The arts program, curated by the Forum for Radical Imagination on Environmental Cultures (FRIEC), is calling for artists of all disciplines who seek to radically imagine sustainable cities for the future. This year, artists will have opportunities both to present their work, and also to interact with the global interdisciplinary audience of ecological changemakers through artist-led sessions. All work and sessions will be presented in an imagined virtual world, built by The Nature of Cities for this global conference.

Last year’s festival welcomed 2200 participants from 72 countries, including exhibiting artists from 33 countries. The artists who take part in this festival have the opportunity to play a critical role in this truly global, transdisciplinary meeting of thought and action leaders, and we hope you will join us. If you are unfamiliar with the festival, or where to start, we recommend exploring the 2021 Festival and thenatureofcities.com to get an idea of our approach. We will be accepting work on a rolling basis until 30 November 2021.

Yours in Art and Nature,
Patrick M. Lydon (Daejeon) & Carmen Bouyer (Paris)
TNOC Arts Editors

IMPORTANT DATES
30 November 2021 (Midnight EST) — Submission deadline
Early December — Notifications of acceptance sent to applicants
January 2022 — Festival program to be announced
29-31 March 2022 — The Nature of Cities Festival

WHAT TO SUBMIT
There are multiple categories for submissions, including Art Happenings, Short Documentary, and Sessions, as described below:

ART HAPPENINGS
We welcome Art Happening submissions as video files (including Film, Music, Animation, Poetry, Spoken Word, Theater, Performance, Dance, or any other genre as expressed through video). We are looking specifically for works that will nurture The Nature of Cities Festival programming with unique viewpoints that consider how humans and our cities can be woven together with the rest of nature.

Artworks in this category will be presented to global audiences at The Nature of Cities Festival, during the main plenary talks, as well as within various virtual arts spaces during the conference.

Accepted file formats: A single MPEG or MOV video file, in SD or HD resolution
Length: 3 to 6 minutes
File size: less than 500MB

SHORT DOCUMENTARY
Short documentaries to be exhibited virtually in the Festival lobby or virtual garden space. Documentaries may be on any subject within the broad mission of The Nature of Cities, including but not limited to science, design, equity, planning, community, climate, resilience, food, art, and so on. Both short films and excerpts of longer works are accepted, although excerpts must be able to stand alone as a work on their own.

Accepted file formats: A single MPEG or MOV video file, in SD or HD resolution
Length: less than 10 minutes
File size: less than 750MB

SESSIONS
Separately from the Art Happenings and Documentary categories, all artists working in any medium are welcome to submit session proposals. Accepted sessions will be part of the main conference programming, alongside sessions from various other practitioners and experts in all fields. Your session can be practical (skills session) or exploratory (seed session) or anything in-between. Click here to learn more about session types.

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All submissions can be made directly through the festival website: https://www.thenatureofcities.com/artistcall2022/