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Are you a creative with an established artistic practice in your respective craft?
Are you interested in developing a nonfiction XR project?
The New Dimensions Lab is now in its 7th edition and accepting applications from African artists until 30 August 2024 at 23:59 SAST.
The 7th New Dimensions Lab is proudly presented by Electric South and supported by Agog, the Ford Foundation and the National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa.
Now in its 7th edition, the New Dimensions Lab brings together diverse experienced African artists and creative technologists to develop nonfiction stories told through XR technologies alongside leading industry advisors. We invite you to apply on or before 30 August 2024 at 23:59 SAST.
The Lab takes place over the course of a week in South Africa, where artists engage in discussions and masterclasses, and workshop their creative projects.
Past advisors have included Kamal Sinclair, Emily Paige, Gareth Steele, Sarah Ellis, Trevor Snapp, Saschka Unseld, Ulrico Grech-Cumbo, Brian Afande, Jason Stapleton, Tamara Shogaolu, Dale Deacon, Ben Kreimer, Rick Treweek, Darren Emerson, Yasmin Elayat, Jessica Brillhart and many others.
For the 7th edition, we will be inviting some advisors to cover social XR experience design. We will have a special focus on social XR this year and we welcome ideas that explore this territory. We also invite artists to apply with impactful XR nonfiction stories. We are open to a range of creative nonfiction approaches so don’t limit yourselves. Your projects should incorporate VR, AR or a mix of the two.
Successful applicants are curious and collaborative with a strong portfolio of past work, they are experimental in their approach and strive for excellence in their execution.
We are very open to many different creative mediums, from fine arts to filmmaking to creative technology and game design, to photography, theatre, and more.
Applying with a producer and team attached is not essential, but preferable. Please note that only the director of the project can attend the lab.
Electric South fully covers travel, visa costs, accommodation and meals for one person per project.
After the Lab, there is the opportunity for Electric South to grant two of the projects $20,000 each to complete their projects.
In-person from 23 – 30 November 2024 in South Africa (full-time).
Be non-fiction stories. We welcome creative interpretation of documentaries and fiction/documentary hybrids. This year we are also looking for social XR experiences and XR projects that can create real impact.
Use immersive technologies, such as Virtual Reality (VR) or Augmented Reality (AR). This could include technologies and approaches such as:
If you have not heard from us by 30 September 2024 please note that your application has been unsuccessful.
Any questions?
Please contact info@electricsouth.org
Electric South is a non-profit company based in Cape Town, South Africa. We provide mentorship, production services, funding and exhibition for a network of artists across Africa to explore their worlds through immersive, interactive stories including virtual and augmented reality.
To date we’ve produced immersive experiences that have premiered at various global festivals and exhibition spaces including Venice Immersive, Sundance New Frontier, IDFA DocLab, Transmediale, Sheffield DocFest, Centre Phi, and MUTEK. We remain committed to building inclusive spaces for immersive media creators in Africa.
To be agog is to be full of wonder, excitement, and awe. It’s a transformative experience. And that’s powerful stuff. Which is why we’ve formed Agog: The Immersive Media Institute—to help creators and nonprofit leaders harness the power of extended reality (XR) to imagine a better future for all.
Agog is a philanthropic organisation that brings together social-change agents, thinkers, and builders, helping them create new ways to learn, inspire, and collaborate with immersive technologies, such as virtual and augmented reality. We help equip our partners with creative, technical, and financial support to accelerate their work. And we gather and disseminate insights about the rapidly changing XR landscape to make sure everyone benefits from new learnings.
By creating connection, inspiring action, and empowering us to imagine new possibilities, XR can help put humans on an entirely new trajectory. And that leaves us agog.
The stories we tell, and the art we create, help us understand our world and make connections to others. Yet the stories we hear the most still disproportionately favour and represent a select few. By lifting up underrepresented or unheard voices, we can strengthen understandings of human complexity. We can push back against narratives that undermine fairness. And we can disrupt inequality.
Our work explores how cultural narratives affect and shape our reality, and how the arts, journalism, and film can contribute to fairer and more just societies. We are committed to strengthening diverse networks of cultural producers and decision makers. We seek to illuminate the root causes of injustice.
Across our work we prioritise support to artist-driven projects and organisations that include deep and meaningful engagement with communities.
An agency mandated by the Department of Sport, Arts, and Culture, the National Film and Video Foundation provides funding for the development, production, marketing, and distribution of films – including helping filmmakers represent and market their work internationally. In addition, the NFVF commissions research and produces industry statistics that provide both the public and stakeholders with valuable insights into the South African film industry.
It also promotes the development of South African film and television audiences, develops talent and skills in the country – with a special emphasis on previously disadvantaged groups.
Impactful nonfiction stories that are told using creative XR technologies. This could include virtual reality, augmented reality, spatial audio, projection mapping, and beyond. Browse the MIT Open Doc Lab Docubase to give you a sense of the range of possibilities: https://docubase.mit.edu/
We offer a menu of support for our lab alumni, which may include funding, creative and technical consultation, mentorship, industry networking, and more.
Our past artists have gone on to produce immersive work, and many continue to explore emerging and immersive media in their current practice.
We are looking for creative explorers who have an established artistic practice in their respective crafts. Successful applicants are curious and collaborative, they are experimental in their approach and strive for excellence in their execution. We are very open to many different creative mediums, from fine arts, filmmaking, creative technology and game design, photography, theatre, and more. We love bringing an interdisciplinary cohort to the lab because it makes the experience more rewarding for everyone.
Have more questions? Please contact info@electricsouth.org
Electric South, Agog, Ford Foundation, National Film and Video Foundation