DIGITAL
ECONOMIES
LAB
A year-long exploration of the wonders and anguish of making art and culture in the 21st century!
Fall 2019 - Summer 2020
DEADLINE OCTOBER 10TH 2019
Leveraging the power of new technologies to foster artists prosperity!
There are more buzzwords than bees on the globe these days. Between algorithms and zettabytes there is a dizzying haze of technolanguage swarming the domains of art and culture, but we do not have to be overwhelmed!
At Artengine, we believe artists can and should be an important part of the digital transformation of society, not only helping us navigate the transformation of our contemporary lives, but leading the charge.
The Digital Economies Lab is a year-long exploration of the wonders and anguish of making art and culture in the 21st century. The lab focuses on new ways for artists, arts organizations, collectives and even old institutions to thrive among the tsunami of digital technologies overtaking our lives.
This lab poses the question:
How can artists
make a place for themselves
in the digital context of
Canada or the world itself?
There are many possible answers to this inquiry, opening up countless sub-questions, including:
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How might an artist might multiply themselves so they can get more done?
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How could you start a collective made up of more bots than people?
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How we might build more creative relationships with monetization?
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But perhaps most importantly, how we can get technology to help make artists’ lives a little less precarious?
We are looking for:
artists, creators, designers and cultural workers
to engage with us on these (and many more) complicated questions
about the state of work, remuneration and prosperity
in art and culture during
the age of algorithms and data.
What will this be like?
Beginning this Fall, members of the lab will come together for a series of workshops,and over the course of 8 months, work together to develop a series of early-stage prototypes. With the help of our communications partner HOLO Magazine we will circulate the prototypes online through the lab as together we push the ideas and concepts further.
During the program, participants will:
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learn about new ideas surrounding emerging technologies such as blockchain and machine learning
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talk, write, draw, etc. with members of the lab, thinking through concepts around what artists and cultural organizations need for prosperity in the 21st century
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elaborate through text, images, models, diagrams, video, code (or something else), on how these concepts might come to reality.
The DEL will bring together a diverse range of cultural practitioners to work together on new ideas about how digital technologies can build a better cultural landscape. We are looking for a broad range of cultural perspectives and creative practices to assemble at this table, and while technical knowledge is helpful, it is more important that you have a passionate position on the state of art and culture in the midst of the digital revolution and an openness to new ideas.
You may be based in Canada or the U.S. (some preference given to those in the Ottawa-Gatineau region).
You may be an artist, designer, creative technologist, cultural worker or all of them or something else.
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DEL Participants will receive a $5,000CN fee
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Workshop and mentorship by range of experts
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Access to Artengine facilities and production equipment for the duration of the lab
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Hotel, accommodation and per diem is provided by Artengine for those outside the Ottawa-Gatineau region
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You will commit to working in a team and being present at Artengine in Ottawa for a minimum of three multi-day workshop and development sessions.
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You will also work remotely in collaboration with the rest of the DEL team, including communications partner HOLO, on the production and dissemination of ideas and materials from the DEL.
