We are pleased to announce the launch of VIDA 15.0, Art and Artificial Life International Awards. As we begin accepting submissions for this year’s awards, we will be looking for artistic projects that offer innovative perspectives on life by using the latest technology and cutting-edge scientific knowledge.

VIDA the Art and Artificial Life International Awards begun in 1999 by Fundación Telefónica, it was created with the mission of supporting creative endeavors in this singular field by rewarding the pioneering efforts of artists. At a time when the concept of life finds itself once again in uncharted territory, a wide range of artistic initiatives attempt to illustrate and explore this phenomenon, examining its impact on our collective consciousness and how it affects the cultural, technological and social mindset. Over the past decade, VIDA has welcomed a variety of interdisciplinary projects that respond to this situation and brought them together in a single forum. Using formal strategies that push the boundaries between existing practices, these projects offer new perspectives that force us to reconsider our pre-existing notions of life and artificial life.

VIDA 15.0 supports excellence in artistic research into artificial life. Projects that win a VIDA Award must be capable of expressing the complex organization of life systems and the hybrid nature of life. The VIDA jury will evaluate artistic projects that meet these criteria and, more importantly, will select those projects that challenge our current understanding and definition of life.

As in previous years, contestants are invited to submit proposals in one (or both) of two categories:

CATEGORY “FINALISED PROJECTS”
In this category, Vida 15.0 rewards artistic artificial life projects developed after the year 2011.

A total of 42,500 euros will be divided among the three winning projects chosen by the jury:
First Prize: 18,000 euros;
Second Prize: 14,000 euros;
Third Prize: 8,000 euros.
Seven honorary mentions will also be awarded to projects chosen by the jury from among the finalists.

In addition to the winners of the three main prizes, we will also choose seven participants to receive honorable mentions and compete for the special People’s Choice Award. Of these mentions, only the People’s Choice Award is endowed with a cash prize, the amount of which will be 2,500 euros. The People’s Choice Award will go to the project that receives the most votes from the public in the seven days immediately following the announcement of the official award winners (on October 2013). Votes will be cast electronically on the VIDA website and social networks.

CATEGORY “INCENTIVES FOR PRODUCTION”
In this category, Vida 15.0 helps to finance artistic artificial life projects that have not yet been produced. It is reserved for artists who are citizens or residents of any country in Latin America, Spain or Portugal. This category is also endowed with 40,000 euros to be divided among five selected projects.

VIDA 15.0 launches the Incentives I+D Prize with the aim of encouraging innovation using the latest artificial life technologies. Of the five award-winning projects of the Incentives for Production category one will receive additional support to assist with its technological development. The awarded artist will receive assistance from experts on research, development and innovation of Telefonica team in cutting-edge information technologies. In addition to benefiting from regular advice and contact online, the artist/s will also be invited to spend a maximum of one month in Telefónica’s innovation department in Barcelona (Spain).

IMPORTANT DATES
Project submissions will be accepted from 23rd April to 31th July 2013.
All projects must be submitted before midnight (Central European Time) on 31th July 2013.

JURY
The projects submitted will be examined by an international jury comprising the following members: Mónica Bello (Spain), Andreas Broeckmann (Germany), Rejane Cantoni (Brazil), Martin Kaltenbrunner (Austria), Seiko Mikami (Japan), Sally-Jane Norman (New Zealand/France), Nell Tenhaaf (Canada) and Laura Fernández-Orgaz (Fundación Telefónica Responsible for de Art and Technology Projects).

SUBMISSION
To submit your project for consideration, please read the COMPETITION RULES carefully and complete the ONLINE REGISTRATION FORM posted on the Vida website: www.fundacion.telefonica.com/vida

INFORMATION AND QUERIES
You can find the competition guidelines and the participation form at http://www.fundacion.telefonica.com/vida
You may also contact us by sending an email to vida@telefonica.es

Flossie 2013 is a two-day event for women who are interested in any aspect of open technology, open knowledge, digital arts, and social innovation. Whether you code, tinker, use FLOSS in your projects, or want to explore open alternatives, all women are welcome – from expert to novice, or anywhere in between.

Flossie 2013 is a chance to showcase your project, share skills, or talk about something which really interests you. We’re also scheduling plenty of time to network, share and build on ideas, and to meet new friends and old.

Call for proposals:

We’re inviting proposals for all aspects of the day.
1. Talk about your current project or a project you’d like to set up
2. Skills sharing workshops on any aspect of Free/Libre Open Source software, hardware, data – anything open!
3. Talk about social innovation and diversifying technology design
4. Send us your idea for an activity – as long as it’s open! Even if you don’t feel you have the expertise yourself, and just have an idea, let us know.

Deadline: 19 July 2013

Submit your proposal here: http://www.flossie.org/openconf/

If you have any questions, please email conf@flossie.org or find more information on our website at www.flossie.org