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OPEN CALL: EYEBEAM FELLOWSHIPS 2010

APPLICATION DEADLINE: December 11, 2009.

All applicants will be informed of their application status by January 15, 2010.

CONTEXT: Eyebeam is the leading not-for-profit art and technology center in the USA. Our unique collaborative environment fosters fellowships and residencies, research, education, public programming, and a vital web space, eyebeam.org. We are located in the heart of NYC’s Chelsea art district in a resource rich 15,000 sq.ft. space. Please see the Fellows and Projects sections of our web site for information on current and previous work developed at Eyebeam.

OVERVIEW: Eyebeam is seeking applications from artists, hackers, engineers, designers, curators, and creative technologists to participate in our Fellowship program. Fellows at Eyebeam spearhead new research and develop new work. The ideal Fellow has experience working with and making innovative technological art or creative technology projects, and has a passion for collaborative development. Fellows will bring this experience and working approach to Eyebeam where they will have the opportunity to engage in their own independent projects, projects initiated by other Residents or Fellows, and projects conceived collaboratively with Eyebeam’s staff, Fellows, Residents, and research partners.

Up to four Fellows will be selected for the upcoming 11-month cycle, which will run from March 1, 2010 to January 31, 2011. Selected Fellows will be expected to spend at least four days per week working at Eyebeam. Fellows are expected to contribute to the Eyebeam community as mentors to residents and youth working at Eyebeam and as principals in research initiatives, programs, and education. Leadership in Research Groups is compulsory and is explained further, below.

SUPPORT: Fellows receive a $30,000 stipend during their stay in NYC with Eyebeam. It is possible for Fellows to take on additional external teaching or consulting work, as long as s/he can fulfill commitments to Eyebeam at the same time.

International applicants are welcome to apply, although we do not have the resources to provide travel or accommodation. We are happy to work with selected applicants, where required, to help them to secure funds to cover these expenses. International Fellows are responsible for securing their own visas for the Fellowship period. We are happy to provide paperwork and advice to help expedite the process.

PARTICIPATION: All Fellows are expected to share elements of their practice via formal or informal learning opportunities within the Eyebeam community or our public community. We offer program support in developing work for performance, events, seminars, exhibitions, or other public and educational programming within Eyebeam’s space (and beyond) during the term of the Fellowship.

Core to Eyebeam’s methodology is the brokering of relationships between artists, hackers, coders, engineers, and other creative technologists in the context of an open and shared culture of investigation and critique. We foster and facilitate relationships whereby technologists and artists come together to germinate and incubate their ideas, develop new processes, and create new works through a period of immersion in a social and professional context which is rich in technology, expertise and ideas. Collaborative partnerships at Eyebeam will be fostered though group critiques, discussions and projects and between other Eyebeam Fellows, Residents, and Staff.

RESEARCH GROUPS: Fellows will be expected to collaborate with Eyebeam staff to oversee, develop, and manage emerging research areas in our Research Groups. Research Groups bring together creative practitioners working at Eyebeam as well as expert individual participants and external partners. Initiatives led by Eyebeam Research Groups have included public outcomes such as seminars, workshops, publications, and exhibitions.

Current Research Initiatives: Eyebeam’s current Research Groups include Sustainability, Education, Open Culture, Project Blackbird (Humor and Code), and Urban Research. For more information on each of these Research Groups, including descriptions, related projects, and participants, please see the Research section of our web site. Within each of these Research Groups, Eyebeam is looking for applicants with specific interest in and crossover with their own work in the following inquiry threads:

- Education in Practice: Engagement with artists working in community-based and collaborative projects with youth, peers, or other targeted audiences. We favor ideas over skills and formative experiments over fixed curricula. (Education)

- Design for Social Change: Investigation into collaborative design process and methodology as it relates to creative intervention, activism, and tactical media; expanding our perspectve on “open source” to include the built environment, urban development, and public policy. (Open Culture and Urban Research)

- Open Source Ideologies: Expanding Eyebeam’s ongoing research in Open Culture with a particular focus on intellectual property, licensing issues, and law and its relation to artists and cultural innovators. (Open Culture)

- Food in the City: Investigation into NYC as a locus for media artists to embrace technological innovation and environmental, sustainable, regenerative concerns in synch with green and open source initiatives. The intention is to gather biologists, environmentalists, food activsts and media artists to consider urban agriculture, bio-generative art and other strategies. (Sustainability)

NOTE: We are specifically seeking applicants with advanced expertise and investment in at least one area of our ongoing Research Groups such that each Group will be led by an incoming fellow, with an emphasis on the above inquiry threads. Participation in these research initiatives will directly inform and shape future initiatives, education, and public programming at Eyebeam.

Application Requirements: Applications are only accepted via our online application system. Applications received after the deadline of 11:59 PM (EST), December 11, 2009, will not be accepted. All applications and work samples must be submitted through the online form. No exceptions will be made. You can create a user/password during the application process and log back into the server to update your application before the final deadline.

Complete applications must include the following information:

- Contact Information
- Resume or CV (.rtf, .pdf, .doc)
- Work samples in the form of URLs or uploaded media. Include a project description with your work sample that explains your contribution to the piece, how it is meant to be viewed and how it relates to your proposed project(s)/research.
- Concise responses to all application questions

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Online application system, FAQ and other information available at the Eyebeam website.

Thanks, we are excited to hear from you!

Statement on Diversity: Eyebeam is committed to building a diverse creative environment. We recognize diversity as encompassing personal style, age, race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, language, physical ability, religion, family, citizenship status, socioeconomic circumstances, education and life experiences. We consequently encourage applications from the broadest possible range of artists and creative technologists to all of our programs.