open call for the Round 2022/2023

15.05.2022

The AIR InSILo call for the round 2022/23 aims to meditate on the present state of technology. The task of the residence – which is a space, an entity, a future community that urges us to be aware of issues of consumption, energy, climate, and equality in a non-capitalist way – is to provide a proper environment that can maximally render the potential of the invited artists. But if we speak about technology, which strategy to choose? We focus on and put the clash of two approaches, degrowth and acceleration, in the centre of our discussion.
This time, we decided not to write a lengthy curatorial statement but rather to let the thoughts flow using the form of a dialogue that opens up the concepts in an accessible way. The full version of this text is published in the InSILo Mag. The reference sources are published on our Telegram channel.

The development of every single technology we use was spurred by weapon technology. War has, for a long time, seduced thinking as the most efficient way to speed up progress and eliminate all redundant. Let's assume that this type of thinking is profoundly wrong at its core. Avoiding libidinal drives of military complexes, we will focus on the left accelerationism that has proposed its way of thinking about technology as something that should serve society, not corporations. We focus our attention on the idea of the radical democratization of technology, on control of the society, not corporations, over technologies. But we see a significant problem in the generic division of accelerationism and degrowth, considering it narrow-minded to perceive accelerationism as speeding up, as identical mistakenly to perceive degrowth as slowing down. What if we perceive accelerationism as intensification? The most crucial proposal will be to point to the intensification of thinking. Whereas by 'slowing down' we could mean reconsideration of time and speed and purpose of labour, production and consumption.

For the AIR InSILo call, the term intensity starts to bridge several essential aspects and finally unwraps them to the state of playfulness: a condition of liberated mind containing action at its core, a clear drive, and strong potency, which to remain such has to be secured by a particular economic condition. Funny enough, the adepts of degrowth and acceleration have a consensus: commons, basic income and communal currencies have their general idea that the distribution of an economy's wealth must begin by ensuring that everyone has 'enough' to live with dignity.

We are looking for artistic and curatorial contributions :
– which work with, use, and critically discuss technology in an Anti-Promethean and anti-capitalist way, and in this sense, can bridge the gap between accelerationist and degrowth concepts.
– have the idea of intensity at their core, in its meaning of work devoted to sustenance, reproduction, relations and the creation of a proper umwelt for playfulness.
– which are based on or integrating awareness and care as a substantial part of artistic practice.
– which intensify thinking and slow down the speed and purpose of labour, production and consumption.
– which can disenchant economics and consider ecological, social, political, a.o. dimensions as a base of artistic practice.
– which can contribute to the sustainability of the residency by involving different levels of socio-technical innovation.
We want to continue rethinking the Umwelt for artistic production, withdrawn from the hindering and repressive frames of cognitive capitalism and commodification logic of the art market. On the level of the early development of the artist-run AIR InSilo, we keep its shape open to contributions, modification, and criticism, allowing the space to be useful, welcoming, and supportive for experimental thinking and practice; as well as to create a showcase, a template which can be used on different territories under different circumstances. We embrace projects on different stages of development in different media: media art, visual art, sound art, new media, science art, performance art, artistic research, and any possible and impossible hybrid incarnations of human and posthuman creativity.

GUIDELINES
• A proposal letter must match a curatorial statement's conceptual direction and envision. Extra consideration will be given to disarming creativity and irrestrainable experimentation.
• AIR InSILo pays big attention to the principles of inclusivity and diversity. There is no age limit, and our main focus is on late-emerging/ early mid-career artists, especially coming to the “critical” threshold – the age of 35 when institutional support is already fading.
• Special attention will be given to:
– Working mothers;
– Underrepresented artists;
– Artists from countries with minimum/ non-existing support for art and culture;
– LGBTQ+ representatives;
– Former short-list candidates.
Unfortunately, the residency is not equipped for wheel-chairs access and is not considered entirely safe for children under 3 y.o. But we would like to be as inclusive as possible. Don't hesitate to contact us to clarify the special conditions.

LONG-TERM RESIDENCE
• 6-week residence (September 15 - October 30, 2022, or
February 15 - March 30 2023) in AIR InSilo
Opportunity to choose from different forms of participation and involvement:
– be it an accomplished project which one wants to implement in the new space;
– be it an idea which demands a profound development;
– be it a pilot version one wants to test or modify according to the new circumstance;
• A honorarium of 975 Euros (regardless, individual or collective)
• Production costs up to 525 Euros
(regardless, individual or collective)
• Coverage of travel costs up to 600 Euros
(regardless, individual or collective)
• Coverage of transport costs up to 150 Euros
(regardless, individual or collective)
• Up to 3000 Euros to make necessary purchases for the workshops, labs or infrastructure (in total, discussed individually)
• The possibility to make a presentation/ public talk in one of our partnering institutions in Vienna or in Lower Austria (not obligatory/ discussed additionally in advance)
• Opportunity to stay with a partner and/or 1-2 children
(travel and per diem for the guests are not covered)
• Usage of the facilities and equipment provided by the AIR InSilo
• Featuring in the InSilo Magazine
• PR support by the digital means of AIR InSilo

MID-TERM RESIDENCE
• 3-week residence (November 9 - November 30 2022) in AIR InSilo
Opportunity to choose from different forms of participation and involvement:
– be it an accomplished project which one wants to implement in the new space;
– be it an idea which demands a profound development;
– be it a pilot version one wants to test or modify according to the new circumstance.
• A honorarium of 500 Euros (regardless, individual or collective)
• Production costs up to 525 Euros
(regardless, individual or collective)
• Coverage of travel costs up to 600 Euros
(regardless, individual or collective)
• Coverage of transport costs up to 75 Euros
(regardless, individual or collective)
• Up to 3000 Euros to make necessary purchases for the workshops, labs or infrastructure (in total, discussed individually)
• The possibility to make a presentation/ public talk in one of our partnering institutions in Vienna or in Lower Austria (not obligatory/ discussed additionally in advance)
• Opportunity to stay with a partner and/or 1-2 children
(travel and per diem for the guests are not covered)
• Usage of the facilities and equipment provided by the AIR InSilo

• Featuring in the InSilo Magazine
• PR support by the digital means of AIR InSilo

SHORT-TERM RESIDENCE
1-week residence (last week of August 2022/ last week of January 2023) in AIR InSilo
• Opportunity to choose from different forms of participation and involvement:
– be it an accomplished project which one wants to test or present;
– be it an idea which demands field research;
– be it a pile of drafts which need time and space for conceptualization;
– or a hypothesis which can turn into a bigger project in future.
• 30 Euros* per diem (210 Euros for 7 days)
• Coverage of the travel costs up to 100 Euros
• Opportunity to stay with a partner and/or 1-2 children (travel and per diem for the guests are not covered)
• Usage of the facilities and equipment provided by the AIR InSilo
• Featuring in the InSilo Magazine
• PR support by the digital means of AIR InSilo
Due to the short time of the residence, we do not demand any accomplished project to be presented in the end; on the contrary – we want to provide a calm and peaceful environment without pressure and working obligations.
Creativity is a process which should flow naturally.
We do not do visa support for the short-term residency;
If you travel via national borders, please mind the entrance and quarantine rules

SELECTION PROCESS
• The deadline for the open call is June 20. The shortlist selection will be made by July 10. After the first selections, the applicants will be contacted for further clarification. The final selection will be made by July 17
• All applicants will be notified of results no later than July 22

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
One can choose only a single time slot. The dates are fixed and cannot be discussed.
A submission proposal should be put in one PDF file (10 MB).
It should contain:
• A proposal letter with a conceptual direction and envision of a proposed open call topic. It should be submitted in two versions: short – up to 1000 characters and long – up to 4000 characters
• BIO – up to 1000 characters
• Portrait – b/w, vertical, 1500 px on a longer side
• CV – 2 pages maximum
• Portfolio of realised projects – up to 10 pages
• A presentation of the main proposal with illustrations, drafts, sketches, links, etc.
For IMAGES: artist name, artwork title, year, medium, dimensions, additional description. For VIDEO/AUDIO: URL links for video and time-based work. Vimeo is better for video. Soundcloud is preferred for audio + password, artist name, artwork title, year, duration, and additional description.
The working language of the Residency is English. Additionally, we communicate in German and Russian.
A solidarity fee should be paid before filling in the form.

DISCLAIMER
We do not demand the project to be accomplished or presented in the end; on the contrary – we want artists, curators and researchers to focus on the process in a calm and peaceful environment using the velocity one finds comfortable and fruitful. But we are seeking deliberate proposals and inspiring ideas.

SOLIDARITY FEE
This time, we decided to implement a solidarity fee of 7 Euros. This fee is eligible ONLY for long-term and mid-term residencies and for those who live in an Industrial country (according to UN Development Program Report). All the funds will be donated to the Emergency Program of AIR InSILo. One should pay the fee before filling in the form (via PayPal)