paraflows08 - festival for digital arts and cultures :: The topic of the 3rd festival for digital arts and cultures in the city of Vienna is UTOPIA.

UTOPIA: The term utopia, ‘the non-place’, derived from old Greek ‘u-‘, non, and ‘tópos’, place, denotes a ‘nowhere’ which is untraceable and therefore projecting all longing into an unreachable beyond. Utopia is therefore an imagination which is thinkable as an idea, yet is not directly realisable. It is the great dream, concept, and vision of a world or a time with a new social, religious or technical order.

UTOPIA can be traced back to the book ‘De Optimo Reipublicae Statu deque nova insula Utopia Libellus vere aureaus, nec minus salutaris quam festivus (Of the best state law and of the new island Utopia, truly a golden booklet, as pleasant as it is cheerful)’ by Thomas Morus which was first published in 1516. The text alludes to positive scenarios of technical, spatial and social constructs which have not been realised. Usually, technology plays a major role in utopian phantasms. More often than not their realistic implementation is a matter of availability of technology and very often it is – especially in digital art – the starting point of a work of art.

In 2008, Paraflows 08 UTOPIA will try to develop the perspective, the linguistic roots of which corresponds with last year’s exhibitions. In the context of the topic UTOPIA, we want to gather concepts of a possible future, draw perspectives, dreams and prognoses, dare take a prognostic look at the future. Directly tying in with last year’s festival topic UN_SPACE – which dealt with non-space and impossible spaces – this year we will again strive to provide a multi-layered examination involving the overwhelming architectonic and historical reality of the venue – the MAK Gegenwartskunstdepot Gefechtsturm Arenbergpark.

Further information on PARAFLOWS 08 UTOPIA can be found on www.paraflows.at Please submit proposals featuring contemporary artworks dealing with the topics mentioned above. Pleases send PDF-files via e-mail to utopia@paraflows.at or post mail to: paraflows c/o monochrom quartier 21, MQ
Museumsplatz, 1 A-1070 Vienna, AUSTRIA

Mandatory information for submissions:

1) name, institution (if existing), address, e-mail, phone number, website/s
2) submitted work: title, medium, author/artist, year of production
3) work description: 1 DIN A4-page maximum
4) technical explanation, room/space requirements (hardware, operating system, additional software)
5) biographies
7) documentation of earlier projects, e.g. a link to your website

Language: all submissions have to be in English or in German or need to have subtitles in one of the two languages. Works in any other language
have to include a text list in either German or English. We especially encourage international submissions.

DEADLINE: June 2nd, 2008

paraflows 08 / CONTACT
office@paraflows.at
Festival management: Judith Fegerl, Guenther Friesinger
Office: paraflows headoffice, c/o monochrom, quartier 21, MQ
A-1070 Vienna, Museumsplatz 1, Austria

Paraflows08 is supported by the City of Vienna, MA7, digital arts and cultures.