Space and Satellites Data Artist Residency May – July 2020

Inspace is part of the Centre for Design Informatics; commissioning and producing creative activity that unlocks digital technology and explores its role in society. Funded through DDI (Data-Driven Innovation) the public programme will connect data, research and creative talent.

In the first season of programmed activity it will be focussing on the theme of Space and Satellites data and it is looking for creative practitioners (including artists, designers, architects, musicians, dancers, writers, curators etc.) to explore this theme through a short residency programme.

The University of Edinburgh (through the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal) is setting up a new Space and Satellites Centre at Bayes. This will host a number of different companies and researchers analyzing satellite data to help track life on earth from weather conditions to climate change and deforestation through to transport.

Inspace are looking for engaging data driven public works that enable people to understand developments in Space and Satellite technologies being led by Scotland whilst also raising public awareness of how space data represents change on planet earth as well as the wider solar system.

This residency has a limited budget, and a tight timeframe. Insapce are not concerned with getting perfect, finished pieces – they are interested in work that helps people to think differently. Works that are prototypes that go on to further development are completely acceptable and they would be happy to assist with this process.

 

Key Requirements

• Inspace are looking for genuine collaborations between science and creative practice. This could come from a single person or a team, but it needs to be evident in the application.
• Must use data in some way. The piece doesn’t necessarily need to be digital but it must refer to Space and Satellite data.
• Artist(s) must be eligible to work in the UK and must not be a current Undergrad or Masters student.
• Work can be completed anywhere but consideration should be given as to how it might be displayed in Inspace at the end of the residency.
• Project must be completed by the 31st July 2020

 

What Inspace can offer

• An artist fee / production budget
• Access to Inspace as a venue and for development and production, this includes 7 window facing projects plus one main space projector and sound system.
• Access to some equipment (e.g. projectors, 3D printers, VR headsets etc.).
• Space in the Design Studio, with some limited workshop access and technician support.
• Support in putting together a work in progress event and a final show.
• Advice on accessing and interpreting data sets and working with researchers
• Creative data support on how to utilise different technologies or help with visualising data.
• Access to University resources where possible (e.g. Library, uCreate, etc.).

 

Outcomes

• Mid-June work in progress event. This should form part of your proposal but it needs to outline the data sets you are working with including any collaborators. Work in progress needs to be shown publicly in Inspace and could take the form of a talk, workshop, exhibition, film etc.
• Final exhibition in July featuring the 4 residencies. This will be organised by Design Informatics, including publicity, press and opening event.

 

Timeline 2020

• 4 March                 Launch event Inspace
• 1 April                 Proposal Deadline
• Mid-April                 Notifications
• 1 May                 Residencies launch
• 8-13 or 23-28 June Work in progress events
• 6-10 July                 Exhibition Installation
• 13-26 July                 Exhibition open to the public
• 27-30 July                 Exhibition take down

 

Budget

£4,000 for each residency (4 to be funded in total). This is inclusive of all costs including, artist fees, expenses, and production etc. You must outline in your application how you will use the funding and include a realistic budget.

A degree of technical support will be provided by Ray Interactive who will be available to work with artists to turn data into a creative output. No previous technical skills are required.

50% of the fees will be paid at the start of the residency and 50% at the halfway mark when the plan for completing the residency is agreed. The fees will be paid to one bank account via bank transfer on submission of an invoice.

 

 

Submission Process

Applications will open from the 4^th of March. You must complete an application form and email it to designinformatics@ed.ac.uk by 1^st of April at midnight, late submissions will not be accepted.

Work in any medium or discipline will be considered.

Collaborative proposals are welcome but the £4,000 fee will have to be distributed amongst the team.

Within this work, they are interested in processes as much as outputs – how do scientists and artists work together. Therefore, we will look for work that is exploratory but can also be further developed elsewhere, either commercially or artistically.

We hope that creators would be happy to participate in two half hour interviews over the course of the process, for our research into how collaborations around data work.

Creators will retain their IP and artwork; but Design Informatics will retain a right to reference and show documentation of it, and the programme must be credited when referencing the work.

Applicants will be informed if they are successful by the 20th of April via email.

Any questions about the application can be sent to designinformatics@ed.ac.uk

 

Credits

This work is funded through the DDI (Data-Driven Innovation) Programme delivered by the University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University as part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal.

Thanks to Professor Murray Collins, Chancellor’s Fellow for Space and Satellites within DDI and Terry McLarney from Space Technology Scotland.

Inspace sits within the Design Informatics Research Centre and the School of Informatics. https://www.designinformatics.org