Partnering for the first time with Zú, MUTEK Montréal invites the collective United Curators to lead the third iteration of their international multidisciplinary laboratory using artificial intelligence in the creation of audiovisual works. The Montreal MUTEK AI Art Lab takes place in Montreal, Canada, from March 1-10, 2020.

The MUTEK AI Art Lab will gather visual and sound artists, creators, musicians and composers, programmers, researchers, engineers and curators alike to jointly explore the intersection of artificial intelligence and art.

The framework will be guided by lectures and workshops introduced by notable professionals including the Lab curators, Natalia Fuchs ARTYPICAL, Gamma Festival, MUTEK.AE) and Maurice Jones (MUTEK.JP); and Peter Kirn (Create Digital Music, Establishment) as the Lab facilitator, as well as AI experts, new media researchers, seasoned musicians and artists.

The goal is to unpack concepts about artificial intelligence, explore our connections with AI and breakdown stereotypes, but, above all, the project wishes to extend the specialized field of AI to artists and creatives who would like to interact more with this emerging technology and learn about its social and philosophical dimensions.

The Montreal edition of the Lab draws from the connections and experiences gathered in St-Petersburg (Gamma_LAB AI, Russia, May 2019), and Tokyo (MUTEK.JP AI Music Lab, Japan, November 2019).

– Ten (10) participants will be selected through this open call;
– Each selected participant will receive a stipend of $1000 each;
– While this call is open to proposals from across the world, five spots are reserved for participants from the City of Montreal;
– This Lab is intended for artists, creators, curators, critics, researchers, engineers,  programmers etc. who have an independent practice or work in the industry sector;
– Applicants should have prior experience with AI, whether theoretical or practical;
– The precise schedule of the Lab with the list of international experts joining will be released in January 2020;
– Because of its international nature, the Lab will take place in English, with French-speaking facilitators in the room.

Application Procedures

The deadline to apply to the MUTEK AI Art Lab is Sunday, January 12, and the results will be announced on Monday January 20.
The selection of the Lab participants will be carried out after careful evaluation of their CVs and portfolios, draft conceptual ideas of the projects to elaborate during the Lab and brief motivation letter (all documents to be provided in English).
Please make sure that you mention the level of your software skills in the CV (especially in sound processing with software such as Ableton, visual processing with software such as Touchdesigner, and/or coding skills, such as Python, for example).

Participants will need to bring their personal computers with adequate computing power (preferably GPU-accelerated) to the Lab to work on their projects. The main language of the lab is English.
Any local or international transportation, accommodation costs or living expenses remains needs to be covered by the participants.
MUTEK Montréal and Zú can provide visa application support, if necessary.
The Lab is developed in partnership with MUTEK Montréal and participants could have the opportunity to receive an invitation to present their work at the festival.

Applications should include a CV or a bio, a portfolio, draft project concept and a letter stating your motivations to participate in the Montréal AI Art Lab (in English, maximum 2 pages).

Send your proposal to ailab@mutek.org by January 12, 2020.

Team

Curators: Natalia Fuchs (ARTYPICAL), Maurice Jones (MUTEK.JP) – United Curators

Facilitator: Peter Kirn (CDM)

Partners

Host: MUTEK Montréal 
Venue Partner: Zú
Academic Partner: Concordia University Milieux Institute

This program was made possible thanks to the support of the City of Montreal’s Art-Industry Grant program, via its Entente sur le développement culturel de Montréal from the government of Québec.