[artinfo] VIDA 9.0 - Art & Artificial Life International Competition

[Jose-Carlos Mariategui]

Art & Artificial Life International Competition
VIDA 9.0

20,000 euros in prizes
20,000 euros for new Iberoamerican productions


Submission entry dates: September 15th-October 16th, 2006. Deadline: October
16th, 2006.

http://www.telefonica.es/vida

VIDA 9.0 is the eighth edition of an international competition created to
reward excellence in artistic creativity in the fields of Artificial Life
and related disciplines.

We are looking for artistic projects that address the interaction between
“synthetic” and “organic” life, as well 
as innovative projects that further
develop the field of Artificial Life.

In previous years prizes have been awarded to projects that included
autonomous robots, avatars, recursive chaotic algorithms, knowbots, cellular
automata, computer viruses, virtual ecologies that evolve with user
participation, and works that highlight the social side of Artificial Life.
Applicants should refer to awards previously granted at VIDA’s web page
(http://www.telefonica.es/vida) to determine suitability of their project.

Some of the issues explored may include, but are not limited to:

- How autonomous agents shape and interpret our data-saturated environment.
- How artifacts (robotics, artificial intelligence, wetware, etc) challenge
pre-existing notions of what is “human”, “natural” and “alive”.
- How empathy is created between artificial entities and ourselves.
- The anthropomorphization of the datasphere and its inhabitants.
- How interactive systems may be designed to spark interest in emerging
phenomena involving Artificial Life.


Awards

There is a total of €20,000 in prizes for the three projects selected by  the
jury:

First prize: €10,000 (*)
Second prize: €7,000 (*)
Third prize: €3,000 (*)
Awarded projects may be exhibited in projects organized by the Fundación
Telefónica, related to new media art.


Submitted projects must be realized after September 2004. Each project must
be submitted as a 5-10-minute video with voice-over narration in either
English or Spanish describing the artistic concept and the technological
realization of the project presented. The jury's decision will be based
almost entirely on the video.

Participants must provide a VHS tape (PAL, NTSC or SECAM format) or DVD
(preferably region-free) for the jury. If the work is awarded a prize or an
honorary mention, you will be asked to provide a video of
professional-quality format (Dvcam, Betacam, U-Matic, MiniDV) for inclusion
in The Best of VIDA 9.0 DVD.

The competition is open to participants from all over the world; however,
each participant may present only one project.

To register, read the competition rules, complete and sign the application
form and submit it together with the tape to Fundación Telefónica in Madrid
before October 16th, 2006. Application material can also be delivered to
Fundación Telefónica headquarters in Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires,
Santiago de Chile and Lima. (Addresses included below).

For the video and the VIDA 9.0 web site, we also require the following in
either English or Spanish (printed and a copy on CD):

- A short biography (150-200 words) of the author(s).
- A description of the concept inspiring the project.
- Technical information about the project.
- One to three images (slides, photos or high-quality scans on CD or the
Internet).
- A transcription of the video narration.

The application form contains the information required on the material that
must be supplied to register for the competition.

Iberoamerican Production Prizes

VIDA 9.0 will help produce from 1 to 3 projects exploring Artificial Life
and related disciplines of artists residing in Iberoamerica (Spain, Portugal
and Latin America). With prize money totaling €20,000 (*), this category
includes prizes meeting the following criteria: relevant concept, proven
quality in previous works and evidence of the artist's ability to produce
the piece.

The prize is an incentive for production, not a subsidy to cover the total
expenses of a project. Consequently, value is placed on the participant's
capacity to secure the technical, financial and logistic infrastructure
needed to produce the piece.

Each project must be described in a document containing no more than 2,000
words. The text must include details of the concepts and techniques to be
used to develop the piece. Diagrams, sketches and any other material that
supports the proposal and help the jury understand how the piece works
should be included.

The competition is open to participants from anywhere in Latin America,
Spain or Portugal. Proposals may be sent in Spanish, Portuguese or English.
However, each participant may present only one project.

The winners are required to submit a video (DVD or VHS) with a voice-over
narration a year after being selected. The video should explain the results
of the production, the artistic concept and the technological realization.

To register, read the competition rules, complete and sign the application
form and send it to Fundación Telefónica before 16 October 2006. The
application form contains the information required to register for the
competition.

Jury

The works submitted will be examined by an international jury that will meet
in Madrid early November. The names of the prize-winners and the special
mentions will be announced Monday November 6th during a round table attended
by all the members of the jury. The jury's decision will be final.

Members of the jury:

Sally Jane Norman, France/New Zealand (Chairperson)
Jonah Brucker-Cohen, USA
Mónica Bello Bugallo, Spain
Daniel Canogar, Spain
José-Carlos Mariátegui, Peru
Nell Tenhaaf, Canada;

Video

If your work is awarded a prize or a special mention, you will be asked to
provide a tape in professional-quality format for inclusion in a DVD titled
The Best of VIDA 9.0, which will be broadcast on specialized programs, shown
at festivals and distributed to libraries and university around the world.

The purpose of the production of a top-quality video production is to
compile the winning artistic projects together in one volume in order to
publicize, and stimulate future creative explorations of artificial life.
The video will be published after the jury has selected the best works.
Authors will receive a free copy.

The video will be a non-profit venture and will not be for sale. The authors
whose works appear on the video will be clearly identified in the credits.
See the section titled RIGHTS for further information.

Submission entry dates: September 15th-October 16th, 2006. Deadline: October
16th, 2006.

November 2nd-5th, 2006: deliberation of the jury in Madrid.

November 6th, 2006: Announcement of winners.

For further information about the competition, please write to:

Angeles Perez-Muela: angeles.perezmuela at telefonica.es
Doubts regarding suitability of project or proposal should be addressed to:
(in English) Sally Jane Norman: s.j.norman at newcastle.ac.uk
(in Spanish) Daniel Canogar: daniel at danielcanogar.com