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The Residency

The PHI Immersive Residency is a 4-week program with PHI Studio in Montréal (Canada) focused on the development stage of a proposed project. 

This year, the theme is artificial intelligence at the service of creativity. The selected project will work alongside Studio PHI specialists to conceptualize, plan and prototype a work based on artificial intelligence, in a responsible framework. The work can be presented on different media, including but not limited to extended reality technologies (VR, AR, MR).

The selected project will receive personalized support, working space and select resources to develop and elaborate their concept within a broader context and create a prototype to prepare the project for eventual production.

Applications are now closed

Thank you to every artist who submitted a proposal. The successful candidates will be contacted after the deliberation process.

PHI Residences Immersive Web

PHI Immersive Calendar

Residency location: Montréal, Québec (Canada)
Duration: 4 weeks

 Call for proposal:
    March 6 to August 15, 2023, at 11:59 PM EDT
→ French Q&A session:
    June 13, 2023, at 11 AM EDT
→ English Q&A session:
    June 15, 2023, at 11 AM EDT (watch the replay here)
→ Public Announcement of selected artists:
    
October 2023
PHI Immersive Residency period:
    
February 5 to March 1, 2024 (4 weeks)


Contact

For more information, please contact [email protected]

Watch a replay of the English Q&A webinar

Theme

Artists are invited to submit a project based on artificial intelligence at the service of creativity.

Artificial intelligence is an accessible tool that offers great possibilities in the creation of artwork, and its use can today be applied in many artistic disciplines. If it sometimes seems difficult to define, it is also because artificial intelligence does not refer to one, but to a set of digital technologies that are based on the accumulation, storage, analysis and production of data, to facilitate or imitate tasks otherwise reserved for humans. It can be an integral part of creative processes, be considered as a support within an experience, or even play a key role in managing audience behaviour in a narrative context.

Taking artificial intelligence (AI) as a starting point, PHI Immersive invites artists who seek to creatively experiment with AI to reflect on the interactions between humans and machines, current and future.

Here are some potential avenues to explore:

  • Creative use of artificial intelligence to design dynamic and evolving storytelling;

  • Visualization and manipulation of real-time data in augmented reality and virtual reality environments;

  • Real-time responsive smart lighting design;

  • AI-powered custom tools for artists to work in new ways or to deepen their research;

  • Text-to-speech technologies to create new forms of storytelling;

  • Exploration of artificial intelligence algorithms that give rise to new forms of generative art;

  • Creative implementation and subversion of the standard use of artificial intelligence;

  • Automated sound design or composition;


In its commitment to contemporary art and social issues, PHI recognizes the ongoing debate and the relevance of the questions surrounding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in creating works of art. To uphold ethical standards, PHI seeks to encourage projects that address these issues and promote responsible use of artificial intelligence and generative works. This includes respecting intellectual property rights and using consenting sources of information, data, and imagery while recognizing the impact of AI on art. The selected project should highlight digital talents and unique digital expertise while remaining conscious of ethical considerations and sensitive subject matter.

Program Details

Positioned at the intersection of art and technology, PHI Studio develops and presents collective experiences centered around audience interactivity.

PHI Immersive Residency is an annual residency program that offers the opportunity to conceptualize and prototype a new immersive or interactive artwork with the PHI Studio team. This residency is part of PHI’s continued effort to contribute to the development of future generations of immersive storytellers.

We are looking for innovative art projects focused on artificial intelligence technologies and offering strong stories and a narrative including, but not limited to, the following elements:

  • New media or interactive installations;

  • Immersivity;

  • Immersive sound or audio.


Selected project will receive:

  • Personalized support from certain players of the PHI team throughout the 4-week residency (workshops, individual meetings):

    • Conceptual and creative support;

    • Programming and development support.

    • Technical support;

    • Production support;

    • Design and scenography support.

  • Access to the following PHI Studio facilities: PHI’s XR equipment ; PHI’s sound recording and editing studio and sound engineer; access to PHI's offices and administrative spaces;

  • Access to PHI’s vast network of collaborators;

  • Production of a short video profile to support next-stage financing of the project.

The PHI Immersive residency program does not include financial funding grants for artists. PHI Immersive is a residency where the support provided comes via access to mentors, facilities, expertise, and networks. If you are applying for external funding or bursaries, we are happy to help with any official documentation that you might need. The artist(s) will retain the Intellectual Property of their project, but PHI might ask for the first option for co-production, distribution, or exhibition.


Residency Structure

The PHI Immersive residency is an evolving program over 4 weeks that adapts according to the needs of the selected project.

Week 1 — Create and shape
First meeting with the team, group session and individual meeting to elaborate, explore and develop the concept or idea and presentation of the idea more precisely to the whole team. Establish the production schedule and specify the stages, framework and form of the project.

Week 2 — Amplify and conceive
Develop the concept of the work in the context where it will be presented and determine the expertise external expertise could be useful to the project. A week devoted to the design and form of the experience or work depending on the nature of the project.

Week 3 — Prototype and adjust
Five-day sprint in the form of a workshop with the support of our team. Develop and design the user experience: technical operations, start and end of the experience.

Week 4 — Optimizing and planning what's next
Five-day sprint in the form of a workshop with the support of our team. Meeting with the government funding and revenue team to build a financial plan and identify funding opportunities.

PHI Residences Immersive Web

Eligibility Requirements

  • Local and international artists as well as small production companies, confirmed or emerging, are invited to submit their application;

  • Artists are invited to submit a project proposal focusing on the theme of artificial intelligence in the service of creativity including, but not limited to, the following elements: new media or interactive installations, immersivity, immersive sound or audio;

  • Groups and collectives of artists are eligible (up to 4 members), the conditions offered remain the same as solo artists.


Selection Process


The selection will be undertaken by a selection committee who reflect a diverse set of expertise and perspectives.

Applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

  • The originality of the project and narrative, its contribution to the diversity of creation, its conceptual and technical rigour and innovation (50%);

  • Feasibility of the project from conceptualizing to prototyping to production stages and the technical and budgetary practicality of the proposed project (30%);

  • History of executed works and portfolio (20%).


PHI is committed to equity in all its forms.

FAQ

Do you have any questions? Check out the following FAQ! For more information, please contact [email protected]

About PHI

  • PHI is a cultural infrastructure dedicated to supporting contemporary art and artists probing the key agenda of our times, and facilitating access between them and the public. Composed of three entities — PHI Studio, PHI Foundation, and PHI Centre — PHI is guided by values that include generosity, rigour, the importance of community, and devotes itself to the innovation and evolution of cultural experiences that both challenge and delight.

  • To reiterate its commitment to supporting local artistic communities, and to help shape the art of tomorrow, PHI offers three artistic residency programs annually: North, Montréal and Immersive. Although each residency meets different artists’ needs, our common mission is to provide our artists in residence with the tools, support, and impetus they need to expand the scope of their practice and take it to the next level.






The 2023 Laureates

PHI Residences PH Iimmersif Laureats2023 Ismaila Jallow

ISMAILA JALLOW

Ismaila Jallow is a writer-director based in Gothenburg, Sweden. He has a BA in filmic processes and comes from directing, writing and producing short films. Crow Castle is his first VR-project.

Instagram ↗
PHI Residences PH Iimmersif Laureats2023 Benjamin Olah

BENJAMIN OLÁH

Benjamin Oláh has a BA in design/art. As an artist, he works with VR, new media, interactive art, and 3D, which allows me to create unique and innovative artworks that challenge the boundaries of what is possible in the art world. By using technology and new media, he is able to create works that give the audience a completely new experience and make them think in a different way. His works often explore different narratives and investigate how we can use technology and interactive elements to tell a story in a new way.

Website ↗
Instagram ↗
PHI Residences PHI Immersif Laureates2023 Filip Myrberg

FILIP MYRBERG

With a background in film, Filip Myrberg is exploring new ways to tell stories through technologies such as VR, interactive design and the web. He is currently studying a bachelor in film at Gothenburg university where he is investigating the web as a viewing platform and how this changes both viewer experience and the filmmaker's creative process. Filip is interested in how programming logic redefines and changes the premises of storytelling.

Website ↗
Instagram ↗

THE 2023 PROJECT: CROW CASTLE

PHI Residences Immersive Web

Crow Castle is a VR experience centered on the story of a young boy. Since his parents raised him with two different names, he has become two. At least, that's what he tells us. In truth, the boy has created a second identity to avoid the traumas he has endured. To separate what he remembers of the past, the boy builds a palace of memories, "his own little Crow Castle," where pictures can be sewn into whatever he chooses.

PHI Residence Immersif Laureat2023 Crow Castle VR
Photo: Image from Crow Castle

The memory palace has been created in the shape of a summer house that the boy’s mother and her friends used to rent from a man who may or may not have been a pedophile. As we explore the house, we get familiar with the characters that used to inhabit the Crow Castle. At first, these characters are presented as being double-sided and untrustworthy, but the deeper down in the palace we get, we realize that we can’t always trust what parts of the memory palace are real memories and what parts are tools for the boy to remember something else.

As the experience unfolds the participant will travel further and further into the boy’s subconscious and encounter parts of the palace where spirits and demons lure in the walls.

Do you still have questions?

Contact us!