The DA LAB Foundation announces an open call for proposals for projects to be created within the e-valuation Digital Arts Platform. This is the fourth edition of the annual platform, which was launched in 2021 and has so far produced 10 projects by Bulgarian artists. The new edition of the platform is realized with the financial support of the National Culture Fund, Creation Programme.
The call is aimed at Bulgarian artists working in digital and media arts. They can submit a project proposal related to the theme and format of the platform. As a result of the competition, three projects of the applied artists and collectives will be selected and will receive support in the amount of BGN 4 000 for the project implementation and professional assistance in the process. The produced projects will be presented through solo exhibitions in Sofia and in group exhibitions in Varna, Plovdiv and Veliko Tarnovo in the summer of 2024.
More about the project
e-valuation is a platform for the development and support of Bulgarian artists working in the field of digital arts. The title of the project "e-valuation" is a reference to the meaning of "value" and "worth". In the field of digital arts, an important component of the "life" of a work is the constant calculations that have the potential to transform "dry" values into conceptual values.
The mission of the platform is to produce works by Bulgarian artists and present them on the professional scene. An important element is the assistance in the production process through consultations and mentoring sessions. The main goals are professional development of artists and promotion of contemporary art forms created with digital media and technologies.
The theme of the project "e-valuation" is a code message for a multilayered reading of the concepts of value and worth. On the one hand, the nature of digital artistic practices implies the handling of different values (for example: information data about the environment - real and virtual). On the other hand, we question the values of digital art as a value commensurate with its innovation, social reflexivity, marked dialogicality with the audience, the environment and the community.
Digital art, as we now summarize various interdisciplinary practices using contemporary technologies, goes beyond the use of computer systems for visualization, management and control, demonstrating its potential to reflect contemporary socio-cultural phenomena in a new way. We see processes in which impersonal values are transformed into socially significant values.
Application and selection
The call for proposals is addressed to individual Bulgarian artists or artist collectives with a declared interest and previous experience in the field of digital arts. They are invited to propose an idea for an art project that interprets the project's theme in an original way and applies digital media and technologies in a creative way.
A jury composed of: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Venelin Shurelov, Dr. Galina Dimitrova-Dimova and Antoni Raizhekov (founders of DA LAB Foundation) will select the three most interesting and original ideas to be implemented within the project.
To apply, send the following information by e-mail to: dalabfoundation@gmail.com:
- creative CV;
- a portfolio of selected digital art projects;
- project proposal - concept and technical parameters.
The deadline for applications is 5 January 2024.
Implementation process
Selected candidates will receive a grant of 4,000 BGN to implement the project in the period January-May 2024. The Foundation's team will assist the artists with advice. The three created works will be premiered as solo exhibitions in parallel in three galleries in Sofia: Depoo, Arosita and Charter in June 2024, followed by group exhibitions in Talyana Gallery, Varna, cu29 café-gallery in Plovdiv and TAM cultural and social events space, Veliko Tarnovo. The works will become part of the portfolio of artists of the DA LAB Foundation, whose representation nationally and internationally will be developed in the future.
For further information and enquiries: dalabfoundation@gmail.com