AMP: Artists' Meeting Place and Resource Collective

from e-flux Agenda

Submission deadline: June 15, 2025

https://www.oto.museum

Dar Jacir for Art and Research and OTO Sound Museum come together to launch the first Palestinian Art Prize dedicated to sound and listening and to foster the amplification of artistic voices beyond borders. This opportunity is offered to both emerging and established artists working with sound, creating space for their work to resonate with diverse audiences.

The OTO Award is an annual contemporary art prize that honors exceptional Palestinian artists exploring and experimenting within the field of sound— artists whose work is conceptually relevant and pushes the boundaries of artistic practices and creative processes.

Contemporary sonic productions are eligible for submission, including pieces that combine sound with other media, computer-based compositions ranging from electroacoustic to experimental music, and sound installations. In addition to aesthetics, originality, and conceptual strength, the jury will pay close attention to technical and experiential innovation in both form and presentation, as well as the social impact of the work.

The winner will be selected by a combined jury through an open-call application process and will receive 2,000 Swiss Francs, a digital exhibition at OTO Sound Museum, and technical support and mentorship during the production of their work leading up to the exhibition.

Palestinian artists, regardless of their place of residence, are eligible to apply. If the selected artist is based in Palestine, they will also have the opportunity to participate in Dar Jacir’s Sound Studio Residency program. In 2019, Dar Jacir launched the first residency program in Palestine dedicated solely to sound.

Applications are open until June 15, 2025. The winner will be announced in July 2025.

Jury OTO Award x Dar Jacir 2025
Emily Jacir, artist. Founder of Dar Jacir for Art and Research / Nicolas Jaar, musician. Founder of Dar Jacir Sound Studio-Dar Jacir Sound Studio Residency Program / Dirar Kalash, musician and sound artist. Dar Jacir Sound Studio / Francesca Ceccherini, curator and researcher, Founder of Oto Sound Museum / Francesca Brusa, researcher and curator, Oto Sound Museum program 2025 / Chloé Dall’Olio, artist and host, Social Facilitator Oto Sound Museum

Production conditions and time schedule
The composition to be created should ideally have a duration of around 10 minutes, with a maximum length of 20 minutes in exceptional cases. The works produced during the residency will be premiered in a concert in November 2025, at Dar Jacir. The digital exhibition on the OTO Sound Museum platform will run from November 4, 2025, to January 14, 2026.

How to apply
Applications must be submitted via email to otoawardxdarjacir@gmail.com with the subject line “OTO AWARD DAR JACIR 2025_name of the artist” no later than June 15, 2025, at 11:59pm CEST. Files larger than 3MB should be uploaded to accessible platforms, with links and access permissions included in the application. Application language: English preferred, but any language used in the call translation is acceptable (Arabic, Italian, Spanish).

For any inquiries, please email otoawardxdarjacir@gmail.com with a subject line such as “OTO AWARD_inquiries.” Incomplete applications will not be considered. Results will be announced in July 2025.

Conditions of participation
The following documents are required for submission (please submit all materials in a single PDF file not exceeding three MB, except for audio files, which should be uploaded to a designated drive folder):
–Short summary of the project idea to be realized (max. 1,000 characters including spaces).
–Project description (max 4,000 characters including spaces).
–Detailed biography with information on artistic education and career (max. 1,000 characters including spaces) and contact details.
–If possible, a professional portrait photo in landscape format (min. 300 dpi) with photo credits. The photo must be freely and unrestrictedly usable for internal and external press work.
–Three music samples not older than three years to illustrate the artistic work to date. Of these, one piece should be representative of the application (please state “main_piece” at the end of the file name). The other two pieces to be submitted serve as additional illustration of the current artistic work.

Please submit the music samples as audio file (.mp3 with 320 kbps) or as video files of the complete work(s) (1920x1080px, h264 codec, 50 fps, .mov or .mp4). Portfolio (documentation material, scores, documentary image files) is optional and can be enclosed if desired.

By submitting your application, you are sharing personal data with us. We take the protection of this data very seriously and have implemented measures to ensure compliance with applicable data protection regulations.