Nomination "VIDEOMAPPING": additional Open Call for applications!
Dates: from the 13th of May up to the 30th of June, 2019


OPEN CALL FOR APPLICATIONS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION OF LIGHT INSTALLATIONS AND VIDEOMAPPING WITHIN SAINT-PETERSBURG INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF LIGHT ART «LIGHT NIGHTS" IN GATCHINA IN 2019

Contact mail: mapping@gatchinanights.ru and in copy contest@gatchinanights.ru

Who may be interested in participation?

- Professionals and amateurs in the field of 2D and 3D animation and video art;
- Students and graduates of Russian and foreign universities and colleges;
- Practicing artists, multimedia specialists;
- Designers, design studios;
- Creative teams.

All the participants should be under the age of 35. If the application is submitted from a creative team, the overwhelming majority of its members should be under the age of 35 as well.

Applications for participation in the Competition may be submitted by authors or creative teams from Russia and foreign countries.

Theme of the competition: "Reflections".

We invite participants of the video mapping competition to explore the phenomenon of "reflection", to find images, associations, metaphors, plots related to reflections, to the world through the looking glass, the reverse side of reality, etc.

Display of contestants 'works: August 16 and 17 on the Jordan facade of the Gatchina Palace.

Requirements: video art, 3D animation and 2D animation. The project must correspond to the theme of the competition and fit into the geometry of the Jordan facade of the Gatchina Palace. Ready-made works that fulfill these conditions can participate in the competition as well.

No more than three projects are accepted from one author or team.
3D model and mask of the Jordan facade of the Gatchina Palace: https://yadi.sk/d/3HK72bYZ3VGRpw

What should be in the application?
- Presentation of the work with the text description of the main scenes and sketches (at least 5 slides) or video at a resolution of no more than 1920x1080px;
- Information about audio fragment you are going to use (options or audio references).
Selection criteria:
- Correspondence to the theme of the Competition;
- Content and originality of the creative idea, the artistic level of the application;
- Complete and detailed information about the project, visual materials, information about other creative works of the participant.

Competition stages:
• May 13 - June 30, additional acceptance of applications for participation in the Competition in the nomination "VIDEO MAPPING"
• On July 5, participants who have passed the selection of the expert jury receive notification by mail
• July 5 - 25, participants send ready-made works in full resolution and sound tracks they are going to use
• August 16 and 17, from 21:00 to 01:30 - selected works are shown at the festival. Audience consists of more than 10,000 people.

All contestants will get diplomas, and the winner will be awarded with a special prize and a cash prize of 50,000 rubles.
We are glad to present the list of participants of the art-residence within the competition of light installations and video mapping of the St. Petersburg International Festival of Light Art "Light Nights" in Gatchina!

On the results of the jury selection and the expert examination of the festival organizing committee, the following participants are invited to take part in the summer art-residence in Gatchina:
Angelova Lyubov (Saint-Petersburg), "Orthomolecule"
Andreev Maxim (St. Petersburg), "Rain made to order", "Atlantis"
Andreev Alexander, Andreev Mikhail (St. Petersburg), "Fusion"
Delgyado Anna, (St. Petersburg), "Once upon a time under the bridge"
Goncharova Vasilisa (Moscow), "Toads want to fly"
Kuznetsov Dmitry, (St. Petersburg), "IN-fluence effect"
Lomaev Alexander (St. Petersburg), "Havana sunset"
Mikhailova Anastasia, Ustinova Alisa (St. Petersburg), "The World Mirror", "Are we alone?"
Molodovskaya Valeriya (St. Petersburg), "Star dust"
Muravyova Ekaterina (St. Petersburg), "Lake"
Punin Andrey (St. Petersburg), "Aqua Mirror"
Rylov Andrey, Mezentsev Maxim (Izhevsk), "Atmospheric reflection"
Sovetnikov Petr (St. Petersburg), "A curtain, a lantern, and a well"
Terskikh Anna (St. Petersburg), "Fishermen"
Tumanyan Arthur (Moscow), "Dialogue with water"
Volpi Elena, Gerasimenko Julia, Lauren de Gennaro, Fabiana Porreca (Milan, Italy) "Chords of light"
Zeiny Aslany Shahabedin (Edinburgh, United Kingdom), "H2O"

From the 7th up to the 15th of August , 2019 the contestants will be creating their art objects in the art-residence on the territory of Gatchina Park that will be presented to public on the 16th and the 17th of August.

The list of our expert jury members of the International competition of light installations and video mapping.
Our jury consists of authoritative experts in the field of lighting design, architects, artists and other prominent figures in the field of arts from Russia and foreign countries.
Astakhov Denis (Moscow) - general manager and stage director of the Avocado Toast agency, creative producer of multidisciplinary projects in the USA, Europe, Russia and China.

Bystryantseva Natalya (St. Petersburg) - the head of the international Master's program in Lighting Design and the creative association of lighting designers RULD, one of the leading Russian experts and practitioners in the field of lighting design.

Vinogradova Uliana (St. Petersburg) - lighting designer, the head of the lighting design department at IntiLED, high-school teacher at the Moscow Power Engineering Institute, Moscow Institute of Architecture and the Higher School of Lighting Design at ITMO University.

Volkonskaya Selena (St. Petersburg) – the head of the New Media Laboratory of the Alexandrinsky Theater, art manager, curator of educational and exhibition projects in the field of modern visual art, co-founder of the Moscow School of New Cinema, the Open School "MediaArtLab" in the Manege.

Ganzburg Evgeny (St. Petersburg) - lighting designer, creator of over 150 theatrical performances and shows, the head of the Creative Workshop "Light for the Theater" in St. Petersburg, honored art worker of the Russian Federation..

Gololobov Vadim (St. Petersburg) – artist, lighting designer, director of the Russian Engineering Theater AKHE.

Kolovskaya Elena (St. Petersburg) - art historian, curator, director of the St. Petersburg Foundation for Culture and Art "PRO ARTE".

Koptseva Natalia (Ekaterinburg) - light designer, member of the International Association of Designers (IAD), winner of the 2017 IES Illumination Award of Merit (USA), 2017 Platinum A'Desigh Award (Italy), 2016 DARC AWARDS (United Kingdom), 2016 Shortlist City.People.Light (CPL) by LUCI (Korea)

Kudryashov Victor (St. Petersburg) - media artist, musician, CEO of Media Materia which is engaged in the production of multimedia show

Kuryokhina Anastasia (St. Petersburg) - director of the Sergey Kuryokhin Contemporary Art Center, president of the Sergey Kuryokhin Charitable Foundation, Sergey Kuryokhin Award Founder, Director of SKIF International Festivals (Sergey Kurekhin International Festival) Electro-mechanics, Ethno-Mechanics, Videoforma.

Martynov Vera (Moscow) – artist, stage director, author and curator of exhibitions and performances. Since 2016 - curator of the New Space Theater of Nations.

Moskalenko Timur (St. Petersburg) – stage designer, head artist of "Show Consulting" studio, winner of the Russian National Professional Award "Faces of the Theatre of Masses"

Okoneshnikov Anton (St. Petersburg) - Russian director, theater teacher. Nominee of the Russian National Theater Award "Golden Mask". Since 2016 - director of the Alexandrinsky Theater

Padalko Sergey (St. Petersburg) - architect, installations and art projects creator, founder of the architectural studio "Vitruvius and Sons".

Pankova Natalia (St. Petersburg) - art historian, gallery owner, curator, art manager.

Pankratov Vasily (St. Petersburg) - director of the St. Petersburg State Budgetary Institution of Culture GBUK "State Museum-Reserve" Gatchina "

Prikhodko Anastasia (Moscow) - Candidate of Architecture, Associate Professor at the Department of Architectural Physics of the Moscow Architectural Institute (MARHI), practicing lighting designer, author and teacher of the educational project "Laboratory of Light".

Savina Liza (St. Petersburg) - curator, art critic, former gallery owner at the Savina Gallery. Belongs to the top - 100 of the main people in Russian art according to The Art Newspaper Russia. In 2013 founded the curator agency Sparta. Curator of the collection Bank M2M Europe (Riga)

Tarasenko Vasily (Yekaterinburg) - lighting engineer, member of Alliance of International Business Associations (AIBA), winner of 2017 IES Illumination Award of Merit (USA), 2017 Platinum A'Desigh Award (Italy), 2016 DARC AWARDS (United Kingdom), 2016 Shortlist City.People.Light (CPL) by LUCI (Korea)

Filshtinsky Gleb (St. Petersburg) - theatrical figure, theater artist, director of mass holidays, multimedia director, lighting designer. Associate professor of the faculty of the St. Petersburg Academy of Theater Arts, the head of the graduate studies in management of artistic and technological processes in modern theatrical and entertainment enterprises. Founder and artistic director of the Scenography and Stage Technologies Studio "Show Consulting"

Khvoenkova Natalya (St. Petersburg) - art critic, the head of the art programs department in the North-West branch of the National Center for Contemporary Art.

Yakubov Ildar (St. Petersburg) - artist, curator, high-school teacher. Mr. Yakubov curates the exhibition part of the festival "Science Fest". Creator of the Interactive School program based on the Yota Lab and Planetarium # 1 as well as the multimedia and musical art project Episode.

Sivle Diana (Civle Diana) - director, managing director of the Staro Riga Festival of Light (Latvia, Riga)

Paloniemi Ilkka (Paloniemi Ilkka) - art director of the Lux Helsinki light festival (Finland, Helsinki)

Carole Purnelle - director of the LUMINA Light Festival (Portugal, Cascais)

Caspar Lootsmann (Caspar Lootsmann) - art director of the Wandering Lights Kadrioru festival (Estonia, Tallinn)

Competition theme is REFLECTIONS

This year the theme of the festival will be water. Water is both uncharted depths and a mirror of the surface. Water is philosophy and emotions, peace and aggression, love and hate, ebbs and flows ... We invite competitors to dive deep into the meanings of water, creatively interpreting any of its properties and qualities.
Our wishes to the participants:

  • Use light as the main tool, as the core of your artwork;
  • Remember that you will create your contest works on your own; you must not only understand the
  • Technological process, but also be able to do what you have invented. Our help cannot turn into artwork creation instead of you.
  • Remember, that your installation will be located in the park, so consider unforeseen weather conditions (you can read "recommendations on choice of materials, equipment and technologies" on the website gatchinanights.ru)
  • Your installation should function continuously during the festival;Your installation should be comprehensable, engaging and evoking emotions among viewers of all ages;
  • Make up a brief, understandable description of your artwork (max. 500 characters); it will be printed on the information plate near your installation;
  • We welcome your sense of humor, which might be reflected in your artwork;
  • Your work can have elements of live music, performance or other live elements.
  • Think of various technological and artistic ways of interaction with audience;
  • We welcome the original approach to work – you can use both both innovative technologies, but also uggest the innovative use of everyday objects.
  • Keep in mind that the festival has big crowds of audience. Make sure the accessibility to your installation.
  • Make sure that your installation does not cause damage to the environment;
How to apply?
Please, send your applications to: contest@gatchinanights.ru.

Filled in application form, please see the attachment. In application form you should include:
  • description of the artistic idea
  • description of the technologies and materials you are planning to use.
  • list of resources needed for the realization of the project (budget, technical assistance, transportation, etc)
  • approximate budget for the production of your artwork;
Illustrations of your artwork in PDF format (3d sketches, illustrations, technical drawings, etc) ;
Examples of your works/portfolio. Links or attached videos or pictures.

CV and photo of the participant / participants of the Competition
Can you send more than one work?
One author or a team of authors can send no more than three sketches of the competition works.
Evaluation criteria

  • the conformity of the application to the theme of the competition;
  • the content and originality of the idea, the artistic level of the application;
  • the adequacy of the choice of artistic means and methods for the purposes of the Competition (the priority of light, as the main artistic means);
  • the idea of interaction between the artwork and the viewer;
  • the participant should be able to understand the technological process of design and practical implementation of the competitive artwork;
  • adequate, complete and detailed filling of the application form for participation in the competition, the availability of visual materials that complements the application.
How do you know if you have passed the first step of the competition and are you in the group of the art residence participants?

Participants who have passed to the final will be sent notifications and necessary information for preparation for the art residence participantion. The list of finalists will be published on the website gatchinanights.ru and sites of the festival partners.
What should be done if you went to the second step of the competition and were invited to an art residence?

In the final of the Competition within the framework of the art residence, you will have to create your competitive object on your own in Gatchina Park!

Finalists have to send the data given below to contest@gatchinanights.ru before 30th of April, 2019:

  • detailed description of the artistic idea of the object;
  • final visualization of the artwork in three projections with mentioning of the dimensions of the object and technical characteristics (3d sketches, illustrations, technical drawings, etc);
  • variants of the name of the artwork, corresponding to the theme of the Competition;
  • detailed description of the technologies you are planning to use, including the list of necessary resources, and a detailed description of dimensions and technical characteristics;
  • the required power of the electricity connection;
  • the list of materials you are planning to use (in accordance with the "technological recommendations", published on the website www.gatchinanights.ru);
  • detailed calculation of costs needed for production.

The participant of the competition may get a sponsor who pays for his transport and visa expenses, accommodation costs in St. Petersburg (for nonresident and foreign participants), materials or equipment for creating a competitive object. In this case the participant has to coordinate with the Organizers the information about the sponsor which should be presented within the framework of the Festival.
Financial conditions of the competition.

  • the festival covers expenses needed for production costs (materials and equipment), but the sum is limited, it should be no more, than 100 thousand rubles (or approximately 1300 euro) per each work, which will be made in the final part of the competition;
  • the festival covers production costs (or reimburses the costs incurred) strictly in accordance with the provided estimates and documents confirming the costs and in case of completion of the facility on time;
  • payment of fees to the contestants and specialists involved is not provided;
  • technical specialists of the Organizer and members of the Jury have the right to make an expert analysis of the estimates and propose the finalists of the competition to make adjustments to the estimates;
  • the contestants are entitled to attract additional sources of financing for the creation of competitive objects, including sponsorship;
  • the festival doesn't cover expenses, connected with transportation costs of the contestants.
Art residence. How will the creation of the objects be organized?

  • finalists of the competition arrive in Gatchina art-residence to make the objects by 08/08/2019;
  • contestants are provided with premises – workshops on the territory of the Gatchina Palace;
  • the festival provides connection to the source of electricity;
  • the festival provides accommodation in Gatchina during the production and presentation period (from 08/08/2019 to17/08/2019),
  • the festival provides meals twice in a day.
  • all artworks must be prepared and assembled by 3 p.m. 16/08/2019.
  • rehearsals and tests of all the artworks will be held during the night from 16th to 17th of August.
  • if the artwork aren't ready by 3 p.m. 16/08/2019, the organizers will be forced to exclude this work from the exposition. In this case, the festival will not reimburse the contestant costs incurred and will require the return of funds already transferred to the production.
How will the winners be chosen?

The competition jury consists of extra qualified experts in the field of light design, architects, artists, artists, art historians and other cultural and art workers.

The jury will review all applications, evaluate the works of all contestants and select the finalists.

Authors of the best 15 applications will be invited to participate in the art residence.

The winners of the final stage of the jury will choose during the festival, evaluating each work on five criteria:
  • compliance with the subject and conditions of the Competition;
  • compliance with the application selected by the Jury for implementation;
  • artistic level;
  • technological level;
  • ways of interacting with the viewer (for the nomination light installations).
Coordinator of the competition:
Elena Vild
tel.: +7 (911) 251-10-94
E-mail: contest@gatchinanights.ru

Festival director:
Olga Arshanskaya
Questions and suggestions please send to Email: info@gatchinanights.ru