FREE ENTRY / Eyebeam - Fellowship Opportunity

The Democracy Machine program is a digital-first fellowship by Eyebeam. We seek artists to explore the creative potentials of technologies that support and enhance the best of human intelligence and imagination. In particular, we are interested in supporting those artists whose efforts consider the impact of technology on individuals and communities who face additional barriers to access and inclusion.

The fellowship will run from February 15, 2024, through August 15, 2024.

We are amid a global tech emergency; the act of discovery and creation by artists is more necessary than ever. In this digital-first fellowship cycle beginning February 15, 2023, through August 15, 2023, we call on artists to bring their innate mental, spiritual, and physical aspects of what it means to be human into play with technology to affirm humanity’s role as creators, not spectators, of our collective techno-future.

Technology has transformed how we live, work, and communicate. Still, it has also brought new challenges related to its impact on society, forcing the world to reconsider the meaning of previously understood ideas such as intelligence, free will, or personhood. Tools such as generative artificial intelligence are infiltrating our lives to the point of wresting control of innately human spiritual, mental, and physical ways of being. Algorithmic systems of oppression that further marginalize underrepresented communities reiterate the urgent need to build tangible alternatives that center care, community, and solidarity.

This program is being run virtually, with the option for in-person gatherings. Eyebeam will select five non-New York-based artists from anywhere in the world and five NYC-based artists for this fellowship. International applicants are welcome and encouraged to apply, and you are not required to live or work in the US during this grant period.

Selected artists participating in this six-month program will receive a $20,000 stipend and work in fellowship to support the development and implementation of their projects. As part of this fellowship, Eyebeam will provide access to our network of peers, mentors, and experts in the field and to partnered state-of-the-art facilities and resources. The fellowship will hybridize online and in-person components, including workshops, mentorship sessions, and networking opportunities.