TOPO, a Montreal-based digital arts artist-run centre, is launching a new hybrid call for projects for its 2021-2023 programming. The theme is fluidity TOPO is planning a series of exhibitions, both in galleries and online, which will enliven its upcoming season of activities starting in fall 2021.

In an era of heightened variability, the concept of fluidity opens up rich and open reflections on the impermanence of harmonies. Fluidity refers to something that flows easily, without resistance, but also something that is difficult to grasp or pin down. Fluidity refers to the smooth running of a journey, its “clarity”; it becomes reassuring because it is predictable and controlled, “flowing naturally.” But everything that appears stable is only an illusion, because stability is subject to continuous flows of dynamic interactions coming from all sides.

The concept of fluidity has been used in various disciplines (physics, sociology, economics, etc.) and often presents contrasting paradoxes. Polish sociologist Zygmunt Bauman has extensively explored the related concept of “liquidity” to describe our lives and cities caught up in incessant flows of speed, perpetual change, and movement. While this fluidity is a threat to social structures, it is also an opportunity, as it is synonymous with flexibility. Fluid life adapts to its environment, constantly reshaping its networks and remaining open to the outside world.

Call for proposals

TOPO is launching this call for proposals in two parts:

1. Media and interactive installations for the Showcase : a 12 m² glass-fronted space located in the hallway on the ground floor of the Pôle de Gaspé, housing commercial, cultural, and artistic spaces, including nine artist-run exhibition and production centers. Within this environment, the window display captures attention and provokes various reflections on the occupation of the space and the production. in situ.
2. Web artworks TOPO aims to bridge the gap between its web DNA and current production by paying tribute to internet culture. In a “post-everything” context, what are the visible trends in today's creations designed by, for, and with the internet? The selected web works will be grouped into series and promoted online through the TOPO website, accompanied by an editorial text.

For its 2021-2023 programming, TOPO is seeking proposals that offer engaging discourse and formal and narrative explorations that challenge the integration of text, image, and sound, in their physical or screen-based dimensions. Proposals may include both an installation component and a web dimension that extends the experience into virtual space.

Special attention is paid to the imaginations of the Americas, including those originating from indigenous peoples.

Projects in galleries and online may explore different approaches to fluidity as new ways of being, both in societal and individual dimensions, as critiques and as utopias. Whether interactive, generative, contemplative, or disruptive, how do these works reflect on the characteristics and nuances of fluidity, flow, and their boundaries?

For example:

• The Internet and its continuous transformation;
• new forms of celebrity;
• identity variations;
• mobility as a relational object: connection or exclusion;
• questioning consumerism;
• the socio-ecological transition;
• open source urban planning;
• transformed nature;
• the art of living with uncertainty.

For the Vitrine and the Web, finalized projects or those currently in progress that demonstrate a strong commitment on the part of the artists will be given preference.

The selection criteria take into account the relevance and feasibility of the projects in the proposed context. The artist must be able to produce their work and maintain it throughout the exhibition. Web-based works must be compatible with standard distribution platforms.

In its analysis, the center pays close attention to the various forms of presentation and formulation of practices stemming from artistic and cultural diversity.

Artists whose proposal is selected will benefit from the following:

• • a dissemination fee;

• • accès aux équipements informatiques et audiovisuels du centre (voir en ligne);

• • three days of technical support mounting the artwork;

• • organisation d’un événement de diffusion appuyé par une campagne de promotion.

In the case of artists living outside the Montreal region, travel and accommodation costs will have to be covered by a specific agreement or dedicated funding.

Required documents:

1) Project and approach

— Description of the installation or web art project (2 pages max.)

— Description of technical requirements — installation (1 page max.)

— Artistic approach (1 page max.)

— Curriculum vitae (3 pages max.)

These documents must be combined into a single PDF file (5 MB max.).

2) Visual documentation (max. 12 documents)

— Images (jpg, gif, png)

— Press kit, if applicable (max. 4 pages)

Visual documentation must be grouped into a single Zip file (15 MB max).

3) Web links and video

Enter a maximum of three web links and their descriptions in the form.

Please use the following standard to name files without special and accented characters:

• • Text documentation: 2021-2023_TXT_ArtistName.pdf

• • Visual documentation: 2021-2023_VISUAL_ArtistName.zip