Soundbox releases its call for provocations (below). We look forward to talking with you about your ideas!

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Call for Provocations

Pro-vocare: Sound Ideas
a new collection of sonically-inspiring projects

Deadline for Proposals: April 1, 2013

Over the next year, Soundbox will stage a series of provocations – from the Latin pro-vocare, “to call forth” — that confront the current sound of knowledge. Collectively, these provocations will showcase some of the most innovative uses of sound in scholarly settings, both creative and critical. Documentation of these collected works will be published on the web as a multimodal open-access book. This resource aims to provoke more noisy t(h)inkering within the fields of sound studies, digital humanities, and the audio arts and sciences writ large.

Toward that end, the Soundbox project solicits proposals for “provocations.” These can take a variety of forms, including but not limited to:

• events or experiments, staged at any location, both online and off
• ongoing installations produced collaboratively with institutions such as museums or libraries
• a tool or plug-in, either real or speculative
• experimental new ways of using existing tools
• a digital essay, produced by an individual or collaboratively
• a creation produced over virtual networks
• soundscapes and other sonic productions

Provocations will be related through their commitment to engaging with sonic materials in a way that offers new insight into the intersection of sound and knowledge-making. Selections will not be based around a particular historical period, culture, methodology, or set of aesthetic objects, but rather will be connected through an ethos of play, experimentation, and social interaction. In other words, their aggregated value lies less in what they say together, and more in how they say it.

For instance, though they operate on different timescales, and within different spaces, an exhibit and a digital essay are both suitable mediums for investigating sound in public spaces, whether a small institutional hallway or the crowded space of one’s screen. Likewise, an annotated diagram for an imaginary machine can map out new relationships to sound as productively as an actual digital tool. In all cases, this collection gathers these disparate forms and formats together as witness to and inspiration for other scholars who wish to amplify their research.

What is Soundbox’s role?
Soundbox can provide logistical, institutional and, in many cases, financial support for staging provocations. We are also open to proposals that need collaborators, in which the Soundbox team takes a more integral part in planning and implementation.

Our primary role, though, will be as curators of the final web-based collection. We will provide the necessary tools to help you document your provocation and will edit and organize the collection’s critical apparatus. We will also ensure the long-term preservation of the materials included in the digital collection.

Eligibility:
Anyone with an interest in sound, especially as it pertains to digital environments, is welcome to submit a proposal for a provocation. This includes artists, scholars, librarians, museum professionals, audio engineers and musicians. We especially welcome projects and collaborators whose work would not fit into a traditional academic or print publication.

Application Process:
To submit a proposal for a provocation, please provide us with a description of your proposed project. Be sure to include:

• a statement outlining your plans and ideas for incorporating sound; i.e., how does your project provoke new insights into the intersection of sound and scholarship?
• a project timeline
• any relevant details regarding the staging of the provocation (location, if it’s an event; duration, if it’s an installation; length, if it’s a composition)
• resources you may need
• a brief biography of all participants

Soundbox has some limited funds available to help with costs related to staging a provocation (supplies, renting space, honoraria, travel). These funds are open to negotiation, and will be discussed on a project-by-project basis. If you anticipate needing financial support for your provocation, please include a budget detailing what you’ll need money for, how much, and why. Note that provocations will be evaluated on their intellectual merit, not the extent of their financial needs.

We have not set a minimum or maximum length for proposals but suggest around 2-3 pages. Please append any other materials (sketches, URLs, etc.) that you think may help us evaluate the scope and significance of your project. Use it to start a conversation with us.

Send all materials as an attachment to soundboxproject@gmail.com by April 1st. Authors of successful proposals will be notified by April 10th.

We encourage you to get in touch with any questions at any point in the application process: soundboxproject@gmail.com.