Research and experimentation grant at Hangar’s Soft/Hardware and Interaction Lab

Hangar, open centre for artistic research and production in Barcelona, is calling for artists, collectives, researchers and developers in the field of open source technology to carry out a three-month research, development and/or production residency in its Soft/Hardware and Interaction Lab.

With these grants, Hangar provides the recipients with the budget, the space and the appropriate technical conditions to produce a work and contribute to its dissemination in a professional environment.

About Hangar’s Soft/Hardware and Interaction Lab
Hangar’s commitment to free hardware and software has led to the development of tailor-made hardware for artistic projects. Through the Interaction Lab, Hangar can develop all types of hardware for artistic projects that require it, including the development of internal electronics, programming and prototyping. Some examples of applications are: real-time interaction, synchronisation, mechanisms, automation and remote control. The lab also develops a series of royalty-free tools that are available to artistic projects that need them.

Miguel de las Heras, the technician in charge of the laboratory, will provide technical advice on the development of the selected project.

TERMS

1. Objectives
General objectives:
– To support creators in their research and/or production activities, their experimental work and the development and completion of their projects.
– To identify and encourage the creation of communities around new tools and/or technologies.

Specific objectives:
– To promote and facilitate the necessary resources for experimentation, research, development and creation in the field of interactive open technology.
– To promote the documentation, publication, dissemination, transfer and exchange of knowledge in the field of creation with open interactive technology.

2. Services and financing
Hangar will provide the recipient with:
– Fees: €2,500 gross.
– A production grant of up to €3,500 gross, which may be used to cover direct technical execution work or the cost of renting the workspace.
– Technical support, advice and access to tools for the development and production of the project.
– Hangar will put the contacts of its network of collaborators at the disposal of the grant holders: suppliers, technicians, techno-scientific research centres or other artistic and cultural institutions that they may need.
– Hangar will support the dissemination and public presentation of the project.
– These grants do not cover travel costs from the place of residence to the centre, nor accommodation or living expenses.

3. To whom it’s addressed
– Artists and collectives, researchers and developers of all ages and nationalities working in the field of open technology creation. In the case of collectives, there must be a person in charge of the project.
The call will consider projects that require a research, development, prototyping or production phase in Hangar’s interaction lab.

4. Length
The duration of the grant is 3 consecutive months, to be carried out between 1 January and 30 June 2024.

5. Conditions of participation
– Each person or group can apply with only one project.
– The project must be carried out mainly with the Hangar Interaction Lab.
– The project must be carried out over a period of no more than 3 consecutive months and must be completed before 30 June 2024.
– Expenses covered by the grant must be incurred within the three months of the project.

6. Commitments of the selected project with Hangar
– Participation in the dynamisation of the Open Thursdays*, attending other creators and the offer of free technical support.
– Organizing an open and free workshop on the tools used to develop the project.
– Presenting the project during the residency at Hangar as part of Paratext.
– Submiting a final report on the project and an evaluation of the residency within two months of its completion.
– Hangar’s logo will be included as producer or co-producer in the credits and on all types of communication and dissemination materials for future presentations of the research that may be produced. If, in any case, it is not possible to include the logo, the project will be disseminated and presented with the following text “Project produced with the support of the 2023 Research Grant. Hangar.org Centre for Artistic Production and Research”.
– The artist cedes to Hangar the rights of public communication of the research for any country in the world, for dissemination and communication (publications, press dossier, website of the Centre, social networks, etc.).

*Open Thursdays are weekly meetings open to artists, creators and developers from different disciplines of electronic arts who want to work with free hardware and software tools. Attendance is always free and allows participants to meet with technology experts in free tools and collectives to collaborate and share resources to develop projects.

7. Submission of applications
To apply for this call, please send an e-mail to miguel(at)hangar.org with the subject “Research and experimentation grant at Hangar’s soft/hardware and interaction Lab” and attach a dossier in PDF format containing the following fields

– Personal details (full name, date and place of birth, ID or passport photo, contact email, contact phone).
– Curriculum vitae, including the technical training of the person/group submitting the proposal (maximum 1,500 characters, including spaces).
– Project description, including:
– Project summary (up to 2000 characters including spaces).
– Related tags (up to 10 tags).
– Objectives (up to 1000 characters including spaces).
– Expected results (up to 2000 characters including spaces).
– Methodology (up to 2000 characters including spaces).
– Motivation for the Hangar Interaction Lab residency (up to 2000 characters including spaces).
– How the project will be documented (up to 2000 characters including spaces).
– Timeline and work plan, which should include an approximate start date for the project (up to 2000 characters including spaces).
– List of technical requirements.

* IMPORTANT:
– Applications that do not contain the required information and/or exceed the length limit will not be accepted.
– The content of the applications may be submitted in Catalan, Spanish or English.

8. Deadlines and calendar
– Deadline for submission of applications: January 5th, 2024 at 2 p.m. (GMT +1).
– Results of the selection process: January 15th, 2024.
– Residency period: three consecutive months, starting and ending before 30 June 2024, to be agreed with Hangar.

9. Selection Committee
The selection committee will be made up of an artist, an expert in open source technology and the head of Hangar’s Interaction Lab. It will be announced in the next few days.

The selection committee may contact the shortlisted candidates for an interview.

10. Evaluation criteria
The selection committee will evaluate projects on the basis of:
– The submission of all the documents and materials requested in the call, in the format and within the deadline specified.
– The relevance and coherence of the project in the context of the artist’s career.
– The quality, relevance and interest of the project.
– The technical training and degree of self-sufficiency of the applicant.
– The capacity of the project to open up and share its development process with the communities around Hangar.
– The fit of the proposal with the lines of work of the Hangar and the Interaction Lab itself.
– The feasibility and development potential of the project at Hangar.

11. Privacy policy
– In accordance with data protection regulations, we inform you that personal data must be processed by Hangar in order to manage participation in this call. Due to legal obligations, the data will not be disclosed to third parties. You have the right to access, rectify and cancel the data provided, as well as the other rights established in the current data protection legislation.
– The submission of projects under this call implies the presumption of authorship, with the person submitting the project being responsible for any claims that may arise.

12. Acceptance of the rules and the decision of the jury
Participation in this call for entries implies acceptance of its rules and the jury’s decision, as well as any subsequent changes that may occur as a result of factors beyond Hangar’s control.

For further information, please contact
Miguel Angel de Heras
miguel(at)hangar.org