<nettime-ann> CAC OPENCALL | 2019 (Spring) RESEARCH&CREATION FELLOWSHIP

Chronus Art Center (CAC)

2019 (Spring) Research and Creation Fellowship

Call for Proposals

Title: Observer Mechanics: Interfacing Truth

Call Type: Fellowship (US$10,000)

Application Deadline: All applications must be submitted electronically by 23:59 (Beijing Time), Sunday, March 17th , 2019 via http://fellowship.chronusartcenter.org

Notification of Selection: Applicants will be informed about their application status by mid April 2019.

Fellowship Starts: May 2019 (start dates negotiable with reason).

< OVERVIEW >

This year Chronus Art Center (CAC) opens its Lab for the second 3-month research and creation fellowship. This program is designed to host one international artist and researcher of extraordinary talents in the area of new media art in order to conduct research and creation at Chronus Art Center (CAC), Shanghai. The 2018 Research and Creation Fellowship aims to foster global exchange while advancing the discourse and practice of new media art, and contribute to CAC's research and educational mission as well as the institution's future collection.

<Observer Mechanics: Interfacing Truth >

On the age of artificial intelligence (AI), the more complex mental layers rendered over the raw perception of the world are no longer exclusive human abilities. As AI emerges with its learning procedures it evermore displays human-like characteristics of a sort of cognition such as: the interpretation of reality, natural language processing, understanding of the visual landscape, among others.

Our common understanding of technological developments is that it mirrors natural evolution and therefore AI is the pinnacle of human creativity. Nonetheless, on their current capacity these AIs present all sort of errors and limitations. On one hand, we can easily argue that these are the result of an early state of development or limited hardware, but another possibility could be that these constraints are just a simple reflection of our own limited understanding of reality. In other words, we create and train these autonomous and intelligent systems to see and understand the world as we humans do and reject all of their glitches as mere technical malfunctioning, while another possibility could be that the errors themselves are part of the human-like acquired features of these machines, hence rendering existence in more dubious ways. This presents a fundamental problem if we consider the role these systems currently play in our lives, financial system, health industry, war, online-dating, social networking and autonomous vehicles among many other functions and applications.

Observer Mechanics: Interfacing Truth is a research and creation opportunity for artists working in and thinking of various fields of artificial intelligence such as: machine vision, natural language processing, cognitive computing, swarm intelligence, robotics, and any other forms of intelligent technological systems.

< ELIGIBILITY >

This fellowship is open to international artists and researchers of all nationalities.
Applicants should be able to use English as working language.
Applicants must not be currently enrolled in degree-granting academic programs, with the exception of PHD candidates who are aiming to develop technical work within the scope of the fellowship.
Applicants are expected to show demonstrable success in previous development of related projects at this scale.
Individuals and collectives are eligible to apply. In either case, please detail in your application how technical and creative responsibilities will be met.
Only proposals within the conceptual framework offered by MEDIATED REALITY: REVISED and which make strict use of the optical motion tracking system (described on the overview section of this document) will be considered for eligibility.

The selected Fellow will be expected to work at CAC's laboratory with the research and creation team on a range of activities including active contribution to the larger CAC community, collaborative partnership with other fellows, leading research initiatives, educational programs and public engagement, and developing current or future research areas for the organization. Projects, including prototypes, documentation, and work-in-progress, will be presented to the public at Chronus Art Center.

ABOUT <CAC_LAB>

<CAC_LAB> is a space dedicated to the inquiry of present-day matters regarding art, design, science, technology and their impact on global contemporary culture and society. Through artistic practice, technological tools and research methodology, we enable creative processes that result in works of art of high production and academic value. <CAC_LAB> is a space of flux which encourages artistic practice as a generator of new knowledge, a territory where art and science converge into a contemporary and experimental field of academic research; free from mainstream cultural thought, technological stress and economical diversions.

More info at: http://lab.chronusartcenter.org

CAC: http://www.chronusartcenter.org/en/research_creation/announcement/

Previous fellows: http://lab.chronusartcenter.org/fellowship/?lang=en

< FELLOWSHIP SUPPORT >

This Fellowship is a chance for international artists and researchers to engage and learn from the art, technological and entrepreneurial communities of Shanghai. The selected Fellow will be offered a total amount of USD$10,000 for a 3 month deep-immersion period; including artist fees, living expenses, and materials. In addition, our lab facilities and tools are available for the fellow's needs. These include but are not limited to: OPTITRACK motion capture system, Laser-cutter, 3D printer, band-saw, sander-belt, press drills, all sorts of hand tools, a variety of electronic components, Arduino, RaspberryPis, 2 Oculus Rift headset, Surface Mount Infrared soldering station, soldering irons and other prototyping tools.

For international Fellows, CAC is happy to provide necessary paperwork and advice to help expedite the process of securing his/her visa, travel and accommodation in Shanghai. All the expenses will be covered within the amount of the fellowship.

During the 3-month program, CAC will work closely with the selected Fellow to see his/her project realized and offer program support in developing work for performances, events, seminars, exhibitions, or other public and educational programming during the term of the Fellowship. CAC will also facilitate joint presentations alongside community partners, host conversations with the artists and display works in progress; revealing the creative process as it happens.

< APPLICATION GUIDELINE >

Please fill out the online application form and submit it with the necessary attachments via http://fellowship.chronusartcenter.org. No email submissions will be taken into account.

< EVALUATION CRITERIA >

Applications will be reviewed and the final decision, including interviews, will be made by CAC's International Advisory Board comprised of leading scholars, artists and museum professionals. Acceptance is based on quality and visionary potential, and most importantly, the potential of the project proposal to contribute to CAC_LAB's broader research scope.

Applicants are also expected to show demonstrable success in previous development of related work at this scale. Successful applicants will outline clear goals, milestones and time-lines.

Please send further inquiries to fellowship@chronusartcenter.org