Call for Residencies – ENTER Experimental Online Platform – Designing the Message of the Medium
Enter, Het Nieuwe Instituut’s new video conferencing platform, seeks its second artist in residence. Applications are open until 20 December 2021.
This past year saw a surfeit of digital interactions, spaces, and communication in our online worlds. Poor internet connections, unfriendly interfaces and privacy concerns are among the issues we face as users of online platforms. This open call seeks to question how an alternative digital space could look and feel.
In line with these issues, Enter asks you:
How would you redesign the tools, visual design and interactions of Enter, in order to create and alter intimate, human-focused online interaction in the platform? We call upon all thinkers and creators with experience in digital culture to apply!
Enter is a video conferencing platform for online and hybrid events in the cultural field, developed by Het Nieuwe Instituut. Enter combines ongoing experimental design and development with critical reflection on the implications of online platforms. There are many assumptions built into existing platforms such as Zoom and Facebook, without the possibility for users to appropriate any of these tools. The focus of Enter is on finding more human-centred ways to present online and hybrid cultural programming, addressing a range of use cases in the cultural field. The platform has been in development since April 2020 and currently hosts artist residencies, collaborative research projects, live streams, online event recordings and small group meetings.
For this online residency, you will be working with the Enter project team, all of whom have trained as artists and share an experimental approach to design. Together with our team, you will create an artwork as a separate ‘room’ in Enter, that will be available to an online audience for the duration of the exhibition Temporary House of Home. The work will also be premiered at an online Enter event on 24 February 2022, organised by Het Nieuwe Instituut. This residency is a chance for us all to experiment and together see how we can devise a new digital platform for communities and networks. If it ‘breaks’ or falls apart, we also see that as a worthwhile experiment.
There is no age limit for applicants. Individuals and collectives from all places of residence are invited to apply. Applications are open to all degree levels in all disciplines. Equal priority will be given to those without a degree or institutional affiliation who can also demonstrate a high level of creativity, critical thought and other potential in their respective fields.
To apply, please submit a single pdf (no larger than 10 MB) or a direct link to your application, presented in English, to [email protected].
Applications must be submitted by email no later than Monday, December 20, 2021, by 09:00 (CET).
For questions or general inquiries, please email Aileen Ye at [email protected] with subject line ‘Enter Open Call [your name]’
- Open to anywhere in the world
- Background experience/knowledge of digital culture (1-5 years)
- Portfolio – visual and/or written samples
- Self-chosen format (visual, written) in response to the questions, why you think your idea could be relevant (max. 3 minute video or A4 page).
Guidelines:
- A fixed stipend of €1,500 will be provided for the duration of the residency
- Applicants must be available 1-22 February
- Should be comfortable communicating within CET timezone (Central European Time) and meeting online twice a week (between Tuesday-Friday)
- Not necessary to have technical knowledge of web systems as you will be working closely with one of our developers to help realise your vision
- The work will be presented at Enter’s digital event after the residency on 24 February 2022
- Documentation of the residency’s development will be required by the participant (and may also be featured in Enter’s upcoming newsletter)
- The resident will have the freedom to change one ‘room’ on the platform
- This residency is entirely remote, therefore no travel arrangements or related costs will be facilitated.
Important Dates:
Submission deadline: 20 December, 9am (CEST)
Selection deadline: Mid-January, 2022
Start residency: 1 February 2022
End residency: 22 February 2022
Digital event showcase: February 24th, 2022
See Enter here (coffee room is openly accessible)