Concept NULL Newsletter #18
Hey Everyone! 👋
As the year winds down there are fewer opportunities to promote so we’d like to take this moment to recap how the year went for us, what we learned and some of our highlights too.
Also we’d like to remind everyone that, currently, this is a completely unfunded and voluntary organisation. Since we fuel this with our own blood, sweat and tears it can be tough to run Concept Null at times. However, seeing what has come out of it so far and the beautiful people we’ve met along the way, it really motivates us to continue to develop this project. So a thank you to all who made it a really energetic and emotional 2023. And a thank you to everyone for connecting and engaging with us and also offering guidance, critique, donations and support in whatever form.
We’d love to hear back from you in regard to what’s working and what’s not for us so please if you have 2 minutes to complete this survey we would be so grateful.
If anyone wants to write to us personally about anything, feel free to email conceptnullofficial@gmail.com
Also if you like what we do, then help us out and give the newsletter a share!
The Spotlight 🔦
Cybernate #2 - Open Call Invitation for artists based in Galway County and/or City and Producers from France.
Location: Galway/France
Date: January to June 2024
Galway Culture Company, in partnership with several arts and development organisations, has developed Cybernate#2, a Digital Arts Residency- building on the success of last’s years programme, the 2024 residency is for Galway based Artists who specialise in Digital Arts. The programme will take place from January 2024 to June 2024. Cybernate is funded by Galway Culture Company and produced by Culture Work.
The Arts Council of Ireland - Funding Schedule 2024
Location: Ireland
Date: 2024
Here is the current schedule for funding opportunities in The Arts Council. While every effort is made to ensure these dates are accurate, please note that the dates of the schemes could change over the course of the year. They will update this list accordingly and communicate any changes widely through their social channels.
Open Call - Longford Lights 2024
Location: Longford, Ireland
Deadline: 18th December 2023
Have an existing lightwork? Longford Lights is a light festival held over 3 evenings at the end of February. In 2023 it attracted over 12000 people. The ethos is one of social engagement and participation, and we particularly welcome proposals with a participatory or interactive element, though it is not essential. Budget for existing work €300 – €1500
Concept Null - 2023 Recap 🏠
The Newsletter
We wrote 18 newsletters this year which promote visibility of artistic opportunities and activities for those interested in the intersection of art and tech through highlighting events and works from individual artists and organisations, funding open calls, residencies, project funding, online resources, workshops and the availability of studio spaces. Overall we included:
5 Performances, 30 Exhibitions, 23 Events, 47 Online Resources, 75 Open Calls, 26 Residencies, 7 General Funding Opportunities, 5 Project Funding Opportunities, 5 Workshops, 3 Jobs and 14 Studio Vacancies.We also had the chance to interview the current members of D.A.T.A (Dublin Art and Technology Association) about how their process, how they’ve been running for over 20 years and the changing landscape of digital in Ireland, which you can read here.
Again, we’d love to hear back from you about how useful you find this and how it can improve, so please fill in this survey if you get a chance.
The Meetups
We held two meetups to further integrate the community and foster relationships between us all. Our first one was honorably in Limerick. Which has been the playground for all our members at some point and where most of us would have met.
Meet Up_01 was held in Limerick’s Spacecraft Studios who, thanks to Carey Long, let us gratefully use the space for the event.
Meet Up_02 was in Dublin at Beta Festival thanks to the wonderful festival director and founder Aisling Murray.
The Digital Arts Policy Launch - The Arts Council of Ireland
Finally released by the Arts Council of Ireland at Beta Festival, the aim of this policy is to support the development and position of digital arts, both in Ireland and internationally, by supporting and encouraging digital artistic activities, building on and enhancing existing capacity and resources, and unlocking opportunities for artists, organisations, and the public alike.
We were also happy to have one of our members talk on the panel discussion that was held at the launch of the policy at Beta Festival which you can watch below.
We initially began writing this newsletter fueled by our shared frustration as artists who feel the type of work we are making at the intersection of art and technology is underrepresented and under-resourced in Ireland. So it’s great for us to see a start being made by the Arts Council to combat this.
Our Hopes in the Digital Policy’s Evolution
Developmental resources for projects and artists, encompassing equipment access, collaborative spaces, exhibition venues, digital arts centres to interact with others, studio space, large spaces for building/prototyping/rehearsing and more artistic access to heritage spaces.
Mentorship programs and residencies.
More diverse, inclusive application process with a greater variety of funding and application models such as pitches, presentations and resource based funds.
Thank you!
A colossal thank you once more to all of you for everything you’ve contributed along the way. We’re very excited to see you all soon through whichever way you present yourself in this technological omniverse we exist. From the team at Concept Null, happy holidays! chat soon xx.
