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The RIXC Art-Science Festival: ECODATA and the Open Fields 2020 conference takes place from October 8–10, 2020, in Riga, Latvia and online, exploring the 'ecosystematic perspective'. More than just rising awareness that living organisms are highly interdependent on each other and their environments, this year's festival edition aims to reveal a web of connections that interweaves biological, social and techno-scientific systems, living and digital data, artistic and scientific approaches. 

The ECODATA festival aims to become a space for artistic interventions and critical discussions, gathering together the scholars and artists who are engaged with ecosystematic approach, use techno-scientific tools and create new aesthetics to deal with the challenges of our time and envision the future for 'terrestrial coexistence' (Latour).

The festival program features the Ecodata EXHIBITION and SYMPOSIUM taking place in the The National Library of Latvia in Riga; Open Fields 2020 CONFERENCE – online, and a hybrid program of online and onsite activities – artistic interventions, screenings, virtual bio/eco-artworks and performances by young artists from Riga, Liepaja, Basel, Karlsruhe and Boston. 

This year's festival is a collaboration with "Ecodata–Ecomedia–Ecoaesthetics" research group of The Institute of Aesthetic Practice and Theory at HGK FHNW in Basel, Switzerland. “Ecodata–Ecomedia–Ecoaesthetics” is the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) funded project that explores the role and significance of new media, technologies and technoscientific methods in the arts for the perception and awareness of the ecological. 

https://www.fhnw.ch/de/die-fhnw/hochschulen/hgk/institute/institut-asthetische-praxis-und-theorie/forschung/ecodata-ecomedia-ecoaesthetics  

The festival takes place in the framework of Creative Europe's supported project “Green Revisited. Encountering Emerging Naturecultures”,

http://green.rixc.org

CONFERENCE 
Open Fields 2020: Ecodata

October 9–10, 2020, Online

Open Fields conference is the RIXC's festival based annual gathering bringing together international scholars and artists to discuss topics related to artistic research, the changing role of art in societies, and art and science collaboration.This year's Open Fields: ECODATA conference for the first time will take place virtually. Yet it will be (thematically) connected with the exhibition and onsite program of the RIXC festival, thus extending a space for discussions on contemporary challenges and the role of art in dealing with them. 

OPEN CALL

We welcome proposals related to the topics (below) by interdisciplinary researchers, artists, artists-researchers, designers, PhD students, curators, media theorists, art historians, science philosophers, cultural innovators, bio-hackers, critical engineers and data designers, as well as scientists from different fields – biology, ecology, climate, environment, digital humanities and social sciences, renewable energy, and other, who are engaged with “technologies of ecological” and see the potential in collaborating with arts.

Topics:
Technologies of Ecological
Re-Connecting Biological and Digital
BioSensing and EcoAesthetics
Renewable Futures and Ecosystematic Perspective
Green Revisited - Encountering Emerging Naturcultures
Living Data, AI and network visualizations

Conference proposal should consist of:
* title and abstract (200 words),
* 5–6 keywords,
* short author's biography (120 words).

DEADLINE EXTENDED - JULY 10, 2020! 
Please submit your proposals online:

https://openfields2020.rixc.lv/openconf.php

EXHIBITION
Ecodata
October 9 – November 17, 2020, The National Library of Latvia, Riga,

As this year's festival is a collaboration with "Ecodata–Ecomedia–Ecoaesthetics" research group led by researcher and theorist Yvonne VOLKART, (Basel, Switzerland), it's featured event is the ECODATA Exhibition, taking place in the Exhibition Hall of The National Library of Latvia, from October 9 – November 17, 2020.

The exhibition opening program takes place on October 8-9, 2020, including the ECODATA symposium with the participation of invited keynote speakers, scientists and artists-researchers of "Ecodata–Ecomedia–Ecoaesthetics" project – Marcus MAEDER, Rasa SMITE, Aline VEILLAT. The Symposium aims to introduce the context and outcomes of the SNSF-funded research project "Ecodata–Ecomedia–Ecoaesthetics" (2017-2020) that explores the role and significance of new media, technologies and technoscientific methods in the arts for the perception and awareness of the ecological. 

The exhibition features twenty artworks by internationally acknowledged artists working in the field of media art, science, and ecology – Ursula BIEMANN, Sarah BURGER, Marcus MAEDER, Eva & Franco MATTES, Francois KNOETZE, Diana SCHERER, Maayke SCHURER, SEMICONDUCTOR, Rasa SMITE, Raitis SMITS, Susana SOARES, Tamiko THIEL and /P, Leena ja Oula A. VALKEAPÄÄ, VARVARA & MAR, Aline VEILLAT, Elaine WHITTAKER.

OPEN FIELDS 2020 Conference Chairs and ECODATA Exhibition Curators: 
Rasa SMITE, Raitis SMITS (Latvia), Yvonne VOLKART (Switzerland)

The RIXC Festival is produced by The RIXC Centre for New Media Culture. The Open Fields 2020 Conference is co-organized by RIXC and The Art Research Lab (MPLab) of Liepaja University (Liepaja, Latvia). 
Festival producer: Agnese Baranova (agnese@rixc.org) 
PR and information coordinator: Liva Silina (rixc@rixc.org)
Contact e-mail: rixc@rixc.org
Phones: +371 29635167 (Agnese Baranova), +371 26546776 (Rasa Smite)
Address: RIXC the Centre for New Media Culture, Lenču iela 2, Riga, LV-1010, Latvia

Support and Partners:
“Green Revisited” project supported by EU program Creative Europe,  State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia,  Riga City Council, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia,  Goethe Institute Riga, Pro Helvetia, Swiss Embassy in Latvia.
“Ecodata-Ecomedia-Ecoaesthetics” Research Project funded by The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), hosted by The Institute of Aesthetic Practice and Theory IAeP at FHNW Academy of Art and Design, Basel (Switzerland), in cooperation with Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL (Switzerland).

CONTACTS

rixc@rixc.org

+371 67228478 (office)

+371 26546776 (Rasa Smite)