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 2020
Eligible Countries: All
About the Award: STARTS is an initiative of the European Commission to foster alliances of technology and artistic practice. As part of this initiative, the STARTS Prize awards the most pioneering collaborations and results in the field of creativity and innovation at the crossings of science and technology with the arts. The STARTS Prize of the European Commission is launched by Ars Electronica, BOZAR and Waag.
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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.
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.
- The jury is looking forward to receiving submissions from a broad variety of fields and disciplines. Among others, projects from the areas of new media applications, human computer interaction, machine learning, biotechnology, art & science, green technologies, material research, smart cities and citizen empowerment, robotics, quantum technology and many more are very welcome to apply.
- For inspiration, have a look at our broad range of winners, honorary mentions and nominations of the past years
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 at the beginning of May, 2020. All STARTS Prize 2020 winners will be notified by Mid-June 2020 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.
Visit the Program Webpage for Details
