Creative Call




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SPAM New Media Festival

September 12th-14th, 2025



Open Call for Creative Work Submissions



SPAM New Media Festival invites artists and practitioners working with digital, experimental and emerging artforms to submit work for the 2025 Festival. We seek proposals for creative work to be presented at the Georgetown Steam Plant in Seattle. Potential submissions include, but are not limited to, interactive and immersive works and installations, video and projection mapping, audio and music installations and live performances, artist talks, workshops, demonstrations, and screenings. While we ask that applicants take the venue’s unique qualities into account, submissions do not need to respond specifically to the site in theme or concept. A virtual map of the venue can be explored here.


For this year’s Open Call, we are continuing with our expanded map of terms, key ideas, themes and areas of exploration, which we have been gathering with each festival iteration. We see the festival as a vessel/container for holding and germinating artist projects in different stages of recognition and development, and welcome contributions which entangle with, emerge from, or leak into these different nodes of engagement with digital art and culture. As we mentioned last year, for some the points on the map may be of use in situating their submission within the ethos of the festival, but applicants are not limited to the themes and ideas plotted. We are asking for artist contributions which will help us to expand our critical dialogue with new media art, digital culture and technology-driven work.











Submissions


To apply for inclusion in SPAM New Media Festival 2025, please email a 2-4 page submission proposal and a CV/portfolio (no page limit) to us at spamnewmediafestival@gmail.com with the subject title “2025 Festival Submission”. We ask that both are in PDF format and named accordingly. Links to online portfolios may be provided within an uploaded PDF.

Proposals should include:
  • Artist Statement (up to 300 words)
  • Explanation of creative work, to be used for the selection process only (500-800 words)
  • Images which will help festival organizers to best understand and visualize your proposed creative work
  • Technical requirements, including installation or any other needs specific to your work
  • Relevant links to documentation of previous and/or proposed work



Artist Compensation

SPAM New Media Festival functions as a grassroot community of art workers and depends on the in-kind donation of venues and other resources from our supporters. We are, therefore, unable to cover travel or transport expenses for participating artists. While compensating artists is an important value of the festival,  we are still working hard to fundraise for the 2025 festival, so do not yet know the scale of compensation we can offer artists this year. 



Timeline


Submissions for creative works will close at 5pm on Friday May 16th 2025 Pacific Time.

Applicants will be notified the status of their submission in late May/early June 2025.
 



Contact


Please contact us at spamnewmediafestival@gmail.com with any questions regarding the submission process.




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