MOMO Festival, Rotterdam 2023 – OPEN CALL

The MOMO OPEN CALL is back! Do you want to present your performance, installation or project during MOMO Festival (13th-15th April 2023) in Rotterdam?

MOMO Festival invites you to apply to this year’s Open Call under the topic of Identity.

How do we identify and how do others identify us? How may our identity adjust or evolve throughout our lifetime? Will it be due to social encounters or acculturations? Will we be privileged to have an awareness of the process and the choice?

Each artist/artistic group will receive a fee of max €1000 in order to present to the public their creative ideas; will it be an audiovisual installation or performance, a gig, or a big-scale sculpture; will it be at MOMO Playground (Schouwburgplein), in one of our venue collaborators or somewhere in the centre of Rotterdam? Well, this is for you to decide! 

Whoever you are and whatever your creative practice is, we are looking for you!

Identity is what defines us and makes us unique. 

However, it is also what connects us with other people, the ones with the same characteristics and thus makes us a group, a collectivity. This way we feel we belong and this is all a person ever wants, right?

Identity though is fluid, it consists of our social and cultural interactions throughout life; a person is influenced by family, school, friends, work, ethnicity, class, generation and gender. The geographical area and the physical context have agency over our identity, as well as our digital environment and interaction. The online influence, combined with the need to belong, can even have a stronger impact than our own family or location for example. The digital persona and the possibilities these environments provide have changed enormously how we identify and behave, digitally or not.

The factors influencing us are countless as also their driving forces. The climate crisis, the increasing migration, worldwide digitalisation, even our diets, can introduce us to new identities that haven’t existed before. However, encountering such diversity also conflicts with assimilation, as one may not feel thoroughly accepted by either group or culture. 

Our society was initially created to distinguish one from another, in order to separate different groups and understand where we belong. But, can’t we tear down the tradition and create a new situation where being bicultural, for instance, expresses the culture one chooses to identify with? A culture that may differ from one’s origins or birthplace. Can we completely strip off stereotypes in identifying?

What you get:

  • Up to €1000 for design, material and production costs
  • Your name on the MOMO Festival line-up!
  • Technical and production guidance
  • Promotion

Make your idea as specific as possible. Describe your plan in a PDF or video and include:

  • A detailed presentation of your idea
  • A concise budget
  • Photos, videos, sketches, examples or links of what you want to create
  • Let us know who you are by sending a portfolio, former work, and/or biography

    Please note that if you decide to send a video, a short written description of your idea should also be included.

Rules:

  • Send in your idea before December 22 via the application form;
  • The application language is either Dutch or English, the communication language is English;
  • You must be able to realise your work within four weeks within the maximum provided fee, 1000 euros minus the artists’ fee if applicable;
  • A Motel Mozaïque jury will initially select  15 projects, among them 4 will be selected by the committee and one will be elected by the MOMO Community through online voting: a total of 5 winners will be selected!
  • You should be either younger than 25 years old or have finalised your studies within the past 5 years;
  • It’s a plus if you live and/or work in Rotterdam;
  • It’s a plus if you are a group.

Want to know more & get inspired?

Inspiration Meetup! On Thursday the 17th of November at 18.30 we are organising an online inspiration meetup for anyone who wants to respond to this open call and wants to know more or has questions. Please sign up via opencall@motelmozaique.nl until the 14th of November. 

Timeline:

  • 17 November: Inspiration meetup (you can register via opencall@motelmozaique.nl)
  • 22 December, 11:59 PM: Call for entries deadline 
  • 25 January – 2 February, 2023: online voting
  • 15 February 2023: Meet the winners! Keep this day free
  • 13, 14 & 15 April 2023: MOMO Festival

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