The SETI Institute’s Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program is delighted to announce that it has partnered with the world-renowned Ars Electronica to create the SETI x AI art residency. Ars Electronica, based in Linz, Austria, is best known for its annual festival for art, technology, and society. The organization’s focus on AI, futurism, and digital humanism intersects with the SETI Institute’s research into alien intelligence, machine learning, and the search for cosmic technosignatures.

The SETI x AI residency is part of the AI Lab (European ARTificial Intelligence Lab). It offers international artists working in AI a chance to win a residency at a scientific partner institution and the Futurelab of Ars Electronica. The open call for submission to the SETI x AI residency launches on September 9, 2020. The call is open for international artists who work in the fields of AI, Machine Learning and digital approaches. We are especially interested in projects that ponder the beginnings of life, explore the possibility of life on other planets, and critically reflect on our anthropocentric world view.

The residency consists of two parts, with an initial 4-6 weeks at SETI Institute and its institutional partner, the Montalvo Arts Center. The winning artist will have a dedicated science mentor to inspire their work. The Montalvo Arts Center, located in California’s Saratoga Hills, is a unique multi-disciplinary arts organization that engages the public in the creative process and acts as a catalyst for exploring the arts. The second part of the residency will be 3-6 weeks stay with the Futurelab team at Ars Electronica, where the artist will produce the work inspired by the residency at the SETI Institute.

For more information about the residency and how to enter your online submission, please follow this link: https://ars.electronica.art/ailab/en/opencall/

SETI AIR Current Projects

In the last two years, the SETI AIR program has welcomed its first international artists. In 2018 Felipe Perez Santiago from Mexico and Zeinab Alhashemi from Dubai joined the program. Santiago is creating EARTHLING, a contemporary opera made in collaboration with Dr. Jill Tarter. Alhashemi is working with Dr. Mark Showalter and Matthew Tiscareno on several public art projects. SETI AIR’s most recent residents are Chinese artist Xin Liu, electronic musician and DJ Alfred Darlington aka Daedelus, and performer-activist Jordan Holmes aka Dxtr Spits.
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About the SETI Institute

Founded in 1984, the SETI Institute is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary research and education organization whose mission is to explore, understand, and explain the origin and nature of life in the universe and the evolution of intelligence. Our research encompasses the physical and biological sciences and leverages expertise in data analytics, machine learning and advanced signal detection technologies. The SETI Institute is a distinguished research partner for industry, academia and government agencies, including NASA and NSF.

Contact information
Rebecca McDonald,
Director of Communications 
SETI Institute
189 Bernardo Ave.,
Suite 200
Mountain View, CA 94043 
rmcdonald@seti.org