xCoAx is an exploration of the intersection where computational tools and media meet art and culture, in the form of a multi-disciplinary enquiry on aesthetics, computation, communication and the elusive X factor that connects them all.
The focus of xCoAx is on the unpredictable overlaps between the freedom of creativity and the rules of algorithms, between human nature and machine technology, with the aim to evolve towards new directions in aesthetics.
xCoAx has been an occasion for international audiences to meet and exchange ideas, in search for interdisciplinary synergies among computer scientists, artists, media practitioners, and theoreticians at the thresholds between digital arts and culture. Starting in 2013 in Bergamo, xCoAx has so far taken place in:
Due to the CoViD-19 pandemic, xCoAx 2020 was moved online and, building on that experience, so will be the 2021 edition.
xCoAx 2021’s keynote speakers are philosopher of technology Yuk Hui and new media artist Špela Petrič.
xCoAx 2021 calls for papers, artworks, performances and research works-in-progress by scholars, artists, performers and students, respectively, working on any of the multi-disciplinary facets of this event, which will take place online from Monday, July 12th to Friday, July 16th 2021.
Conference Program
- Monday July 12: Opening Session, opening of the exhibition and performances, proceedings launch, welcome online party.
- Tuesday July 13: Doctoral Symposium, opening of paper section.
- Wednesday July 14: Artworks and performances presentations.
- Thursday July 15: Paper sessions with Q&A, keynote with Q&A.
- Friday July 16: Paper sessions with Q&A, keynote with Q&A, closing party.
Keynote: Yuk Hui
Yuk Hui currently teaches at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. Between 2012 and 2018 he taught philosophy at the Leuphana University Lüneburg where he also wrote his habilitation thesis. He has been a visiting professor at the China Academy of Art and Visiting Associate Professor at the School of Creative Media of City University of Hong Kong. Hui is initiator of the Research Network for Philosophy and Technology, which facilitates researches and collaborations on philosophy and technology. He is co-editor of 30 Years after Les Immatériaux: Art, Science and Theory (2015), and author of On the Existence of Digital Objects (2016), The Question Concerning Technology in China, An Essay in Cosmotechnics (2017), and Recursivity and Contingency (2019).
Keynote: Špela Petrič
Špela Petrič BSc, MA, PhD, is a Slovenian new media artist and former scientific researcher currently based between Ljubljana and Amsterdam. Her practice is a multi-species endeavour, a composite of natural sciences, wet media, and performance. She envisions artistic experiments that enact strange relationalities to reveal the ontological and epistemological underpinnings of our (bio)technological societies and challenge the scope of the adjacent possible.
Call for papers, artworks, performances
You are invited to submit theoretical, practical or experimental research work that includes but is not limited to the following topics:
- Computation
- Communication
- Aesthetics
- X
- Algorithms / Systems / Models
- Artificial Aesthetics
- Artificial Intelligence / Creativity
- Audiovisuals / Multimodality
- Design
- Interaction
- Games
- Generative Art / Design
- History
- Mechatronics / Physical Computing
- Music / Sound Art
- Performance
- Philosophy of Art / of Computation
- Technology / Ethics / Epistemology
Submission Categories
Papers: Please submit a paper (3.000 to 6.000 words, excluding references) following the formatting in the Word template. Revision of papers will be double-blind. Please make sure that the PDF file is completely anonymised (i.e. omits author-related information in the body of text or as explicit self-citations, notes and bibliography). Accepted papers will be published in the conference proceedings and a 15-minute presentation video by the authors will be published on the xCoAx 2021 website.
Doctoral Symposium Abstracts: Only Master’s and PhD students can apply to present their work-in-progress and receive feedback from established researchers. Submit a document, following the formatting in the Word template, comprised of a research paper and a letter of support from your advisor (700 to 2.000 words, excluding references) that should include the following: 1) Purpose of the research and its importance to the field; 2) Brief survey of background and related work; 3) Description of the proposed approach; 4) Expected contributions; 5) Progress towards goals. Revision of proposals will be single-blind. A revised version will be requested for inclusion in the proceedings after the symposium. Previous xCoAx Doctoral Symposia were chaired by Frieder Nake, Mario Klingemann, Philip Galanter, Simona Chiodo and Marko Ciciliani. The Doctoral Symposium will take place online and it will be a closed event.
Artworks: Proposals should provide a clear description of the work (in case of online artworks possibly a link to the artwork itself) in the form of a document including the following:
- An abstract of maximum 200 words
- A main text of 700 to 2.000 words (excluding references)
- An appendix with technical details of the artwork
- Another appendix with references to multimedia material on the artwork
The document must follow the formatting in the Word template. Revision of proposals will be single-blind. Due to the pandemic, there will not be on-site exhibition at xCoAx 2021. As such, on top of the reviews from the Scientific Committee, the Organising Committee will favour works that are optimised for an online exhibition setting, either through pre-recorded documentation or as networked or browser-based works, as well as works that are internet-aware or use the internet as resource or theme. For all accepted works, the abstract and the main text will be published in the proceedings; the abstract and selected multimedia materials will be published on a dedicated page in the xCoAx 2021 website. After notification of acceptance, artists will need to provide a 5-minute video presentation that will be included in their artwork’s page. The video is necessary for their entry to be included in the proceedings and on the website.
Performances: Proposals should provide a clear description of the performance in the form of a document including the following:
- An abstract of maximum 200 words
- A main text of 700 to 2.000 words (excluding references)
- An appendix with technical details of the artwork
- Another appendix with references to multimedia material documentation on the performance
The submission document must follow the formatting in the Word template. Revision of proposals will be single-blind. Due to the pandemic, there will not be on-site performances at xCoAx 2021. Pre-recorded performances are welcome, however, on top of the reviews from the Scientific Committee, the Organising Committee will favour live-streamed performances, networked performances, browser-based performances, and performances that are internet-aware and use the internet as resource or theme. For all accepted works, the abstract and the main text will be published in the proceedings; the abstract and selected multimedia materials will be published on a dedicated page in the xCoAx 2021 website. After notification of acceptance, artists will need to provide a 5-minute video presentation that will be included in their performance’s page. The video is necessary for their entry to be included in the proceedings and on the website.
Additional information and submission details
- All works must be submitted via EasyChair;
- Submissions must be original and will be rigorously reviewed by an international and multidisciplinary scientific committee, in a process that will assess originality, relevance, artistic and technical achievements;
- Submissions should be presented as .pdf files with all the media files embedded or linked to online resources;
- Final versions for publication should be delivered in .docx with all the images and other media files attached as independent files;
- All images and media assets must be cleared for publication by the authors;
- At least one of the authors of each selected contribution must register to the conference before the first author registration deadline in order for the work to be published in the proceedings;
- xCoAx’s working language is English;
- xCoAx’s conference proceedings (with ISBN) will be published online with free access;
- Please contact the program chairs at info@xcoax.org with any questions regarding submissions.
