LIFT and Watermans are commissioning initial R&D for project ideas that use technology and performance to engage with the political stories of our time. Successful candidates will be offered a two-week Research & Development residency at Watermans, held some time in the period between May and July 2015. Application deadline: 10am Tuesday 5 May.

2016 marks the next LIFT festival as well as the 500th anniversary of the publication of Thomas More’s radical, influential political tract Utopia We see this as an opportune moment to consider our ideas on society and politics and some of the burning issues of the moment.

Both Watermans and LIFT work with artists and projects that engage with the big global issues of our time: freedom of expression and freedom of movement; the effects of globalisation on climate change, migration and social justice; the pervasion of digital culture, the potential of big data and the threat of surveillance and technological warfare.

For the Utopia R&D residency, we are looking for UK or international artists to propose new projects that use digital technology to address some of these issues – in ways that understand both the particular affordances and potential of digital technologies and the impact and power of the live experience.

Beginning with an initial two-week development period, it is anticipated that some projects will have the opportunity to present work and/or take part in events during Watermans’ well-established Digital Performance Weekender (14 and 15 Nov 2015). It is fully expected that some projects will be fully commissioned for development and presentation in LIFT’s 2016 festival in June.

For more information on this opportunity and how to apply please download the brief here:

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