Image Credit: ASCII Moon 2 (2020), Video Still, Source: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, by Shaheer Tarar, 2020 EDAA Featured Artist

The Emerging Digital Artists Award (EDAA) has opened its 2020 Call for Applications.

The EDAA is Canada’s major award for critical experimentation in digital media, co-presented by EQ Bank and Trinity Square Video. The 2020 edition welcomes guest judges Adrienne Crossman, Maize Longboat, and Philip Leonard Ocampo, and a new visual identity by Toronto artist Shaheer Tarar.

Launched in 2015, the EDAA was established to celebrate early career, screen-based artists working actively and creatively with digital media. Fast forward to 2020, the importance of artists working with virtual platforms has never been more evident. Whether it be through digital images or animation; video or gif art; websites or apps; games or immersive technologies, the EDAA looks to recognize the poetics and mechanics of digital art practice and is dedicated to sustaining the medium into the future.

Artists within the first five years of their professional careers are encouraged to apply. We welcome submissions of screen-based works that are not only created with digital technologies, but also speak to the concerns, ethics, and constructs of digital space.

The grand prize winner of the EDAA will receive $5,000, and four finalists will each receive $1,000. All five artists’ works will be included in a group exhibition at Trinity Square Video in September 2020, for which they will receive an additional $500 exhibition fee. Additionally, each shortlisted artist receives a one-year Production Membership to Trinity Square Video, and the winner earns a dedicated spot in their 2021 Themed Commission program.

To submit your work for consideration, follow these steps:

• Read our instructions on How to Apply, and don’t skip out on the Terms and Conditions.
• Decide what you want to submit, as a video, GIF, app, web, or other digital format. (All accepted file types can be found on our website.) If you’re still feeling unsure, check out our past finalists to get a better idea of what we’re looking for.
• Fill out the online application form, which will include a 250-word written statement about your artwork.

Applications will be accepted until 11:59pm on June 15, 2020.

Questions about the EDAA can be sent to edaa@eqbank.ca. Be sure to follow us on social media for updates, including more about Shaheer Tarar’s work and our guest judges!

Instagram: @edaa_eqb
Twitter: @edaa_eqb