Transit Lounge – Program Gallery, Invalidenstrasse 115, 10115 Berlin GERMANY
Deadline: Monday 13th October 2008

The Australian-German collaborative residency program for interdisciplinary art and international exchange, TRANSIT LOUNGE, is calling for submissions to the 2009: Moving while standing still project. The ongoing experimental project TRANSIT LOUNGE, which began in 2006, evolved through several different modes, continually exploring the potentials of interdisciplinary and cross-cultural collaboration. Since its inception, TRANSIT LOUNGE has been a partner event of transmediale – festival for art and digital culture held annually in Berlin, one of Europe’s largest and longest running media art festivals.

For the 2009 edition, TRANSIT LOUNGE has set a specific thematic focus: MOVING WHILE STANDING STILL. TRANSIT LOUNGE, as a group of artists from the south, is in a unique position to respond to the theme of
the transmediale 09: Deep North. The curators have drawn this theme together with what has been the underlying question of their own project since its inception – the notion of transit- to ask:

• What happens when inter-continental movement becomes difficult?
• What then, when escape from (or to) home becomes impossible?

It is on this intimate level that implications of reconfigured global relationships brought about by climate change become the inspiration for TRANSIT LOUNGE 09. Here, limitations on global travel that are likely to ensue due to changes in availability and the rising of resources, plus subsequent shifts in political and social environments become the inspiration for the development of a series of rules restricting interaction between participating artists. TRANSIT LOUNGE 09 becomes a trans - national residency project where everyone stays home – an intense exploration of local contexts directed through communication with physically distant collaborators.

TRANSIT LOUNGE 09 is a series of four overlapping online conversations, between artists located in Berlin and artists located in Australia. Dialogue includes textual conversation, yet focuses on the exchange of audiovisual media in its variety of forms. With participants drawn from diverse backgrounds, issues of translation and miscommunication naturally emerge. Magnified by the nature of digital communication, nuances of gesture and body language are lost, while time differences undermine the utopia of instant global communication.

Launching in November 2008 and running through to February 2009, conversations begin with the particular reflections on the conference and project themes of the curators, who actively participate in the first phase of the conversation before passing this role to a new artist. Each of the artists involved will participate in the conversation for one month, with a two- week overlap when new artists arrive and previous participants complete their interactions.

Inline with the limitations of our potential futures – artists will be imposed with limitations. This will take the form of being restricted to communicate via a particular medium (sound, text, image, video) of the artist’s choosing.

These cross-continental dialogues must take place utilising the open- source platforms provided. Artists will be required to develop a set of rules as well as a “translation” of their work into physical space at transmediale.09 in Berlin’s Haus der Kulturen der Welt.

Please be aware that the project requires a full commitment during the time of your participation. You will be expected to make regular submissions and develop a cross-continental collaborative presentation
during the week of the transmediale.09.

TRANSIT LOUNGE invites artists based in Berlin and Australia to participate. Send us:
• A short description of your ideas and aims as part of the TRANSIT LOUNGE 09 project (no more than 1 A4 page)
• Samples of 3 previous works – either documentation or the work itself (preferably URIs to material available online, however DVDs, CDs, file attachments will be accepted)
• An artist CV (no more than 2 A4 pages)
• Your contact details (email address, phone number)

Files should be submitted in the following formats: PDF, RTF, QuickTime MOVs, MJPEG2000, MPEG4s or AVI, WAV, AIF, MP4 or MP3, TIF or JPEG. For net.art or other interactive/ hybrid works – please contact us or advise of the format when submitting.

Please submit your application by: Monday 13th October 2008.

Please email your applications to: transit@transitlounge.org

For more Information: www.transitlounge.org

Somaya Langley   somaya@transitlounge.org
ph: +61 (0)401 025 224 (Australia)

Miriam Mlecek    miriam@transitlounge.org
ph: +49 (0)151 12964404 (Germany)

TRANSIT LOUNGE 09 is supported by the Australian Embassy in Berlin.