Greetings everyone,
Our apologies for cross-posting. Here is the official festival announcement and call for works/papers of the 3rd annual Spark Festival of Electronic Music and Art.
Note: The original call for Spark 2005 listed an incorrect URL and email address. The correct contacts are www.spark.cla.umn.edu and sparkfst@umn.edu. The Spark 2005 website will activate on October 19.
University of Minnesota School of Music, Noel Zahler, Director Announces 2005 Spark Festival of Electronic Music and Art, Douglas Geers, Director West Bank Arts Quarter, University of Minnesota Twin Cities Campus February 17-20
CALL FOR COMPOSERS, ARTISTS, and PRESENTERS Submission Deadline: November 22, 2004 (postmark)
The University of Minnesota School of Music is proud to present the 2005 Spark Festival of Electronic Music and Art, February 17-20. The festival will be held at the West Bank Arts Quarter on the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus. Now in its third year, the Spark Festival showcases the newest groundbreaking works of digital music and art. Last year's festival included innovative works by over sixty international composers and artists. Leading scholars and technology specialists also presented papers relating to new technology and creativity.
Spark invites submissions of new works incorporating new media, including electroacoustic concert music, experimental electronica, theatrical and dance works, installations, kinetic sculpture, artbots, video, and other non-traditional genres.
Spark also invites submission of scholarly papers on technical and aesthetic subjects related to the creation of new media art and music. All accepted papers will be published as part of the Spark proceedings.
MUSIC SUBMISSIONS Music submissions will be accepted in four categories:
- Concert works: Electroacoustic works with and without
performers. Performance venues will accommodate 2-8 channel works and works with video. Although there is no strict limit of duration, pieces of twelve minutes or less are encouraged.
- "Club" works: Experimental electronic performances in a "club-style"
venue. Selected performers will be given sets of 15-30 minutes. Performance venue will accommodate stereo sound and video.
Installations: [See "Visual Art Works" below]
DJ battle: A select number of DJs will be selected to compete in a
one-evening event in which two winners will be selected: (1) most virtuosic and (2) most unique. Note that prizes will be symbolic (not pecuniary!) in nature.
VISUAL ART WORKS Visual submissions will be accepted in three categories:
- Installations and gallery works: A number of installation and gallery
exhibitions will be mounted in various spaces on the UMN campus. Please include technical and space requirements with submission.
- Video: Video works will be screened at multiple Spark events. Videos
featuring digital music compositions (two-channel) are welcome, but this is not required. Although there is no strict limit of duration, pieces of twelve minutes or less are encouraged.
- Theater/Dance: Theatrical and dance works incorporating new
technologies are welcome at Spark 2005. Please include performance venue and technical requirements with submission.
PAPERS Paper and lecture/demonstration submissions that deal with topics relating to new technology and creativity are encouraged, including intermedia composition, performance, human-computer interaction, software/hardware development, aesthetics, and history. Paper and lecture/demonstration submissions will be accepted in two categories:
- Standard length: Twenty-minute presentation, allowing for five minutes
of Q/A. 2. Short length: A feature unique to the Spark festival is Symposium Fast Forward, a presentation of five-minute presentations followed by five minutes of Q/A. The idea of Symposium Fast Forward is to create an academic presentation equivalent to speed chess, in which ideas are presented quickly and succinctly, with time following for discussion. Both students and professionals are encouraged to submit presentations of this type.
Standard submissions should consist of a two-page abstract with bibliography. Camera-ready papers will be due on January 3, 2005. Short length submissions should submit a one-paragraph abstract.
Individuals may submit a maximum of one paper and one lecture/demonstration, and accepted papers and lectures/demonstrations will be submitted online. and More information about the submission process will be available soon on the Spark 2005 website when the online submission procedure has been activated. All accepted papers will be published as part of the Spark proceedings.
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS Applicants are invited to submit one work per category in up to two categories for consideration for presentation. Student works are encouraged. Please download a submission form from www.spark.cla.umn.edu and follow the instructions for submitting works. Limited performing resources will be drawn from the University of Minnesota, but applicants are encouraged to provide their own performers if possible. More information about available performers will be posted on the www.spark.cla.umn.edu in the near future.
Composers and artists whose works are selected for inclusion are encouraged to attend the festival.
TECHNICAL DETAILS Selected works will be announced by December 10, and travel and accommodations information will be posted on www.spark.cla.umn.edu by the same date.
Submission deadline is November 22 (postmark). For more information, and to obtain submission forms, please visit the Spark 2005 website at http://www.spark.cla.umn.edu. Questions can be directed to the conference hosts at sparkfst@umn.edu.