Realities Festival

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Not for profit:

Commission for “Realities Festival” 

Seeking Interactive Installations About Misinformation 

The Festival of Realities

The Festival of Realities is a dynamic interactive exhibition about one of the biggest issues of our time: Misinformation. Audiences will explore the themes and tactics of deception that feed the misinformation machine received via our news and information platforms which bombard our minds all day, everyday, down to the micro second. From fake news to deepfakes, from astroturfing to sanewashing, this exhibition addresses the question “Can reality itself be trusted?” In doing so it will reveal deceitful media methodologies and give participants the opportunity to arm themselves in the fight to hold onto reality.

The Brief

Medea is excited to invite innovative artists from the UK and beyond to propose projects and works that address themes of misinformation through interactive play. This is your chance to explore and challenge the systems that make misinformation so prolific and so damaging to individuals, communities, civilisation and our planet. Your installations will form the heart of the festival and will act as a conduit to rally our audience and ignite connections. If you believe that your work can help audiences to re-examine and reimagine our current and future realities then please put your proposal forward!

Email linseigh@medeacreations.com to receive a full pdf of the brief.

The Ask.

We are looking to commission new concepts or projects currently in development.

The works will initially be shown at the Festival of Realities. In addition to debuting at the Realities Festival, successful submissions will also have the opportunity to be showcased at future Medea events such as our flagship immersive experience, Storehouse in London, which will run from May - Sept 2025. 

We are seeking a variety of formats, including:

  • Immersive/interactive installations 

  • Browser games 

  • Digital toolkits & takeaways

  • Deepfake art

  • …and more!

Any form of art or technology will be considered but we are particularly keen to see pieces that are interactive in nature, are great to watch even if you are not the participant, feature personalised outputs, and/or have shareable takeaways. 

Themes

Pieces must cover one of the following areas of misinformation themes or tactics:

  • Cult of personality 

  • Gaslighting / Cherrypicking

  • Scapegoating / Smearing

  • Emotional Arousal / Fearmongering

  • In-group and out-group Bias / Bandwagons / Peer groups / Black-and-white fallacy

  • Astroturfing / Firehosing of Falsehood / Information Overload

  • Division / Polarization / Othering

  • Emotional Manipulation / Limbic System Manipulation 

  • Share Culture / Attention Economy / Overstimulation

  • Flag-Waving 

  • Sanewashing 

 

Values

The most successful submissions will align with Medea’s values:

  • Shining a light on the issue, revealing the inner workings of misinformation themes and tactics so the audience gains the tools to protect them from deception.

  • Information is power; understanding its flow is crucial in today's world.

  • Critical thinking can be developed through engaging, artistic experiences. 

  • Everyone has the capacity to become a more discerning consumer of information. 

  • Playfulness and serious learning can coexist in transformative experiences.

Tone

Artists are encouraged to submit playful, engaging Trojan horses that subversively educate audiences about misinformation and its relevant themes and tactics. The aim of this exhibition is not to leave audiences feeling hopeless, but to invite them into the discourse surrounding misinformation, inspire a motivation to take action, and subtly arm them with the necessary tools for critical thinking and questioning. 

The ideal tone would be “fun Black Mirror”. Revealing wisdom amid shadowy worlds. 'Playful, comedic experiences set within the dark realities of corrupt systems. For example a bleak absurdity that builds resilience through play would be more effective than presenting sheer dystopian warning. The work should nourish the audience with new ideas or information which empower them to take on the responsibility to act one step at a time. 

Prize Summary: 
£10,000 commission
Prizes Details: 

£10,000 project commission to create a new concepts or projects currently in development to be shown at the Festival of Realities..

In addition to debuting at the Realities Festival, successful submissions will also have the opportunity to be showcased at future Medea events such as our flagship immersive experience, Storehouse in London, which will run from May - Sept 2025. 

We are seeking a variety of formats, including:

  • Immersive/interactive installations 

  • Browser games 

  • Digital toolkits & takeaways

  • Deepfake art

  • …and more!

Any form of art or technology will be considered but we are particularly keen to see pieces that are interactive in nature, are great to watch even if you are not the participant, feature personalised outputs, and/or have shareable takeaways. 

Event date: 
April 19, 2025 to April 26, 2025
Location: 
London, United Kingdom
Deadline: 
02/February/2025

Entry Fee:

Fee Detail: 
Up to £10k per commission
Contact & Links: 
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