Babelgum's Metropolis Art Video Competition

Babelgum’s Metropolis Art Video Competition

Attention all artists! If you thought mobile and online content wasn’t a place for your paintings, sculpture and other works of art, think again. Babelgum is on the search for “the world’s best and edgiest artists.” The competition is an open call to all artists active in any visual medium to metropolis2 submit videos of their works.

The competition highlights Babelgum’s new Metropolis channel, which focuses on art, design, architecture and the urban experience. “Metropolis is about people interested in the global village–L.A., London, Tokyo, NYC and want to know what’s going on,” says Metropolis publisher Laurence Billiet. This is the first competition from Metropolis.

Entries will be judged by a jury chaired by art house actor/video artist Isabella Rossellini, as well as audiences. Babelgum’s other online contests nurture independent film, music and art talent: the Babelgum Online Film Festival chaired by Spike Lee and the Babelgum Music Video Awards chaired by Michel Gondry.

“Art is under-represented in mainstream media,” says Billiet. “We’ve found that a lot of artists are starting to use video as a medium–not necessarily to do “video art” but using video to document and expand their work. Many artists have realized that using video and uploading those videos online have allowed them to reach a broader and more global audience.It gives opportunities for artists around the world to explore how video can work with their own practice.”

Entries for the inaugural Babelgum Metropolis Art Prize will be accepted September 1—October 18, 2009. Voting on the videos goes from November 2 through December 6, 2009. In a special winner’s exhibition on December 17, 2009, Babelgum will show nine videos on Times Square, turning New York City’s iconic space into an art installation site.

Voting has a mobile component.”People can vote online and on the mobile phone,” says Billiet. Babelgum Mobile is an original application currently available in the United States, UK, Italy, Germany, France and Spain, at present on the iPhone 3G, iPod Touch, Google Android G-Phones 1 and 2, Nokia (N96, N95 and 6210) – via 3G and WiFi.

The Babelgum Metropolis Art Prize consists of the following awards:

The Metropolis Art Grand Prize: The winner will receive US $20,000, a dedicated artist channel on Babelgum Metropolis and will have his/her video screened on Times Square monitors.

The Best Street Art Video: The winner will receive US $5,000 and have his/her video screened on Times Square monitors. The Best Street Art Video will be selected by juror Cedar Lewisohn, curator of the 2008 Street Art exhibition at the Tate Modern gallery in London.

The Audience Award: The winner will receive US $5,000 and have his/her video screened on Times Square monitors. The Babelgum audience will vote for this award online and on mobile.

The Times Square Special Screening Awards: six runners-up (two from each prize category) will also have their videos screened on Times Square monitors.

According to Billiet, Metropolis offers artist and gallery channels, and is approaching “great galleries and top artists” in the world’s major cities. “We’ll upload videos and use a blog element about upcoming exhibitions and so on,” she says. “It’s a very interactive environment, video-based and by invitation only.”

MobilizedTV has previously written about Babelgum’s Coldplay iPhone app, Babelgum’s exclusive licensing deal to bring Funny or Die content to the mobile platform, and other content among Babelgum’s mobile offerings including Fun Little Movies’ Mr. Wrong and Hayden Black’s Goodnight Burbank: Hollywood Report.

Babelgum focuses on innovative, professionally produced content on very specific passions – music, comedy, film, urban culture, nature and the environment – curated by experts in their fields. Babelgum’s programming is comprised of exclusive original productions as well as independent and mainstream titles. Its content partners include, among others, EMI, Sony BMG, the New York Times, PBS, BBC, VBS, Lonely Planet, Coolhunting, National Geographic, Funny or Die, T5M, Shine Limited, Cinetic Rights Management, Content Republic, Gong Anime, The Workbook Project, Cinelan, Power to the Pixel and Off the Fence as well as the Encounters, Los Angeles, and Hamptons film festivals.

Babelgum is an independent and privately held company with offices in the United States, UK, Ireland, France and Italy.

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