Open call: Cairo Electronic and New Media Arts Festival

Known as Cairotronica, the festival will present artworks selected from the open call, as well as invited artists. The festival programme will feature a series of performances, exhibitions, talks, screenings and workshops. The festival will run under the theme Out-Natured and is designed to open a critical dialogue at the intersection of technology, nature and society. This exploration is not simply a thematic choice but a reflection of the urgent environmental and societal shifts witnessed today. In this inquiry, the participants will delve into the paradoxes and complexities of techno-natural existence and dependence.

Conditions and guidelines

• The call is open for students, artists, individuals and groups.
• The festival does not offer a fee for successfully selected work/s.
• For individuals and groups submitting more than one work, please note that you need to submit a separate application form for each submission.
• The number of submissions is limited to two works or projects.
• If a project/artwork is selected, the submitted images and text material will be used within all promotional materials and publication, with all copyrights reserved. The organisers ask applicants to carefully prepare their participation data.
• All submissions will be reviewed by an appointed selection committee. For video work in languages other than English and Arabic, please provide English or Arabic subtitles.
• Accepted applicants are expected to confirm their participation and send any further requested material within a week from acceptance.
• Submissions with incomplete or missing information won’t be considered by the selection committee.

Submission

• Applications can be submitted online here before 25 February 2024.
• Submissions can be filled in English or Arabic.
• All applicants will be notified of the status of their applications via email by 10 March 2024.

“Out-Natured challenges the narratives of technological determinism and environmental neutrality,” a statement reads. “It questions the role of human agency in this era, probing the ethical and political dimensions of our entanglement with both technology and nature. This edition is a call to critically reassess this relationship, moving away from dominance and exploitation towards more sustainable and equitable models. It is an invitation to reimagine our collective future – to consider how art and technology can coalesce to forge pathways that are ecologically sound and culturally inclusive.”

For any questions regarding the submission and open call, email [email protected].

View the original call here.