Geneva and Linz, 18 July 2012. CERN¹ and Ars Electronica² today launch an open call for artists working in the digital domain to apply for the second Prix Ars Electronica Collide@CERN³. The winner will receive a fully funded residency⁴ at CERN and Ars Electronica to create new dimensions in their artistic practice by encounters with the world of science. This is the second year of the collaboration between CERN and Ars Electronica.

"This residency award will fundamentally change the way you perceive the world, which is the most valuable experience an artist can have," said Julius von Bismarck⁵, winner of last year's award. "That's certainly what did it for me."

Von Bismarck is currently developing ideas initiated during his residency at CERN, one of which will be showcased at this year's Ars Electronica Festival, The Big Picture, which takes place from 30 August to 3 September.

"We're very much looking forward to the results of our latest search for an artist who is inspired by creative collisions between the arts and science," said CERN Director-General Rolf Heuer. "This second year of the Prix Ars Electronica Collide@CERN⁶ is an important continuation of our engagement with the arts."

"You can look forward to seeing the work resulting from Julius von Bismarck's residency at CERN and the Ars Electronica Futurelab," said Ars Electronica Director Gerfried Stocker. "He'll present it at this year's Ars Electronica Festival, which is about Big Pictures⁷: overcoming borders between disciplines and ideologies, about the stronger bond between art and science and about more open perspectives. The Prix Ars Electronica Collide@CERN and its first winner Julius von Bismarck fit perfectly into this year's topic and serve as an example of how that bond works."

Last year's open call attracted 395 entries from over 40 countries. This year, artists from all fields are encouraged to apply: experimental sound work and music, architecture and new design, sculpture, generative art and film, social media projects and new design that explores how people relate science and technology are all welcome. The only proviso is that applicants must use digital techniques in the production and/or the development of their proposed project. The closing date is 26 September 2012 and applicants should submit their entries online, including a short personal-testimony video outlining why they want the award.

"Julius's personal-testimony video last year was a standout entry," said Ariane Koek, CERN's cultural specialist. "We are really excited to see what other inventive personal testimonies are made this year."

Online submissions should be made here.

Contact:

Ars Electronica press office
+43 (0) 732 7272 38 
+43 (0) 732 7272 638 
christopher.sonnleitner@aec.at

Further information
Prix Ars Electronica
Arts@CERN

1. CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is the world's leading laboratory for particle physics. It has its headquarters in Geneva. At present, its member states are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Romania is a candidate for accession. Israel and Serbia are associate members in the pre-stage to membership. India, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United States of America, Turkey, the European Commission and UNESCO have observer status.
2. Incorporated in 1995, Ars Electronica Linz GmbH is in charge of planning and producing the Ars Electronica Festival and the Prix Ars Electronica, and responsible for the operation of the Ars Electronica Center and the Ars Electronica Futurelab. Funding is provided by the City of Linz, the Province of Upper Austria and the Republic of Austria.
3. The Prix Ars Electronica Collide@CERN is the digital arts strand of the 3-year Collide@CERN programme initiated by CERN in 2011. It is a cultural partnership between CERN and Ars Electronica.
4. The residency is at CERN for two months and Ars Electronica for one month. The work emerging from the residency will be showcased at the Ars Electronica Festival 2013. Ars Electronica, Futurelab provides €10,000 prize money. The residency is fully funded thanks to two private donors.
5. Julius von Bismarck lives and works in Berlin. In 2008, he won the Golden Nica of the Prix Ars Electronica for his work Image Fulgarator. Recent works include Von der Decke zum Boden in Berlin – a metal sphere falling from the ceiling to the ground, which played with ideas of gravity and movement; Public Face 2 (the Fühlometer) – an 8-metre-high smiley made out of steel and neon tubes, installed on a lighthouse, showing the present emotions of the citizens of Lindau; and Self-Revolving Torus – a kinetic sculpture of the universe. For more examples of his work see juliusvonbismarck.com.
6. Collide@CERN is an important strand of CERN's policy for engagement with the arts, Great Arts for Great Science. It is an international competition that will run for a period of three years. Each year, artists working in different art forms will have the opportunity to take up a funded residency of up to three months. The programme is made possible thanks to generous funding, to date from: Ars Electronica for the Digital Arts Prize (prize money); private individual donors (for the creative process grant/residency); and from the City and the Canton of Geneva for dance and performance (respectively for the prize money and creative process grant/residency). UNIQA Assurances SA Switzerland is the exclusive sponsor of all artists' insurances for the Collide@CERN programme.
7. This year's Ars Electronica Festival, The Big Picture, runs from 30 August until 4 September. It will feature a presentation and discussions with the first prix Ars Electronica Collide@CERN winner, Julius von Bismarck.