Conflux 2009 : Submissions

In keeping with its commitment to urban artistic exploration, community participation, shared knowledge, and critical civic engagement, Conflux will organize a user-generated open format event on Sunday September 20th, 2009 from 10am-6pm.

Through an open submissions process, ConfluxCity will provide a platform for artists, urban geographers, technologists and others to organize and produce innovative activities dedicated to the examination, celebration and (re)construction of everyday urban life.

Drawing inspiration from Burning Man’s creed of radical self-reliance and BarCamp’s philosophy of openness and participation, ConfluxCity will adopt an open-space approach in which participants will be expected to organize, promote, and host their own activities and events. To facilitate this format, the Conflux Festival headquarters and website will serve as a central communications hub directing festival attendees outward to individual event websites and locations.

ConfluxCity participants must submit their proposal by July 20th ($10 administrative fee). All proposals will be judged based on artistic merit, originality, and feasibility.

Once you’ve read the guidelines (below) and the participant agreement, please submit your proposal here.

Timeline

June 26: Call for Proposals OPENS
July 20: Call for Proposals CLOSES
Early August: Accepted proposals announced
September 17 - 20: Conflux 2009
September 20: ConfluxCity

Guidelines

Types of Event

Participants in Conflux share an interest in psychogeography. Projects range from interpretations of the classical approach developed by the Situationists to emerging artistic, conceptual, and technology-based practices.

Here are examples of events to be featured in ConfluxCity:

• exploratory drifts/dérives on foot or by bike, subway, bus or other transport
• walks with experimental mapping or navigation techniques
• social/environmental/urban research and fieldwork
• workshops and classes
• temporary outdoor installations/interventions
• interactive performance projects
• street games
• mobile-tech/locative media projects
• micro-radio, podcasting, vlogging and other broadcast proposals
• alternative use/re-use of public space
• projects proposing alternative/experimental/DIY cultures, economies, communities, and artistic initiatives
• lectures, multimedia presentations and panel discussions
• short film/video works
• live audio/video projects and musical performances for night events
• sculpture, painting, photography, or collage that directly addresses urban space and psychogeography

For examples of past Conflux events, visit our archived website.

Selection Criteria

Relevance: How does the event relate to psychogeography?
Does its theme address issues central to classic psychogeography and/or propose new methods? Does the event take a unique approach to exploring, understanding, celebrating or changing the city?

Participant Experience: How do Conflux attendees experience the event? Is the public experience well-thought-through? Does the event encourage dialogue between the diverse communities of New York City?

Feasibility: Is the event’s scope reasonable? Does the event have its own funding? Can the artists travel to Conflux with their own funds?

Locations

Only events that take place in the New York City area are eligible. They may be outdoors or in a venue you provide. Conflux HQ will be located at NYU Steinhardt’s Department of Art and Art Professions in the East Village (34 Stuyvesant Street). The HQ will feature a lounge area for visitors and space for event maps and flyers. There will be wi-fi at the HQ. We’ll focus heavily on events that are in downtown Manhattan, but we anticipate events happening in all five boroughs. In order to prevent excessive congestion at the headquarters, ConfluxCity events may not start or be located within or directly outside 34 Stuyvesant Street. However, we encourage you to locate parks and public spaces nearby that may be suitable for your event.

Heads Up [Permits & Production Info]

Please keep in mind that you’ll be responsible for doing the research and securing any necessary venues, permits, assistants, equipment, materials and so on in the production of your event. IMPORTANT: If your project is outdoors and has amplified sound, the city requires a permit; read about that here. We’d love to help plan each event, but we have a small (all volunteer) staff and our resources are limited. We’ll have several volunteers at Conflux HQ throughout the festival to help everyone. Some things to consider:

• New York Civil Liberties Union [Know Your Rights]
• Obtaining a Park Permit
• NYPD Anti-Graffiti Initiative
• For project materials/equipment, check out Freecycle and Wastematch.

Funding

Conflux unfortunately is unable to provide any funding or material assistance for ConfluxCity events.

Contact Us

If you have questions about the submission process, contact us.

Submission Guidelines

• You may work with collaborators. The form includes space for the lead contact person’s information, as well as the names of collaborators.
• Please don’t send us updates about your project via email during the submission and curating period. If we have questions, we’ll contact you for more information.
• You’ll receive confirmation by email that includes your submitted information. Please keep this for your reference.
• If you’d like to submit more than one project, no problem, but please submit entries individually; each requires payment of the submission fee.
• You must agree to the participant agreement.
• Payment is accepted online via PayPal. Only proposals with associated payment will be considered for entry.

Please submit your proposal here!