Concept NULL Newsletter #42
👋 Welcome
It's a new year, and after some well needed maintenance, our website has a fresh look!
Our website has gone under a small transformation -- check it out if you get the chance (:
Other than that, we hope you had a great time over the holidays!
Any feedback or suggestions? feel free to reach out to us via email to conceptnullofficial@gmail.com
🎪 Events
Nerve Centre - Virtual Production & Unreal Engine Workshops - February 2025
Organiser/s: Nerve Centre
Location: Northern Ireland
Date: 07-02-2025 → 07-02-2025
The future of visual effects lies in virtual production, where entire worlds are constructed within massive sound stages. Shows like Disney's The Mandalorian exemplify this revolutionary approach. Actors interact with digital environments in real-time, allowing for unprecedented creative freedom and on-set collaboration. This cutting-edge technology is thriving right here in Northern Ireland, and we're excited for you to experience it through this three-day intensive course. This course is aimed at 16–19 years old.
Lab Work Exhibition
Organiser/s: DAS
Location: Belfast
Date: 17-01-2025 → 07-02-2025
In early 2024, DAS established a new XR Research and Development Lab within its studios, designed to provide opportunities for artists to work with XR technologies, experiment, and develop their skills. With the support of a grant from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s National Lottery-funded Organisation Digital Evolution Awards, we acquired state-of-the-art equipment, including two META Quest 3 Mixed Reality Headsets, a GoPro Max Camera Bundle, and a Zoom H3-VR Virtual Reality Audio Recorder. Combined with our existing equipment, we created a comprehensive kit to support artists working in the field of XR.
H.O.M.E - Limerick Premier
Organiser/s: Fidget Feet
Location: Irish Aerial Creation Centre
Date: 25-01-2025 → 26-01-2025
H.O.M.E is an indoor aerial Hip H’Opera that explores darkness, trust, strength, femininity, male suppression, identity and more. Co-production with Tobi Omoteso and Fidget Feet, the show is supported with real-time laser production by Walter Nied.
📖 Articles
Tomatoes are fruits and other tales from category-land
A conversation between Simone C Niquille & Eleanor Rosch exploring the limits and fuzzy borders of categorisation in the world.
What Is the Social in Social Media?
Geert Lovink
📯 Open Calls
MUTEK - Call for Projects 2025
Deadline: 31-01-2025
Organiser/s: MUTEK
Location: Canada
The festival seeks unique live electronic music performances, innovative digital audiovisual projects exploring sound-image relationships, and experimental works using cutting-edge technologies. DJ mixes are excluded. Submissions must include video or audio recordings. MUTEK prioritizes diversity and encourages submissions from underrepresented groups, including women, non-binary individuals, racialized minorities, Indigenous artists, and LGBTQIA2S+ or disabled communities. Proposals can also be submitted in accessible formats, such as a video explanation.
Spacecraft OPEN CALL
Deadline: 15-02-2025
Organiser/s: Spacecraft
Location: Limerick
Spacecraft is inviting applications for our second round of our Associate Membership Scheme. The scheme is designed to provide more local artists with access to our facilities. We are offering two artist or art collective across all visual arts mediums the opportunity to utilise our project space on a part-time basis over a 6 month period, between March 2025 - August 2025. This is open to artist collectives, photography groups, exhibition groups and individual practitioners.
Call for Projects - MUTEK AI Ecologies Lab
Deadline: 14-02-2025
Organiser/s: MUTEK
Location: Montreal
The MUTEK AI Ecologies Lab is an interdisciplinary residency fostering innovative and sustainable approaches to AI in the cultural sector. As AI democratizes rapidly, its potential for creative exploration and global impact grows. However, the environmental toll of AI, including energy and water consumption, calls for urgent action to develop more sustainable practices. This lab provides a platform to examine these challenges while advancing AI-driven innovation in art and culture. The project is a collaboration between MUTEK, the Society for Arts and Technology (SAT), Applied AI Institute, Milieux Institute and Abundant Intelligences.
Forecast Mentorships’ 2025–26 - Open Call
Deadline: 10-02-2025
Organiser/s: Forecast
Location: Online / Berlin
Artistic practitioners and cultural producers working in all creative fields, anywhere in the world, are encouraged to apply to Forecast’s international mentorship program with projects that could benefit from the expertise of one of this edition’s mentors and their unique approach to material and knowledge production. The call is open to applicants of all ages and does not prescribe a theme. The only requirement is to submit projects that are relevant to the expertise of the mentor you wish to work with.
Prix Ars Electronica 2025
Deadline: 05-03-2025
Organiser/s: Prix Ars Elecontronica
Location: Linz
The Prix Ars Electronica is the world’s most time-honored media arts competition. Winners are eligible for the coveted Golden Nica awards and monetary prizes of up to 10,000 euros in each category. They will also be featured at the Ars Electronica Festival in September 3 – 7, 2025, in Linz, Austria!
🏠 Residencies
Brooks International Fellowship Programme 2025
Deadline: 30-01-2025
Organiser/s: Delfina Foundation
Location: London
Delfina Foundation is pleased to announce an open call for our annual Brooks International Fellowship Programme, in partnership with Tate. Now in its eleventh year, the 2025 programme will enable a visual arts professional to work with Tate colleagues in London for six months, complemented by activities at Delfina Foundation. The Fellows will reside at Delfina Foundation, where they will contribute to the programme by presenting on their research or practice to a range of audiences, as well as contributing to Delfina Foundation’s public programme. More info in the link below.
Hybrid Realities Lab 2
Deadline: 21-01-2025
Organiser/s: V2
Location: Online
HRL 2 is an intensive 9 week virtual studio and development program running from 13th March to 8th May 2025. Sessions will take place Thursdays 12PM EST/5PM GMT/6PM CET unless otherwise noted.
Studio Residencies at BEK Spring 2025
Deadline: 15-01-2025
Organiser/s: BEK
Location: Bergen
If you are working on an art project involving sound, moving image or electronics, you are welcome to apply for a studio residency at BEK lasting for 2–6 weeks. You can apply for a residency in their sound studio, video studio and/or electronics lab. If you need to explore something that requires a bit of space during your residency, you are welcome to use their project space for a shorter period of time by agreement. Please note that BEK offers their production facilities only, and do not cover travel, accommodation or project costs. BEK can provide the artist with a letter of intent for funding applications upon request.
That’s it for now! The newsletter gets sent out 1st and 15th of every month and we post open calls and events as they come in on our Instagram so be sure to follow us there.
Again, thank you for all of your support as we continue to grow our project with the help of a great community and, as we always say, we would love to hear your thoughts, projects, events or other open opportunities so drop us an email.
Chat soon, Concept NULL
[conceptnullofficial@gmail.com]