open call
Are you a startup or an artist from the media field, working with data?
Are you willing to make data exploration both entertaining and informative?
Do you question the impact of data and technology on individuals and society?

You have come to the right place!

WHAT we are looking for

The MediaFutures support programme is looking for artists and startups eager to reshape the media value chain through innovative, inclusive and participatory applications of data and user-generated content.

when is the next Opportunity to apply

The 1st and 2nd Open Call are closed. The 3rd and final Open Call will open in June 2022 and will be published on this website.

To have a look at the content and application process of the Open Calls, go here for the 1st Open Call, and here for the 2nd Open Call.

To have a look at the content and application process of the 1st Open Call, go here.

What we offer

Apply to get the chance to receive:

Z
up to €80,000 equity free funding for startups
Z

up to €40,000 for artists

Z
Technical, legal and advisory support
Z
Data and computational resources
Z
Mentorship and training
Z
Networking and peer learning
Z
Marketing and promotion through EU events and communities
There are three tracks to apply to join:

Track 1

Artists for Media

Do you use data as an art material to engage, educate and inspire new ideas? This one’s for you!

This residency track aims at supporting standalone artists or artistic companies to develop an innovative artwork concept and production process. For this track, you should propose new ideas and experiences that critically and materially explore data and technology to question its impact on individuals and society. The focus will be on data relevant to the media value chain, including social media. A maximum grant of €25,000 will be awarded to five artistic projects. One of them will receive an additional €5,000 prize during the final demo day.

Track 2

Startups for Citizens

Does your startup have the solution to tackle misinformation? This one’s for you!

This acceleration track aims at supporting startups to develop new approaches to make online content more diverse and its creation and sourcing transparent. The focus will be on areas of public interest: journalism, including bottom-up forms, science education, and digital democracy. A maximum grant of €65,000 will be awarded to the selected startups. This track has three stages: seven startups will be selected to join the STARTS phase and receive €5,000. After one month, the startups pitch to be one of three startups to progress to the BUILD stage and receive up to €50,000. During the EXHIBIT phase, one startup will receive an additional  €10,000 prize on the final demo day.

Track 3

Startup meets Artist

Do you like to be inspired by others, working closely with media entrepreneurs or artists, to challenge and grow ideas? This one's for you!

In this track MediaFutures will support teams consisting of a startup and an artist to collaboratively develop a new concept of data technology and the arts. Supported projects will create new experiences that make data exploration both entertaining and informative, building upon products, services and tech used or developed by the startup. A maximum grant of €80,000 will be awarded to the selected startups, and a maximum grant of €40,000 will be awarded to the selected artists. For this track, the artist and the startup need to apply together. This track has three stages: eight projects will be selected to join the STARTS phase and receive €5,000. Four projects will be selected to progress to the BUILD phase and receive up to €65,000 for the startups and €30,000 for the artists. During the EXHIBIT phase, an additional prize will be awarded to the selected team during the final demo day (€10,000 for the startup and €5,000 for the artist).

Who can apply?
Startups and
artistic companies
You must be legally registered as an SME. Groups of 2 to 4 individuals can apply to the MediaFutures programme, as long as you commit to legally register as an SME at the beginning of MediaFutures programme.

You must be established and work in one of the Member States of the European Union, their Overseas Countries and Territories, H2020 associated countries or the UK.

Individual
artists

Individual artists or teams of individual artists, from any artistic field, can apply.
You can come from any country in the world, provided that you can travel to Europe for the MediaFutures programme.
How to apply?
You must apply online, in English with a short proposal presenting the idea and the budget required.
You must provide administrative information and review, accept and comply with the Terms & Conditions defined in the Guidelines for Applicants and the Declaration of Honour.

What are the
selection criteria?

INNOVATION

overall idea and objectives, solution to the Open Call challenge, project outcomes

IMPACT

economic or artistic impact, social impact, sustainability

BUSINESS (for startups)

value proposition, market opportunity, business model

IMPLEMENTATION AND ARTISTIC QUALITY
(for artists)

artistic proposal, implementation plan, use of data

TEAM

skills, knowledge, previous work and experience in the media and data field

Detailed evaluation criteria for each of the tracks can be found in the Guidelines for Applicants

open call
Are you a startup or an artist from the media field, working with data?
Are you willing to make data exploration both entertaining and informative?
Do you question the impact of data and technology on individuals and society?

You have come to the right place!

WHAT we are looking for

The MediaFutures support programme is looking for artists and startups eager to reshape the media value chain through innovative, inclusive and participatory applications of data and user-generated content.

when is the next Opportunity to apply

The 1st Open Call has closed. The 2nd Open Call will open between October and December 2021 and will be published on this website.
To have a look at the content and application process of the 1st Open Call, go here.

What we offer

Apply to get the chance to receive:

Z
up to €80,000 equity free funding for startups
Z

up to €40,000 for artists

Z
Technical, legal and advisory support
Z
Data and computational resources
Z
Mentorship and training
Z
Networking and peer learning
Z
Marketing and promotion through EU events and communities
There are three tracks to apply to join:

Track 1

Artists for Media

Do you use data as an art material to engage, educate and inspire new ideas? This one’s for you!

This residency track aims at supporting standalone artists or artistic companies to develop an innovative artwork concept and production process. For this track, you should propose new ideas and experiences that critically and materially explore data and technology to question its impact on individuals and society. The focus will be on data relevant to the media value chain, including social media. A maximum grant of €25,000 will be awarded to five artistic projects. One of them will  receive an additional €5,000 prize during the final demo day.

Track 2

Startups for Citizens

Does your startup have the solution to tackle misinformation? This one’s for you!

This acceleration track aims at supporting startups to develop new approaches to make online content more diverse and its creation and sourcing transparent. The focus will be on areas of public interest: journalism, including bottom-up forms, science education, and digital democracy. A maximum grant of €65,000 will be awarded to the selected startups. This track has three stages: seven startups will be selected to join the STARTS phase and receive €5,000. After one month, the startups pitch to be one of three startups to progress to the BUILD stage and receive up to €50,000. During the EXHIBIT phase, one startup will receive an additional  €10,000 prize on the final demo day.

Track 3

Startup meets Artist

Do you like to be inspired by others, working closely with media entrepreneurs or artists, to challenge and grow ideas? This one's for you!

In this track MediaFutures will support teams consisting of a startup and an artist to collaboratively develop a new concept of data technology and the arts. Supported projects will create new experiences that make data exploration both entertaining and informative, building upon products, services and tech used or developed by the startup. A maximum grant of €80,000 will be awarded to the selected startups, and a maximum grant of €40,000 will be awarded to the selected artists. For this track, the artist and the startup need to apply together. This track has three stages: eight projects will be selected to join the STARTS phase and receive €5,000. Four projects will be selected to progress to the BUILD phase and receive up to €65,000 for the startups and €30,000 for the artists. During the EXHIBIT phase, an additional prize will be awarded to the selected team during the final demo day (€10,000 for the startup and €5,000 for the artist).

Who can apply?
Startups and
artistic companies
You must be legally registered as an SME. Groups of 2 to 4 individuals can apply to the MediaFutures programme, as long as you commit to legally register as an SME at the beginning of MediaFutures programme.

You must be established and work in one of the Member States of the European Union, their Overseas Countries and Territories, H2020 associated countries or the UK.

Individual artists

Individual artists or teams of individual artists, from any artistic field, can apply.
You can come from any country in the world, provided that you can travel to Europe for the MediaFutures programme.
How to apply?
You must apply online, in English with a short proposal presenting the idea and the budget required.
You must provide administrative information and review, accept and comply with the Terms & Conditions defined in the Guidelines for Applicants and the Declaration of Honour.

What are the
selection criteria?

INNOVATION

overall idea and objectives, solution to the Open Call challenge, project outcomes

IMPACT

economic or artistic impact, social impact, sustainability

BUSINESS (for startups)

value proposition, market opportunity, business model

IMPLEMENTATION AND ARTISTIC QUALITY
(for artists)

artistic proposal, implementation plan, use of data

TEAM

skills, knowledge, previous work and experience in the media and data field

Detailed evaluation criteria for each of the tracks can be found in the Guidelines for Applicants

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    MediaFutures is part of the S+T+ARTS ecosystem.

    MediaFutures is part of the S+T+ARTS ecosystem.