UTOPIA: Call for submissions of women digital artists

UTOPIA: 2nd Annual Festival of Women in Digital Culture

First deadline: February 1; final deadline Feb 13, 2012. Submit ASAP!

Media artists, mobile technology, gaming, video + VJs, electronic music (DJs and producers), hackers, writers, educators, and you!

Utopia, presented by W2, is NOW accepting submissions for its 2nd annual festival and showcase of women in digital culture.

Conceived as a feminist project to address the gender imbalance in technology creation production and utilisation, Utopia also takes on digital and popular culture.  Utopia is a platform for education, empowerment and entertainment. The inaugural festival in 2011 raised the profile of women in the electronic music scene in Vancouver and world wide, with a daytime conference, outdoor sound system, and evening showcase. Coinciding with the 100th Anniversary International Women’s Day (IWD) march, it connected artists, culture lovers, students, and feminists throughout Vancouver. 100 women participated in daytime peer-led workshops while 1250 women and men attended our evening showcase headlined by Peaches and Tanya Tagaq, with a 7 hour program featuring 30+ artists.

The inaugural year formed a solid foundation for this annual event that hopes to build a legacy for young women in creative technology, while launching a platform for females in the field to connect worldwide. “By connecting world-class artists with local women music makers or those considering careers in digital culture, Utopia Festival is taking crucial steps in bridging the so-called digital divide along gender lines,” states W2’s Lianne Payne. Net proceeds support W2 legacy initiatives such as the Girls’ Creative Tech Summer Camp.

The second annual Utopia Festival takes place March 3-10, 2012, with two weekends of nighttime performances, connected by weekday peer-led workshops, plus special events on International Women's Day, Thursday, March 8.  Programming will emphasize Aboriginal women creating with technology, and a special emphasis on women as makers. The festival will showcase the diversity of women in the Vancouver community ‘making our future through technology’. The weekday workshops and conference activities would be designed to support participants to develop skills and potentially participate in a showcase component the second weekend.

Utopia invites women who are actively involved in digital culture, particularly those who prefer a hands-on, collaborative approach.  Contributors to Utopia include all of us: artists, performers, writers, musicians, and workshop leaders.

DJs Betti Ford and Veronica lead an all-female “How to be a DJ 101″ workshop as part of W2′s inaugural Utopia Festival: Women in Digital Culture. (photo: Hilary Henegar)

Special attention will be given to contributors who:

- have experience mentoring other women

- propose collaborative, innovative or multi-disciplinary approaches

- demonstrate potential for ongoing or legacy initiatives

- are younger women breaking boundaries with new tactics

Consider sharing with Utopia Festival organizers your beginner idea or a fully-completed project!

Conference & Workshops - e.g. hack-a-thons, promotion tools, popular software (e.g.,Ableton, Logic, modul8), tools-based initiatives (tools for social change), music industry/business skills, live sound, camera/video editing, demystifying the technologies.

Showcase - DJs, VJs, writers, music producers...

Media artists - video installations, interactive design, mobile tech, and more...

Background

DATE: March 3 - 10, 2012 (Showcase dates: March 3, 9 and 10)
LOCATION: W2 Media Cafe, 111 West Hastings St., Vancouver

INQUIRIES: utopia@creativetechnology.org

W2 Community Media Arts

www.creativetechnology.org

www.facebook.com/groups/w2woodwards

@W2Woodwards

HOW TO APPLY

All applicants are required to submit as soon as possible.

- a bio

- short proposal of your performance, installation, workshop, including reason for interest in Utopia; relevance to festival mandate (max 500 words)

- supplementary digital info (on cd/dvd), as applicable

- technical rider/requirements, as applicable

- note any issues regarding availability

** If this is your first time, please feel free to send us your notes and we can support you in completing your submission.

Email to submissions@creativetechnology.org  Or

Drop off in person to:

W2 Media Cafe

Attn: Utopia Programming Committee

Unit 250 - 111 West Hastings St

Vancouver, BC V6B 1H4

There is no entry fee. W2 endeavours to pay artist fees in accordance with IMAA and CARFAC fee schedules. W2 has select audiovisual equipment available for presentation.

Submission to Utopia does not ensure participation in the festival.

Submissions will be reviewed by the Utopia Programming/Curatorial committee and contributors will be selected and contacted no later than Monday February 13, 2012.