Stimuleringsfonds

In the last round of the Digital Culture Grant Scheme in 2024, 34 applications have been selected. Dewi Kruijk, Digital Culture grant officer, reflects on the round.

12 December 2024

general impression

In the last round of the Digital Culture Grant Scheme in 2024, the Fund received an enormous number of applications. Of the 105 subsidy applications taken into consideration, ultimately 34 are receiving grants. The quality of the proposals was high with a wide variety of project forms and themes.

Many of the projects receiving grants focus on the interaction between technology and social issues. In AI film concierge, new ways to access archives are explored, while the creators of DEEPFAKE delve into the ethical issues surrounding this technology. Gaming is also used as a medium for social reflection: where Born into bias confronts audiences with questions about social mobility and privilege, In our nature translates themes such as feminism and environmental awareness into a narrative game.

It is also notable that many makers are exploring the relationship between technology and ecology. With Ecoshroom, a connection between artificial intelligence and plant and fungi ecosystems is generated. The impact of infrasound on marine life is investigated in Rotating wheels and whispering things. The impact of technology on our daily lives is also given a great deal of attention. For instance, the makers of The hybrid couple explore new forms of coexistence between humans and AI, and Moonblood presents an innovative take on the relationship between technology and our natural cycles.

selection

A few notable projects from this round’s selection are:

Sunjoo Lee – Electric garden
Interdisciplinary artist Sunjoo Lee transforms a garden at the Hof van Cartesius (Utrecht) into an experimental space for generating energy with biological processes. Combining art, technology and biology, Lee investigates how biological processes can generate electricity. The project explores the possibilities of microbial fuel cells, creative electronics and artistic material research on wood and ceramics. Lee is developing an improved electricity-generating garden, a digital artwork powered by the garden and two mobile artworks. Research findings will be shared through presentations, workshops and a website.

Warpglaze – Feminist Gaming
Warpglaze’s project Feminist gaming investigates game design from an intersectional-feminist perspective. Deniz Kurt, Zeynep Burcu Kaya and Sinem Gorucu explore how feminist principles can be integrated into the design, development and culture of games. The first phase focuses on analysing the field, building a reflective community and organising speculative workshops. The follow-up phase will involve developing a toolkit and experimenting with prototypes that illustrate feminist game-design principles.

Bits of Freedom – Addictive design: een gids voor ontwerpers en beleidsmakers
The project Addictive design: een gids voor ontwerpers en beleidsmakers links digital-rights organisation Bits of Freedom with design-research agency Convocation Research and Design in a design-research project on addictive design. The team analyses the current state of online addiction and draws lessons for social-media applications. By creating practically applicable insights, they aim to contribute to user-centric design practices and technology policy in the Netherlands and Europe.

numbers

Of the 105 subsidy applications taken into consideration, 47 received a positive recommendation. The available budget of € 576,587 was not sufficient to award a grant to all the positively assessed applications, so prioritisation was necessary. Ultimately, 34 were awarded a grant. This brings the percentage of applications receiving grants to 31%.

follow-up

For the 2025-2028 policy period, the Fund has renewed the Digital Culture Grant Scheme. The new grant scheme will use modified application procedures and tightened frameworks. Would you like to submit an application next year? Then take a close look at the grants page and read this news article about the main changes.

Banner picture: K.O. Productions – Ecoshroom