Visualizar'11: Call for Projects Guidelines and Submission Form

GUIDELINES

Purpose of the open call

The purpose of this open call is to choose a maximum of ten data visualization projects related to the topic "Infrastructures", that will investigate, analyze and represent through data the running of infrastractures and global systems as for instance:

1. Energy infrastructures. power grids, gas and oil distribution networks,  renewable energy production networks…
2. Transport infrastructures. Aerial and sea routes, road and rail networks, urban mobility networks…
3. Information infrastructures. Radio and TV broadcasting, data networks, communications satellites, underwater cables, wireless urban networks, terrestrial and mobile telephony.  
4. Supply chain infrastracture. Processes and systems of the agro-alimentary production, goods and products distribution networks…
5. Removal Chain.  Waste collection systems, treatment plants, recycling processes…
6. Economy and financial infrastructures. Banks, trade zones, processes and agents of the financial markets…
7. Legal infrastructures. International agreements, regulation bodies, territory regulation plans… (See the list of related links and references)

to be developed collaboratively at a two week workshop in June 2011. The selected projects will be developed with the aid of several instructors, in addition to a large group of assistants and collaborators.

The open call is aimed to creators and professionals in the fields of graphic design, art, sociology, architecture, urbanism, education, psychology, information sciences, environmental studies, mathematics, statistics, scientific visualization, computer analysis, computer science, physics or any other field where data visualization may be applied or may contribute valuable innovations.

Proposals may be presented by individuals or groups. Each participant or team may present as many projects as they wish.

The selected projects must be open to the participation of other interested collaborators, who will be able to contribute to the production of the pieces during the development of the workshop. Therefore, there are two levels of involvement with the workshop:

1 - as a project leader

2 - as a collaborator in any one of the selected projects

Once the projects have been selected, the second step in the process will involve a new call for those people who would like to participate in the projects' production. The call for collaborators will be published on April 11, 2011 at the Medialab-Prado website.

 

General workshop information

Methodology

This workshop aims to be a collective platform for research, production, and learning, offering substantial help and support in developing the projects selected. The proposals will be carried out in multidisciplinary task groups comprised by the author(s) and interested collaborators, with conceptual and technical advice from the teaching staff.

The necessary means to carry out the selected projects and to document them will be made available by Medialab-Prado Madrid, as far as possible.

During the workshop, various activities will be scheduled such as talks, presentations, seminars or specific mini-workshops.

Work days will be adapted to the specific needs of the projects in conciliation with the activities organized for the seminar and Medialab-Prado's norms for all matters related to the hours the centre is open.

Given that one of the main objectives of the workshop is to foster the development, distribution, and free access to new approaches and new tools related to information visualization, participants are encouraged to prepare proper documentation for the projects developed, both during and after the workshop, and to publish the results and source code under licenses that grant access and distribution of the knowledge produced during the workshop.

 

Technical requirements

The jury will make a detailed evaluation of the technical feasibility of carrying out the projects. For that reason, projects with clearly specified technical and spatial requirements will be judged positively.

Projects will be carried out and exhibited at the Medialab-Prado buildings. Medialab-Prado will contribute only the basic equipment and means to produce the selected projects, pending prior application from the proposal’s author(s).

The access and use of Medialab-Prado's technical material will be supervised by a coordinator from the center.

Any expense not previously planned or approved in material or equipment rental will be paid by the project authors.

Medialab-Prado promotes the use of free software tools. Therefore, Medialab-Prado encourages participants to work with shared and open code applications and environments.

Should the jury have doubts about any technical requirements, they will contact the authors of the proposal.

Language

The workshop will be held partly in English and partly in Spanish, with no translation.

Travel and lodging aid

Pending application, Medialab-Prado will provide lodging in a Youth Hostel for participants residing outside of Madrid and will consider the possibility of covering travel expenses wholly or in part, on a case by case basis.

Registration

All those interested in taking part in the workshop must fill in and send the application form published below.

Application Deadline: March 21, 2009

The call for collaborators will be open from April 11 through June 12, 2011. 

Further Information: visualizar [at] medialab-prado.es

 

Final Decision

Selection committee

The jury will comprise the workshop instructors, the director of the platform, and Medialab-Prado.

Assessment of the projects

Projects will be judged based on:

• Project quality

• Suitability to the general purpose of Visualizar and to the specific objectives of this call for projects

• Technical and logistical feasibility

• Combination of various fields of knowledge

• Willingness to collaborate with others in project development

• Use of open software tools and licenses that grant access to the processes and the results

• Educational value

Notification of winners

Winners will be announced on April 6 April 11, 2011 and applicants will receive notification by email.

 

Projects' Promotion

The finished works will be presented to the public by their creators on the final day of the seminar-workshop.

An exhibit of those projects will remain at Medialab-Prado during July 2011.

In addition, the projects or related documentation will be published on the Medialab-Prado website.

Medialab-Prado will provide Web hosting as needed for the projects and also the tools and platforms required by participants to properly document the process and the results.

 

Winners’ obligations

• The winning individuals or groups agree to attend the workshop and prior seminar from June 14 through July 1st., 2011. They also agree to finish and document their proposed projects, as far as possible.
• The winning individuals or groups may use equipment, pending prior application and approval. Any expense not previously planned or approved in material or equipment rental will be paid by the project authors.
• Projects carried out will be the property of their author(s), although whenever said projects are shown at festivals or exhibits, and whenever images of said projects are reproduced in catalogues or websites, their relation with the VISUALIZAR'11: Understanding infrastructures workshop carried out at Medialab-Prado should be mentioned. The names of the people who collaborated in developing the projects should also be shown.
• Projects exhibited may be shown in Medialab-Prado website.

 

Entry constitutes acceptance of all contest rules.

 

Collaborator: Escuela de Organización Industrial (EOI)