European Commission STARTS Prize (€20,000 plus funded to Award programs in Brussels and Amsterdam) 2018

Appointed by the European Commission, Ars Electronica, BOZAR and Waag Society are launching a prize to select the most pioneering collaborations and results in the field of creativity and innovation at the crossings of science and technology with the arts. This follows the launch of a new activity in the European Commission named STARTS: Innovation at the nexus of Science, Technology, and the ARTS.

Application Deadline: 2nd March 2018

Eligible Countries: All

To Be Taken At (Country): The winning projects will be presented at the Ars Electronica Festival in September 2018 in Linz, Austria, at the BOZAR Electronic Arts Festival in September/October 2018 in Brussels, Belgium, at Waag Society in Amsterdam, Netherlands and at various partners worldwide.

About the Award: Science, Technology and Arts (=STARTS) form a nexus with an extraordinarily high potential for creative innovation. And such innovation is considered to be precisely what’s called for if we’re to master the social, ecological and economic challenges that Europe will be facing in the near future. The role of artists thus is no longer seen to be just about propagating scientific and technological knowledge and skills among the general public but much more as a kind of catalyst that can inspire and trigger innovative processes. The artistic practice of creative exploration and experimental appropriation of new technologies has a wide reaching potential to contribute to the development of new products and new economic, social and business models. Accordingly, the STARTS Prize focuses on artistic works that influence or change the way we look at technology, and on innovative forms of collaboration between the ICT sector and the world of art and culture.

Considering the novelty of this award competition and the interdisciplinary approach, Ars Electronica is launching the STARTS Prize 2018 with a dual approach for submissions:

• Submission via open call: The STARTS Prize aims to showcase and celebrate visions and achievements at the interface between innovation and creation—driven by both science/technology and the Arts. The submission is open to all forms of artistic work and all types of technological and scientific research and development. Submission deadline is March 2nd, 2018.

• Recommendations through international advisors: 15 international advisors who have reputation and credibility in the field will recommend projects and help to encourage wider ranges of participants as well as a geographical and gender balance. These recommended projects will be contacted by the organizers and asked to submit their project via the submission platform. So the same process and deadlines will be applied as for the open submissions. The international advisors serve as facilitators to identify relevant works and projects during the submission process. However, they will not be part of the jury meeting and therefore will not have voting rights.

Type: Contest

Eligibility:

Who can enter?

• Artists / creative professionals or the researchers / companies involved from throughout the world; STARTS is not limited to citizens of EU-member states.

What can be submitted?

• groundbreaking collaborations and projects driven by both technology and the arts. Purely artistic or technologically driven projects are not the focus of this competition.
• all forms of artistic works and practices with a strong link to innovation in technology, business and/or society; furthermore, STARTS is not restricted to a particular genre such as media art and digital art.
• all types of technological and scientific research and development that has been inspired by art or involves artists as catalysts of novel thinking.

Selection Criteria: 

• Quality of the artistic research and its potential influence on technology
• Quality and success of the collaboration between art and technology
• Quality and intensity of the connection to innovation, education, social inclusion or sustainability
• General criteria such as aesthetics, originality, convincing concept, innovation and the technique and quality of the presentation

Number of Awards: 2

Value of Award: 

• Two prizes, each with €20,000 prize money, are offered to honor innovative projects at the intersection of science, technology and the arts: one for artistic exploration, and thus projects with the potential to influence or change the way technology is deployed, developed or perceived, and one for innovative collaboration between industry/technology and art/culture in ways that open up new paths for innovation.
• Grand Prize—Artistic Exploration
  Awarded for artistic exploration and art works where appropriation by the arts has a strong potential to influence or alter the use, deployment or perception of technology.
• Grand Prize—Innovative Collaboration
  Awarded for innovative collaboration between industry or technology and the arts that opens new pathways for innovation.

Duration of Program: The jury convenes on April 23th, 2018. All STARTS Prize 2018 winners will be notified by beginning of June 2018 at the latest.

How to Apply:

• A video documentary (approximately 3 minutes in length)
• Images (JPG, TIF, BMP, PNG) at the highest possible resolution; compressed files (such as .zip or .lzh files) are unacceptable.
• A clear, detailed description of the artistic concept, the form of interaction and technical implementation; since specific prerequisites have to be fulfilled for an onsite presentation to take place (e.g. in conjunction with the Ars Electronica Festival), the project’s specifications as to hardware & software and spatial requirements should be as detailed as possible. Moreover, the entrant must specify what he/she can provide on his/her own in order to stage such an onsite presentation, and what must necessarily be furnished by Ars Electronica Linz.
• A printable portrait photo and a biography of the artist
• At the entrant’s option, additional material such as images, documents and drawings (as PNG or PDF) can also be submitted.

 SUBMIT NOW!

Visit the Program Webpage for Details

Award Providers: European Commission