xCoAx 2020: 8th International Conference on Computation, Communication, Aesthetics and X

Extended submission deadline: 16 February 2020

8-10 July 2020, Graz, Austria

Extended submission deadline: 16 February 2020

http://xcoax.org/

Call for papers, artworks, performances

xCoAx is an exploration of the intersection where computational tools and media meet art and culture, in the form of a multi-disciplinary enquiry on aesthetics, computation, communication and the elusive X factor that connects them all.

xCoAx has been an occasion for international audiences to meet and exchange ideas, in search for interdisciplinary synergies among computer scientists, artists, media practitioners, and theoreticians at the thresholds between digital arts and culture. Starting in 2013 in Bergamo, xCoAx has so far taken place also in Porto, Glasgow, Lisbon, Madrid, and Milan.

The focus of xCoAx is on the unpredictable overlaps between the freedom of creativity and the rules of algorithms, between human nature and machine technology, with the aim to evolve towards new directions in aesthetics.

In 2020 xCoAx will take place in Graz, Austria, directly adjoining the symposium Algorithms That Matter (ALMAT). On the two days preceding xCoAx, ALMAT gathers artists and researchers to present and discuss the relations between algorithmic agency and artistic research, the practice of algorithmic experimentation and its impact on compositional process. ALMAT has issued a separate call for participation(https://almat.iem.at/symposium.html) and reduced combi-tickets will be available for xCoAx + ALMAT.

xCoAx 2020 calls for papers, artworks, performances and research works-in-progress by scholars, artists, performers and students, respectively, working on any of the multi-disciplinary facets of this event, which will take over Graz for 3 days, starting July 8th 2020, at the following venues:

·        the Cube at the Institute of Electronic Music and Acoustic of the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz

·        the Forum Stadtpark at the centre of the main city park

·        the Grazer Kunstverein on the ground floor of the historic Palais Trautmansdorff in the centre of Graz

·        the Orchestersaal and the Ligeti Hall of the MUMUTH, the House of Music and Music Drama.

xCoAx 2020’s keynote speakers are the philosopher of technology Yuk Hui and new media artist Špela Petrič.

Topics

You are invited to submit theoretical, practical or experimental research work in the form of papers, artworks, and performances, on a range of topics that includes but is not limited to the following:

·        Computation

·        Communication

·        Aesthetics

·        X

·        Algorithms / Systems / Models

·        Artificial Aesthetics

·        Artificial Intelligence

·        Audiovisuals / Multimodality

·        Creativity

·        Design

·        Interaction

·        Games

·        Generative Art / Design

·        History

·        Mechatronics / Physical Computing

·        Music / Sound Art

·        Performance

·        Philosophy of Art / of Computation

·        Technology / Ethics / Epistemology

Important dates

·        Submission deadline: January 31

·        Notifications: March 23 [papers], March 30 [artworks and performances]

·        Registration deadline for authors: May 3

·        Delivery of final versions: May 3

·        Doctoral symposium: July 8

·        Exhibition opening, opening cocktail, performances: July 8

·        Performances at the Ligeti Hall: July 9

·        Conference and exhibition: July 9 & 10

Submission categories

Papers

5 to 10 pages conference paper, following the formatting in the Word template at http://xcoax.org/xCoAx_2020_Paper_Template.docx
Revision of papers will be double-blind. Please make sure that the PDF file is completely anonymized (i.e. omits author-related information in body of text or as explicit self-citations, notes and bibliography). Accepted papers will be published in the conference proceedings and allotted 15 minutes presentation time at the conference in the Orchestersaal in the MUMUTH.

Doctoral Symposium Abstracts

Only Master’s and PhD students can apply to present their work-in-progress and receive feedback from established researchers. Submit a document, following the formatting in the Word template at http://xcoax.org/xCoAx_2020_DoctoralSymposium_Template.docx, comprised of a letter of support from your advisor followed by a 2-page research paper with 1) Purpose of the research and its importance to the field; 2) Brief survey of background and related work; 3) Description of the proposed approach; 4) Expected contributions; 5) Progress towards goals. Revision of proposals will be single-blind. A revised version will be requested for inclusion in the proceedings after the symposium. Previous xCoAx Doctoral Symposia were chaired by Frieder Nake, Mario Klingemann, Philip Galanter, and Simona Chiodo. The Doctoral Symposium will take place in the Cube at the Institute of Electronic Music and Acoustic of the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz. 

Artworks

3 to 4 page description paper, following the formatting in the Word template at http://xcoax.org/xCoAx_2020_Artwork_Performance_Template.docx
Revision of proposals will be single-blind. Proposals should provide a clear description of the work, one or more URLs for access to relevant media assets, and a technical rider (layout, setup, required equipment).
The acceptance of artworks will not only depend on reviews, but also on their technical requirements. xCoAx has a limited budget, mainly based on the registration fees. Works that require excessive resources on xCoAx’s part may not be accepted. It is fundamental that the proponents are ready to bring their own equipment and minimize their reliance on the xCoAx organization.
All accepted works will be allotted 5 minutes presentation time at the conference in the Orchestersaal in the MUMUTH. Artworks will be part of the exhibition at the Kunstverein and the Forum Stadtpark. The proceedings will publish an extended abstract to be provided by the authors after the conference.

Performances 

3 to 4 page description paper, following the formatting in the Word template at http://xcoax.org/xCoAx_2020_Artwork_Performance_Template.docx
Revision of proposals will be single-blind. Proposals should provide a clear description of the work, one or more URLs for access to relevant media assets, and a technical rider (layout, setup, required equipment).
The acceptance of artworks will not only depend on reviews, but also on their technical requirements. xCoAx has a limited budget, mainly based on the registration fees. Works that require excessive resources on xCoAx’s part may not be accepted. It is fundamental that the proponents are ready to bring their own equipment and minimize their reliance on the xCoAx organization.
All accepted works will be allotted 5 minutes presentation time at the conference in the Orchestersaal in the MUMUTH. Performances will be allotted a maximum of 20 minutes on stage during the performance night at the Forum Stadtpark. The proceedings will publish an extended abstract to be provided by the authors after the conference.

Special call for performances at the Ligeti Hall

The Ligeti Hall is KUG’s main concert stage, equipped with state-of-the-art technology for sound and video projection. In particular, the hall provides a system of 32 loudspeakers mounted on independent, custom made motorised suspensions, which allow to adjust height level, azimuth angle and tilt of each individual speaker and to compose custom speaker layouts. Further, an array of 64 speakers spans the hall’s entire ceiling and upper walls.
This is a call for works which are especially tailored towards the Ligeti Hall’s special infrastructure and its possible aesthetic implication. In particular, we seek contributions with a strong experimental and electroacoustic character that challenge common and established approaches to sound on multichannel setups. Further information regarding this special call can be found here: https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/700387/700388
Submissions to this category should follow the same formal specifications as detailed for the performances categories.

Additional information and submission details

·        All works must be submitted via EasyChair: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=xcoax2020

·        Submissions must be original and will be rigorously reviewed by an international and multidisciplinary scientific committee, in a process that will assess originality, relevance, artistic and technical achievements;

·        Submissions should be presented as .pdf files with all the media files embedded or linked to online resources;

·        Final versions for publication should be delivered in .docx with all the images and other media files attached as independent files;

·        All images and media assets must be cleared for publication by the authors;

·        At least one of the authors of each selected contribution must register to the conference before the first author registration deadline in order for the work to be published in the proceedings;

·        xCoAx’s working language is English;

·        xCoAx’s conference proceedings (with ISBN) will be published online with free access;

·        A selection of works will be published in a forthcoming special issue of CITAR’s Journal of Science and Technology of the Arts (http://artes.ucp.pt/citarj/);

·        Please contact the program chairs at info@xcoax.org with any questions regarding submissions.

Conference format

·        Wednesday July 8 afternoon: Doctoral symposium

·        Wednesday July 8 evening: Opening of the exhibition, reception cocktail, performances.

·        Thursday July 9: Conference, keynote. Presentations will be organised in panels chaired by a moderator. A guest keynote will close the day.

·        Thursday July 9 evening: Performances at the Ligeti Hall.

·        Friday July 10: Conference, keynote, artworks and performances session. Further paper panels will be held in the morning, while the afternoon will be dedicated to presentations on artworks and performances. A second keynote address will close the day.

·        Friday July 10 evening: Conference dinner.

Registration

·        Author registration: € 220 — Before May 3rd. One author per paper. Includes entry to conference, performances, and conference dinner.

·        Reduced registration: € 90 — Non-presenting co-authors, authors without academic affiliation, general public. Includes entry to conference and performances, and conference dinner.

·        Doctoral symposium: € 90 — Includes entry to conference and performances, and conference dinner.

·        Conference dinner: € 30 — Open to non-registered accompanying persons.

·        ALMAT discount: € 30 — Add this to your ticket, and in addition to xCoAx you will also be registered for the Algorithms that Matter symposium (06–07 July 2020) at a discounted price.

·        Registrations will open after the notifications of the reviews (March 2020). 

Scientific committee

Adriana Sá – ESAD/CICANT
Alessandro Ludovico – Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton / Neural
Alice Eldridge – University of Sussex
André Rangel – CITAR
Andreas Broeckmann – Leuphana Arts Program, Lüneburg 
Andreas Muxel – Faculty of Design at University of Applied Sciences Augsburg
Andreas Zingerle – independent artist
Andres Burbano – School of Architecture and Design, Universidad de los Andes, Colombia
Anne Balsamo – University of Texas at Dallas
Anneké Pettican – Department Lead Art & Communication, University of Huddersfield
Arne Eigenfeldt – Simon Fraser University
Boris Debackere – V2 / Luca School of Arts
Carlos Guedes – New York University Abu Dhabi
Chara Lewis – Manchester School of Art, Manchester Metropolitan University
Christian Faubel – independent artist
Cristina Sá – CITAR / Portuguese Catholic University, School of Arts
Dale Macdonald – University of Texas at Dallas
Daniel Irrgang – Weizenbaum Institute / Berlin University of the Arts
Daniel Schorno – STEIM
David Pirrò – Institute of Electronic Music and Acoustics, University of Music and Performing Arts, Graz
Filipe Pais – Ensadlab, Ensad, Paris
Francisco Cardoso Lima – Independent Artist, Aveiro 
Frieder Nake – University of Bremen & Hochschule für Künste Bremen
Hanns Holger Rutz – University of Music and Performing Arts Graz
Heitor Alvelos – ID+ / Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Porto
Irina Spicaka – CC4AV
João Cordeiro – CITAR / University of West London
Jason Reizner – Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
Jon He Massey – University
Jon McCormack – Monash University
Kristin Mojsiewicz – Edinburgh College Of Art, University Of Edinburgh 
Linda Kronman – independent artist
Luísa Ribas- CIEBA / Faculty Of Fine Arts, University Of Lisbon
Manuela Naveau – Ars Electronica
Mario Verdicchio – Università degli Studi di Bergamo
Martin Kaltenbrunner – Kunstuniversität Linz
Max Hampshire - Independent Researcher & Artist
Miguel Carvalhais – INESC TEC / Faculty Of Fine Arts, University Of Porto
Mitchell Whitelaw – College Of Arts And Social Sciences, Australian National University
Mona Kasra – University Of Virginia
Nathan Wolek – Stetson University
Nuno N. Correia – University Of Greenwich
Patrícia João Reis – University Of Applied Arts Vienna, Austria, Department Of Digital Arts
Paulo Ferreira Lopes – Hochschule Mainz
Pedro Cardoso – INESC TEC / Faculty Of Fine Arts, University Of Porto
Penousal Machado – University Of Coimbra
Philip Galanter – Texas A&M University
Ricardo Melo – CEOS.PP / Polytechnic Of Porto. Porto Accounting And Business School
Rodrigo Hernández-Ramírez – Instituto de Arte, Design e Empresa (IADE)
Rosemary Lee – IT-University Copenhagen
Roxanne Leitão – Central Saint Martins, University Of The Arts London
Rui Penha – INESC TEC / Feup
Rui Torres – Electronic Literature Organization / Faculty Of Human And Social Sciences, University Fernando Pessoa, Porto
Samuel Van Ransbeeck – UCP/CITAR
Sophie-Carolin Wagner – Austrian National Library / RIAT
Shusha Niederberger – House Of Electronic Arts Basel
Tim Boykett – Time’s Up
Thor Magnusson – University Of Sussex / Ixi Audio
Valentina Nisi – University Of Madeira
Valentina Vuksic – Zurich University of the Arts
Winnie Soon – Department of Digital Design at Aarhus University

Organizing committee

André Rangel – CITAR
Jason Reizner – Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
Luísa Ribas – CIEBA / Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Lisbon
Mario Verdicchio – Università degli Studi di Bergamo
Miguel Carvalhais – INESC TEC / Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Porto

Local organizing committee

David Pirrò – Institute of Electronic Music and Acoustics, University of Music and Performing Arts Graz
Hanns Holger Rutz – Institute of Electronic Music and Acoustics, University of Music and Performing Arts Graz
Daniele Pozzi – Institute of Electronic Music and Acoustics, University of Music and Performing Arts Graz

Contacts

info@xcoax.org
http://xcoax.org
https://twitter.com/xcoaxorg
http://facebook.com/xcoax.org
https://www.instagram.com/xcoaxorg/