Deadline: June 15, 2023
Emerging Digital Artists Award (EDAA) 2023
The Emerging Digital Artists Award (EDAA) is Canada’s award for critical experimentation in digital media, proudly presented by EQ Bank and Trinity Square Video. Launched in 2015, the award celebrates the contributions of artists working exclusively in virtual space.
Each year, we seek artwork submissions from across the country that push us in new directions and challenge us to see the world through a different screen. Whether digital images, videos, animations, GIFs, websites, games, apps, artificial and virtual realities, or holograms (that’s right, we’re hopeful), the EDAA is here to recognize it, support it, and help it grow.
EQ Bank is the digital banking platform launched in 2016 by Equitable Bank, Canada’s Challenger Bank™. As a future-ready financial institution, fostering innovation is at the heart of everything we do. We firmly believe in the benefits of open banking, and continue to invest in technology to serve the changing and growing financial needs of Canadians.
Trinity Square Video is a space to re-imagine media arts. As video-based practices have become increasingly present across disciplines, Trinity Square engages artists and curators in critical investigations into the changing conditions of perception, materiality, and the virtual.
Award Details
Calling all emerging digital artists! Consider submitting your work to the 2023 EDAA for a chance at one of five awards, which includes:
A $5,000 PRIZE
Five artists will each be awarded $5,000 for their exceptional digital artwork
A PRODUCTION MEMBERSHIP
All five award winners receive a one-year Production Membership to Trinity Square Video, which includes equipment rentals, access to editing suites, discounted workshops, and more
A GROUP EXHIBITION
The five winning artworks are included in a group exhibition at Trinity Square Video (both in gallery and online), September 9-October 6, 2023, for which artists are paid exhibition fees
A RESIDENCY OPPORTUNITY
One of the five award winners earns a dedicated spot in Trinity Square Video’s 2024 Themed Commission, a residency program giving creative practitioners the opportunity to produce or workshop new projects in response to a specific theme.
Applicant Eligibility
To be eligible, you’ll need to be:
- A resident of Canada
- At least 18 years of age
- An emerging artist
They consider an emerging artist to be someone within the first five years of their professional career, beginning with their first solo or group exhibition in a museum, public or commercial gallery, or artist-run centre.
Applicants are not required to be current students or to have completed a degree in Fine Arts. EQ Bank encourage all emerging artists matching our definition to apply.
Artwork Qualifications
Artwork must:
- Rely on the digital to exist, taking advantage of and experimenting with its immaterial qualities
- Have a visual component (i.e. cannot solely be sound-based)
- Stand on its own when viewed on a single screen or projection (i.e. if the work is part of a larger interactive or physical installation)
Digital submissions may include, but are not limited to:
- Images, videos, animations, and GIFs
- Websites, games, and applications
- Augmented and virtual realities
The work must be dated no earlier than five years prior to the submission deadline. Only one work per applicant can be considered.
