Rapid Response for A Better Digital Future Program – May 21

Posted by Eyebeam on May 12, 2020

Eyebeam Invites Applications for Rapid Response for A Better Digital Future Program

Over the past twenty years, Eyebeam has provided robust professional and financial support to nearly five hundred artists to engage society’s relationship with technology.

To advance this mission, the organization is inviting applications for its Rapid Response For A Better Digital Future program. In light of current circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Eyebeam seeks to help artists positioned to create new ways of interacting through the Internet, new ways of engaging with each other, and more equitable relationships with respect to sustainable arts practices and creative economies. The program is based on the fundamental notion that radical imagination, led by artists, is a key step in building for the long term and, to that end, invites artists to submit ideas for actionable projects that enact solutions for the of rebuilding digital systems and improve the overlap and interplay between those systems and lived social experience. The guiding question for this call is: How do we begin to exit surveillance capitalism as the dominating form of digital life and what can replace it?

The program will unfold two phases: in phase 1, a dozen planning/idea stage grants of $5,000 each will be awarded; in phase 2, the project/development phase, three of those recipients, based on the potential of their ideas to have real-world impact, will be awarded up to an additional $20,000 to build their ideas into actionable projects.

Eyebeam will prioritize work that addresses new, online public spheres; ethical or values-driven technology; health and well-being; the development of public policy; efforts to create space for imagination; individual autonomy, borders, and immigration; new and necessary skills; democratic engagement and fortification; the impacts of Covid-19; the accessibility of online platforms; and artificial and natural intelligence.

Individuals and collaborative projects are eligible to apply. A single person (21 years or older) must be responsible for committing for the term of engagement and serve as the point person for communications and payments. International applicants are welcome and encouraged to apply and are not required to live or work in the United States during the grant period. (Note: the program is being run virtually.)

For complete program guidelines and application instructions, see the Eyebeam website.

Deadline: May 21, 2020 (Phase 1 proposals)

Learn more and apply: https://www.eyebeam.org/rapidresponse/