In the fifth Open Call Fresh Perspectives, six proposals have been selected for a development contribution. This call concerns special forms of collaboration between a designer, maker or studio and a party with a strong social or knowledge position. Programme manager Marieke Ladru reflects on the open call.
16 June 2021
general impression
A striking aspect of this round was the great diversity in themes and social issues. Despite the strict COVID-19 measures, the designers who submitted a proposal have managed to establish exciting collaborations. Partners vary from research and knowledge institutions to healthcare and government organizations. A large majority of the applications focus on social design or the deployment of 'design power' in complex environments such as healthcare, in order to initiate system change. But there are also designers who are working towards more product-oriented design solutions or who use technology and imagination to offer a new perspective on, for example, climate challenges.
The selection consists of six solid proposals, each of which focuses on a relevant task with convincing collaboration partners. The selected proposals are deploying design to develop new perspectives and ways of thinking about a social issue. The issues range from developing a new cartography that focuses on dynamic interaction, movement and connections between people across territorial divides, to deploying deepfake technology to help people overwrite fear images, and to developing a digital version of the traditional fashion show through the use of volumetric video capturing and immersive technology.
The following six collaborative projects have been selected in this round of the Open Call Fresh Perspectives:
• Public Food – Floris Visser and Flevo Campus
• Hermes: Ceci n'est pas le monde – De Vormforensen and Prof. Henk van Houtum (Radboud University)
• Ken mij – Studio Laura Koenen and Vilans
• Deepmemory – YoriOn and Parnassia Groep
• De sociale steen – Afdeling Buitengewone Zaken and OpenEmbassy
• XR fashionshow – Studio PMS and 4DR
assessment
All applications were submitted to an independent committee consisting of Martine Zoeteman, architect, chair of the Dutch Creative Residency Network and adviser to the Council for Culture; Ama van Dantzig, co-founder of Dr. Monk, board member of Africadelic and adviser to the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts (AFK); Pieter van Boheemen, researcher at the Rathenau Institute, and Nathanja van Dijk, curator and consultant. All the advisers have a broad vision on the field, experience with the utilization of design within social tasks and the establishment of complex collaborations. The applications were judged on the social relevance of the task, effectiveness and consistency in terms of structure, methodology and expertise, quality and form of the collaboration, artistically relevant quality and the extent to which the project is an addition to existing practice, including design practice.
phasing
The open call has three phases. The first phase, or start-up phase, is characterized by the formalization of the collaboration(s), financing, planning and research framework. In the following phase, the project is executed and implemented. The third phase offers the possibility for additional funding to strengthen the impact of the project outside the creative industry.
numbers
For the Open Call Fresh Perspectives #5, the Fund processed 30 applications. With 6 positively approved proposals, the percentage of applications receiving grants comes to 20%. The budget available for this round was € 270,000, and is distributed over the three phases. In this first phase, a maximum of € 10,000 is allocated to each project; for the second phase, an amount of up to € 30,000 per project is available and for the third phase, up to € 5,000 per project. Being awarded a phase 1 grant is not a guarantee that a grant will be awarded for phases 2 and 3.
