ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image) has announced plans for its $80,000 Mordant Family VR Commission, for new works by Australian artists and filmmakers. In partnership with Catriona and Simon Mordant AM, the City of Melbourne and ACMI, the program will build on ACMI’s existing commissioning initiatives, heralding a new era of artist support at ACMI for emerging platforms.
Visual artists are invited to produce bold new and ambitious works using virtual reality (VR) and associated technology. Open to mid-career and established visual artists, the Mordant Family VR Commission supports gallery-based practitioners to move into VR, encouraging experimentation and enabling the creation of ambitious artworks that push the limits of technology to engage audiences in new ways.
ACMI is proud to provide unique opportunities in contemporary Australian film practice with this commission. ACMI Director and CEO Katrina Sedgwick said: “ACMI is committed to supporting the development of screen-based work and to making a difference to the creative industry ecology of our nation in this rapidly evolving arena. Through these generous partnerships, each of the commissions support artists where funding is rarely available. These programs build on our rich commissioning history, and on the recently established ACMI X co-working space and lab.”
Awarded annually, the Mordant Family VR Commission recipient will be granted $80,000 for the development and creation of a new work.
Commissions will be selected by a panel of national and international industry experts including Rebecca Coates, Director of the Shepparton Art Museum; leading futurist, author, entrepreneur, Mark Pesce; ACMI Chief Experience Officer Seb Chan and ACMI Senior Curator Sarah Tutton. The panel will be co-chaired by Simon Mordant AM and ACMI CEO and Director Katrina Sedgwick.
In addition to financial support, the recipient of each commission will receive expert advice and support from ACMI in the development phase, as well as a work space in ACMI’s vibrant Southbank co-working studio for the screen industries, ACMI X.
Applications for the Mordant Family VR Commission are now open and close at 5pm Thursday 13 April, 2017. To apply, click here.
For more information head to ACMI’s website.
The Garb Wire 