopscotch), which connected a well-known game with the novel in February 1963, inviting readers to encounter the text in more than one order. We welcome submissions that explore the potential of interactive narrative to envision alternate and future realities in the following themes

• Alternate histories, presents, and futures
•  Social connection and disconnection
• Cultural universals and differences
• Working across languages
• Playful words and languages

Artworks are welcome in (at least) the following forms and formats:

• Browser-based interactive digital art
• Electronic literature
• Parser-based interactive fiction
• Narrative-driven games
• Twine games/"Twines"
• Visual novels
• HTML5 narratives / games
• Bitsy games
• Art installations
• AR, VR, and XR works

 

LINK: Hops Ahead: The Art of Alternate Histories, Presents, and Futures

TOOL & EVENT: GAME ARTS CURATORS KIT

The mighty members of the Game Arts International Assembly have just released the Game Arts Curators Kit, which Ma. Luján Oulton describes as

"a statement of purpose and consultation for curators, producers and institutions that are either working with video games or want to get into the field. Over 25 writers and editors have worked together sharing our experiences of exhibiting games, spanning the practical to the political, the ethical to the esthetic. The Game Arts Curator Kit will have a printed version produced and published by VGAReader and it will also be available in the wiki form open to the community. 

For those interested in knowing more about the project there will be a round table on its creation as a part of Society of Literature, Science and Arts 2021 on October 1st 2021." (Ma. Luján Oulton)

More info about the project can be found here.

LINK: Game Arts Curators Kit

LINK: GAIA 2021

CFA: M.A. IN EXPERIMENTAL GAME CULTURES (VIENNA, AUSTRIA, DEADLINE: JULY 30 2021)

Application deadline: July 30, 2021

Experimental Game Cultures

Academic degree: MA (Master of Arts)

Credits: 120 ECTS

Duration: 4 years

Language: Englisch und Deutsch/English and German

University of Applied Arts Vienna
Oskar-Kokoschka-Platz 2
1010 Vienna
Austria

T +43 1 711332160
[email protected]

The University of Applied Arts Vienna is introducing a groundbreaking Masters Progam in Experimental Game Cultures

which aims at critical reflection of the societal impact of games while at the same time applying it to the prototypical development of innovative game concepts and approaches. Therefore, the central aspect of the studies is formed by the development of innovative game concepts beyond the commercial game industry in interconnection with the critical reflection of games in their various historical, societal, and social contexts.

Research areas of the study programme are, among others, the use of games as an instrument for a better understanding of social, economic, and political interrelations and for a democratic shaping of their future (serious games, critical games, educational games, etc.).

The M.A. in Experimental Game Culture swill start in the Winter semester 2021/22 and offered at the Institute for Art and Society. It is lead by the legendary Margarete Jahrmann who said in a statement that

For me, artistic play is the experimental testing and subjective experience of alternative possibilities of the world and agency. Play as a participatory process can show us ways to positive change, new forms of future society, politics, and empathic coexistence. Through the conscious breaking of rules, the transformation of rule systems, the acceptance of ambiguity as a quality in play, a new understanding for the global challenges of our time can emerge. Our way there is the game!

Applicants are invited to develop/describe a project on of the following topics:

• game changer concepts,
• queer and non-colonial game mechanics,
• dark patterns of game design,
• body and game fashion,
• games for non-humans,
• games and nature.

Written applications can be submitted between July 1 to 30, 2021 via application.uni-ak.ac.at.

How to apply

Check out the available courses

LINK: Experimental Game Cultures

LINK: Margarete Jahrmann

PROGRAM: "WORLD AT PLAY" SUMMER SCHOOL (JUNE 21-26 2021, ONLINE)

Press release:

The WORLD AT PLAY summer school is a part of a Voluptas research project into the intersection between game design, architecture and ludic pedagogy.

“And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done”

(Bible, Genesis 2:2-3, New King James Version)

This summer school proposes the makings of a new cosmogony: the creation of a playable world in one week. Then we rest.

A limited number of students from different backgrounds (architecture, game design, programming, art, philosophy) will come together to build the genesis of a playable digital world. The elemental ingredients of this world will be provided by the architecture projects produced by the Voluptas design studio: their spaces, mechanics, images and desires.

For one week, the team will evolve towards the common goal by drawing from their specific strengths and individual learning backgrounds, tutored by Pippin Barr, Andri Gerber  and Francisco Moura Veiga.

Starting with a first day of theoretical input by the Voluptas chair,  Tracy Fullerton, Bob Sumner, Emily Short, and Stefano Gualeni students will gain an overview of the week‘s processes and the end goal. the week will continue with a series of daily exercises and discussions with the tutors feeding into the creation of the world. On the last day, the playable world will be presented to a group of architects, game designers, and artists.

Send your applications (a short portfolio and letter of motivation of maximum 4 MB) to Francisco Moura Veiga at [email protected].

Voluptas
Voluptas is the euphoric daughter of its time—the intoxicating offspring of measure and spirit. Amending the millenary Vitruvian ordinances of firmitas, utilitas and venustas, Voluptas initiates a transversal investigation on contemporary issues and sets combinatory dynamics as the channel of proliferating singularities. Its looping trajectory toward a saturation of problem settings aims at the empirical emanation of an alternative view of the urban condition. Enforcing desire as its prevalent agent, Voluptas is the elegiac display of residual energy.

It is the Charbonnet/Heiz design chair at the D-ARCH of the ETH Zurich.

LINK: WORLD AT PLAY

CALL FOR ARTWORKS: PUBLIC ART CALIFORNIA COLLECTION

Dyson & Womack, public art curators, are working with the State of California to select artists and artworks to be included in the Digital Art Call for Entries for the Public Art CA collection. Public Art CA is a contemporary art collection commissioned for the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) and the California Health and Human Services (CHHS) new buildings in downtown Sacramento. The call centers digital artworks on a 32.5ft high 24ft wide digital display within the CNRA building. This opportunity embraces a contemporary and accessible concept of what public art is, who makes it, and for whom it is for. Dyson & Womack is seeking to commission artists and artworks that consider experimentation, innovation, and inclusion as central components of creation.

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Press release:

Interested in creating your own public art showcase of digital media or working with Dyson & Womack? We are available for new projects now. Contact us with any questions or if you would like any additional information on our services. 

Digital media artists, Dyson & Womack are accepting submissions for the Public Art CA digital media call for entries. Submit your ideas for new or existing digital artworks to join our latest public art collection for the State of California. Have a question or just want to learn more? Join one of our upcoming online artist information sessions for more info on how to apply. Artists working across all forms of digital media are welcome to apply - link @dysonwomack. 

Video still, artwork by Allison Janae Hamilton @allisonjanaehamilton

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Los artistas de medios digitales, Dyson & Womack están aceptando presentaciones para la participación en la convocatoria de medios digitales de Public Art CA. Envíe sus ideas para obras de arte digitales nuevas o existentes para ser parte de nuestra última colección de arte público para el estado de California. ¿Tiene alguna pregunta o simplemente desea obtener más información? Únase a una de nuestras próximas sesiones de información para artistas en línea para obtener más información sobre cómo aplicar. Artistas que trabajan en todas formas de medios digitales estan bienveinidos a aplicar. Enlace @dysonwomack.

Official Tags and Hashtags: @dysonwomack @calartscouncil #publicartca #dysonwomack 

Video still, artwork by Eve-Lauryn LaFountain @songsoffilm

For more information, deadlines, formats and more, check the attached PDF: CNRA_Media Wall_RFP

CALL FOR ARTWORKS: DAVID BLANDY'S THE FIELDS OF ALGORITHMS (DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER 1 2020)

Open Call: The Fields of Algorithms by David Blandy

For poetic machinima lasting exactly one minute.

Send in your One Minute video!
Deadline 1 September 2020
theoneminutes.org/participate

David Blandy is an artist working with pop-cultural spaces such as video games, tabletop RPGs and Twitch streams. He lives in these worlds to think about the stories that create our sense of self, and how these spaces can propose different models for collectivity, either in their narratives or in the cultures that surround them.

The One Minutes Foundation produces and distributes one-minute videos from an artistic point of view, offering an international stage for people to create, engage and connect. The One Minutes is active at the forefront of international contemporary art, as well as in education and welfare. And has exhibited amongst others at Power Station of Art (CN), National Gallery of Iceland in Reykjavík (IS) and Whitney Museum of American Art in New York (USA). Every two months, The One Minutes Foundation puts out a new series of 60-second films that investigate how we perceive and engage with moving image. Museums and cultural organisations around the world subscribe to the series.

LINK: The Fields of Algorithms 

CFP: MACHINIMA, THE STATE OF THE ART (DEADLINE: APRIL 15 2020)

The 2020 edition of the MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL will be followed by the release of a printed bilingual (English and Italian) publication later this year featuring critical contributions on the state of machinima. The book/catalog will be edited by Matteo Bittanti and Gemma Fantacci. Contributors do not necessarily need to be addressing the machinima featured at the Festival. Scholars, critics, artists, and curators are invited to submit an extended abstract (between 500-1000 words excluding references) or full papers to [email protected] either in English or Italian.

Timeline:

April 15, 2020 Abstract submission deadline (full papers are also accepted);

May 15, 2020: Notification of acceptance/rejection sent to authors;

July 1, 2020: Full paper submission deadline;

Sept 1, 2020: Review deadline;

Oct 1, 2020: Deadline for edited papers.

Possible topics include:

• Vernacular machinima vs. avantgarde machinima
• Exhibition & screening of machinima
• Art historical perspectives on machinima
• Machinima and remix/mash up culture
• Recording and sharing of in-game performances
• The evolution of in-game video editors
• Critical analysis of an artist's oeuvre/work
• Innovative online distribution platforms
• The changing audiences of machinima

Inquiries may be directed to [email protected]

 

LINK: MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL

OPEN CALL: NOW PLAY THIS 2020 (DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 3 2020)

Now Play This 2020 – Open Call

Now Play This is returning to Somerset House in London from April 3rd – 5th as part of London Games Festival. Ahead of this year’s festival we’re once again opening up a call for playful makers and creators to tell us about their work.

The submission deadline for the open call will be midnight, 3rd February.

As a festival of experimental games and playful media we welcome the submission of games, installations, workshops, photography, films, performances or works in other mediums that directly connect to the subject of play. You can view festival line-ups from previous years here which will help provide an insight into the range of works we have showcased previously. 

The theme for the festival this year is ‘breaking point’. We are looking for works which break or subvert rules or systems. 

This might include games or works which… 

– subvert, disassemble or break real world systems
– hack, remake, remix, modify existing games or works
– that foster creation through destruction or subversion 

We are open to other interpretations of the theme, but do ask that you demonstrate clearly how work submitted connects to it. 

To submit works please complete the open call form here.

If you have accessibility concerns regarding the form or the deadline please email [email protected]. 

Additional information: 

• We strongly welcome submissions from marginalised and underrepresented creatives within games and playful media. 
• The festival pays a £75 honorarium for exhibited works and provides all hardware required for display (where applicable). We can also cover any additional expenses required to showcase work. 
• Creators are not required to attend the festival for their work to be exhibited. If a work is dependent on your presence to be shown, e.g. a performance, then we will cover travel and accommodation expenses. 
• We will respond to all submissions by late February. Due to the volume of submissions we receive we sadly cannot provide individual feedback. 

If you have any other queries, comments or feedback then please email [email protected] 

LINK: NOW PLAY THIS

OPEN CALL: EXPLORER AWARD AT A MAZE. THE INTERNATIONAL GAMES & PLAYFUL MEDIA FESTIVAL (JAN 1 - FEB 2 2020)

 

Heads up! A MAZE. just launched a call for submission which may be of interest to you all:

 

Ok. First of all, you probably already know that A MAZE. 9th International Games and Playful Media Festival takes place in Berlin from April 22-25, 2020, in Berlin, Germany.

 

Now, the organizers are looking for creative, playful works, and crazy experiments located at the intersection of gaming, video art, and performance that could to compete in the Explorer Award category. Machinima perfectly fits this description, for instance. But also installations, interactive experiences, VR or in-game photography... You name it.

 

Full description below:

Explorer Award

"Go, where nobody has gone before! This is the award for all forms of experiences beyond the boundaries of contemporary ways to play or develop games. Here, we are exploring alternative controllers, interactive installations, creative coding experiments, robotics and tech performances, as well as interdisciplinary teams, collaborations with science, makers, engineers, researchers, theater and writers."

 

The submission fee is 30€ and even if artists don't get nominated, they will receive a 25% discount on the festival ticket and will be asked first for spots in the Open Screens program of the exhibition, so that everyone has the chance to exhibit. Every entry will be visible on the website too. It is also possible to register as Selection Committee to review the submitted works - Here a 25% discount is given out as well, for everybody who reviews 5 or more entries.

Read more about this category by clicking the link below.

 

LINK: EXPLORER AWARD at A MAZE.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: VECTOR FESTIVAL 2020 (DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 1 2020)

VECTOR FESTIVAL 2020: AFTER GAMIFICATION

TORONTO, ON | JULY 16-19, 2020

OPEN CALL FOR ARTWORKS AND CURATORIAL PROPOSALS 

Vector Festival is an annual media arts event dedicated to showcasing experimental art works that engage critically with digital technologies.
The festival is proudly participatory and community-oriented. Hosted by InterAccess and co-curated by Katie Micak and Martin Zeilinger, Vector Festival takes place at arts venues and in public spaces across the City of Toronto.

Since its inception, Vector Festival has been innovative in its inclusion of game-based digital art alongside other new media disciplines. Continuing this focus for the 2020 edition, the festival’s curators pose a deceptively simple question: what comes after gamification?

Now that game culture and game technologies have become so pervasive in popular culture, how do experimental media artists respond critically to the rampant gamifying of everyday life? From online social interaction to digital finance, from education to military conflict, from politics and environmental issues to the ways in which humans (and machines) express themselves creatively, what comes after gamification?

The Festival will take place between July 16-19, 2020, with the flagship exhibition extended until August 22, 2020.

Please note that Vector Festival does not charge submission fees to artists applying to participate.

All artists and curators selected for participation will receive fees in accordance with the up-to-date CARFAC Fee schedule, as well as support to apply for external funding.

We invite art submissions of digital – and post-digital – works for the following festival categories:

Flagship Exhibition
Digital and post-digital art works including interactive installations, experimental game mods, sculptural work, screen-based work, sound art, etc.

Online Projects
Web-based projects and digital artworks that can be presented online, including experimental interactive and time-based digital projects.

Festival Screening
Experimental film/video/machinima works.

Performance
Performance-based proposals including chiptune, sound art, live coding, A/V performances, and telematic performances for virtual and public spaces.

Site-Specific Outdoor Screening
To be presented on two large-scale (4.88 x 8.64 m) outdoor LED screens for a public audience of all ages.

GIFs
Animated GIFs intended for presentation on public screens across Toronto.

Curatorial Submissions
This year, we also invite curators/curatorial collectives to submit proposals for machinima screenings (on a theme of your choosing). If you are considering a curatorial submission, we encourage you to contact the Vector Festival team for additional practical details.

Deadline: February 01, 2020

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Please submit the following details using our online application form:

• Project description (approximately 300 words)
• Documentation (maximum of five images, and/or link to audio/video documentation)
• Description of technical requirements (please outline materials provided by the artist and materials required from the exhibiting venue)
• Artist biography (approximately 100 words)
• Please indicate if your work has a thematic, conceptual, or historical connection to Toronto, or if you have a biographic connection to the Greater Toronto Area
• Current CV

If you have questions about submitting your application please contact [email protected].

About Vector Festival
Vector Festival is a participatory and community-oriented initiative dedicated to showcasing experimental media art practice. Presenting works across a dynamic range of exhibitions, screenings, performances, lectures, and workshops, Vector Festival acts as a critical bridge between emergent digital platforms and new media art practice. Vector Festival was founded in 2013 as the “Vector Game Art & New Media Festival” by an independent group of artists and curators: Skot Deeming, Clint Enns, Christine Kim, and Katie Micak, who were later joined by Diana Poulsen and Martin Zeilinger. In 2015 Vector Festival announced that longtime presenting partner, InterAccess, would be taking over responsibility for the festival as part of its regular programming.

About InterAccess
Founded in 1983, InterAccess is a non-profit gallery, educational facility, production studio, and festival dedicated to emerging practices in art and technology. Our programs support art forms that integrate technology, fostering and supporting the full cycle of art and artistic practice through education, production, and exhibition. InterAccess is regarded as a preeminent Canadian arts and technology centre.

For more information contact:
Festival Curators, Katie Micak and Martin Zeilinger
[email protected]

Follow us for updates!
facebook.com/VectorFestivalTO
twitter.com/VectorFestival
instagram.com/interaccessto

LINK: VECTOR FESTIVAL