CALL CLOSED: BRAVE NEW FUTURE

1. BRAVE NEW FUTURE

Science Gallery Monterrey is inviting artists, researchers, community activists and critical thinkers, to submit proposals for existing artistic and research projects to be part of their 2024 inaugural show “Brave New Future,” which will open in September 2024.

Science Gallery Monterrey is a space where artistic and scientific modes of thinking are brought into a collision course to unbalance and stimulate each other, push the boundaries of knowledge and generate unexpected ideas that offer new perspectives and solutions to current challenges. 

Of all the challenges we face today, perhaps the most pressing is what the future will look like for all of us in the coming years. At a time when the future appears to be a sobering extension of our present, Science Gallery Monterrey asks whether we can still gather the courage to embark on an expedition into better, brighter worlds. Do we still have the determination to imagine a brave new future? 

What is the future, anyway, and who gets to imagine it?

Recent developments in AI engines make us wonder whether we should trust AIs to take over planning and deciding what is best for humanity, in what may be a preview of either a perfectly planned society or a dystopian state.

We can also wonder whether it is the time to reclaim the possibility of future bright worlds that emerge from the power of the imagination, unexpected visions made possible by the playful interaction of intuition and reason. Or whether, invoking the trajectory of avant-garde experimentalists, especially that of the Futurists, artists can embrace new technologies and AIs to visualize new worlds of hope and promise.

Brave New Future is an exhibition that presents different visions of what comes tomorrow, an expedition into different futures foreseeing unknown environments of bright, wonderful societies or of catastrophic singularities, all presented from different perspectives and forms of imaging and imagining.

1.1 Potential subthemes

• Science fiction or science facts about the future

• Designing for the future

• Education for the future and the future of education

• Eternal recurrence

• The avant-gardes: Futurism and other movements 

• Philosophies of the future

• The post-Anthropocene 

• Imagination versus algorithm: opposition or complementarity 

• Artificial intelligence: apocalyptic or integrational

2. Application guidelines

Who is your audience?

Our focus is on young people between the ages of 15 and 30, especially young students who want to learn different perspectives and forms of thinking about the issues that are most important to them; for example, how to think about their future. 

70% of our audience will be under 30 years old and Brave New Future will be created with young people in mind. It’s important that you think about how this audience will connect with your work.

What types of projects are accepted?

We look forward to opening up a discussion about the future through finished installations and artefacts that engage both artistic and scientific modes of thinking and creating. We also welcome research projects that already include interactive productions that engage audiences in provocative discussions about the future waiting for us. 

At this time, Science Gallery Monterrey will not fund projects that are in the process of development, nor will it set aside financial resources for the permanent acquisition of any of the selected works. The project you propose should be an existing work that is ready to be exhibited. Science Gallery Monterrey operates in a space of 180 square meters, 3.5 meters high, with doors that open onto a public space. Proposals should consider sharing the total space with six to eight other works. 

We value projects that are simple in their conception, opening the door for complex debate and ongoing enquiry. We especially love projects that are interactive and invite visitors to engage with them. We love humor, provocation, speculation, and irreverent ideas that provoke curiosity in people first and then educate them. 

Will the season include new or existing work? 

Brave New Future will only include pre-existing works of art that directly address the theme of the exhibition, offering provocative ideas about how to think of the future and what form the future might have. Proposals may include works of art that have been presented in previous exhibitions, or that have never been shown to the public.   

Who can apply?

Anybody who takes an interdisciplinary approach and who has something to say about the future waiting for us is welcome to apply. There is no restriction on age, level of education, research background, discipline, cultural group, or identity. We value diverse perspectives from people with different lived experiences. We encourage young people working collaboratively to apply.

What budget is available?

Projects selected via our open call will be funded with up to MXN 200,000 (Mexican pesos). This budget includes all licensing and artist’s fees, freight, insurance, and other related costs. No funds will be allocated for production expenses, including materials, tools or professional services. We ask that you include in your proposal a rough breakdown of the projected cost for licensing your project to Science Gallery Monterrey for six months. Science Gallery Monterrey will not permanently acquire any of the proposals selected through the open call. 

What is the exhibition space like?

The exhibition will take place at the new Science Gallery Monterrey building, which is located at Técnologico de Monterey, in Monterrey, Mexico. It can be described as an 80-square-meter white cube gallery. It has one wide open area with large glass windows opening onto a public plaza on one side, natural light and high ceilings. 

How do you review the applications? 

Applications are reviewed by staff and a curatorial panel of young people. There will be three rounds of review. The first round helps us decide which applications we don’t think will work for the exhibition and which applications we want to look at more in-depth. First impressions matter. The selected applications are then reviewed with the curatorial panel and hotly debated. We then make a shortlist and invite applicants for interviews to find out more. Finally, we undertake the fickle job of curating and making a final selection.

How long will it take for you to let me know if I am successful?

We will notify everyone know the results six weeks after the closing date of the open call. While we won’t have the capacity to give individual feedback, we will provide as much information as possible about how our decisions were made.
Who can I contact if I have a question relating to my application?

Please contact us at international@sciencegallery.com

Other Science Gallery Network-wide Frequently Asked Questions are answered here. https://sciencegallery.org/faqs

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