[alife] Open Call for Entries: VIDA 15.0 Art and Artificial Life International Awards

[monica bello]

We are pleased to announce the launch of VIDA 15.0, Art and Artificial Life
International Awards. As we begin accepting submissions for this year’s
awards, we will be looking for artistic projects that offer innovative
perspectives on life by using the latest technology and cutting-edge
scientific knowledge.

VIDA the Art and Artificial Life International Awards begun in 1999 by
Fundación Telefónica, it was created with the mission of supporting
creative endeavors in this singular field by rewarding the pioneering
efforts of artists. At a time when the concept of life finds itself once
again in uncharted territory, a wide range of artistic initiatives attempt
to illustrate and explore this phenomenon, examining its impact on our
collective consciousness and how it affects the cultural, technological and
social mindset. Over the past decade, VIDA has welcomed a variety of
interdisciplinary projects that respond to this situation and brought them
together in a single forum. Using formal strategies that push the
boundaries between existing practices, these projects offer new
perspectives that force us to reconsider our pre-existing notions of life
and artificial life.

VIDA 15.0 supports excellence in artistic research into artificial life.
Projects that win a VIDA Award must be capable of expressing the complex
organization of life systems and the hybrid nature of life. The VIDA jury
will evaluate artistic projects that meet these criteria and, more
importantly, will select those projects that challenge our current
understanding and definition of life.

As in previous years, contestants are invited to submit proposals in one
(or both) of two categories:

CATEGORY “FINALISED PROJECTS”
In this category, Vida 15.0 rewards artistic artificial life projects
developed after the year 2011.

A total of 42,500 euros will be divided among the three winning projects
chosen by the jury:
First Prize: 18,000 euros;
Second Prize: 14,000 euros;
Third Prize: 8,000 euros.
Seven honorary mentions will also be awarded to projects chosen by the jury
from among the finalists.

In addition to the winners of the three main prizes, we will also choose
seven participants to receive honorable mentions and compete for the
special People’s Choice Award. Of these mentions, only the People’s Choice
Award is endowed with a cash prize, the amount of which will be 2,500
euros. The People’s Choice Award will go to the project that receives the
most votes from the public in the seven days immediately following the
announcement of the official award winners (on October 2013). Votes will be
cast electronically on the VIDA website and social networks.

CATEGORY “INCENTIVES FOR PRODUCTION"
In this category, Vida 15.0 helps to finance artistic artificial life
projects that have not yet been produced. It is reserved for artists who
are citizens or residents of any country in Latin America, Spain or
Portugal. This category is also endowed with 40,000 euros to be divided
among five selected projects.

VIDA 15.0 launches the Incentives I+D Prize with the aim of encouraging
innovation using the latest artificial life technologies.  Of the five
award-winning projects of the Incentives for Production category one will
receive additional support to assist with its technological development.
The awarded artist will receive assistance from experts on research,
development and innovation of Telefonica team in cutting-edge information
technologies. In addition to benefiting from regular advice and contact
online, the artist/s will also be invited to spend a maximum of one month
in Telefónica’s innovation department in Barcelona (Spain).

IMPORTANT DATES
Project submissions will be accepted from 23rd April to 31th July 2013.
All projects must be submitted before midnight (Central European Time) on
31th July 2013.

JURY
The projects submitted will be examined by an international jury comprising
the following members: Mónica Bello (Spain), Andreas Broeckmann (Germany),
Rejane Cantoni (Brazil), Martin Kaltenbrunner (Austria), Seiko Mikami
(Japan), Sally-Jane Norman (New Zealand/France), Nell Tenhaaf (Canada) and
Laura Fernández-Orgaz (Fundación Telefónica Responsible for de Art and
Technology Projects).

SUBMISSION
To submit your project for consideration, please read the COMPETITION RULES
carefully and complete the ONLINE REGISTRATION FORM posted on the Vida
website: www.fundacion.telefonica.com/vida

INFORMATION AND QUERIES
You can find the competition guidelines and the participation form at
http://www.fundacion.telefonica.com/vida
You may also contact us by sending an email to vida at telefonica.es


-- 
Mónica Bello
Artistic Director of VIDA
Art and Artificial Life International Awards