MIR Campaign: Opportunity for Art or Science Projects in Variable Gravity

[marjolein at v2.nl]

MIR Campaign

OPPORTUNITY FOR ART OR SCIENCE PROJECTS IN VARIABLE GRAVITY (INCLUDING ZERO  GRAVITY)
and OTHER ARTISTIC PROJECTS at the GAGARIN COSMONAUT TRAINING CENTRE
Call for Proposals ­ deadline 21 October 2002

The MIR partnership invites proposals from European and Europe-based artists  and scientists to undertake 
projects/research in variable gravity conditions  on a parabolic flights or using other facilities, such as the centrifuge and  
the hydrolaboratory/neutral buoyancy facility used for EVA training, at the  Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre (GCTC), 
Star City, Russia.

A parabolic flight provides up to 20 cycles of 30-second periods of  weightlessness (zero gravity/microgravity) in freefall, 
interspersed with  periods of double gravity (2g acceleration) and normal gravity.
This is the pilot project of the MIR (microgravity interdisciplinary research)  initiative, which seeks to open up space and 
space industry related facilities  by matching artistic processes and scientific research to give a new impulse  to space art 
and space research.

The MIR partnership comprises 5 European art organisations focusing on art,  science and technology:
The Arts Catalyst, science-art agency, London, UK
Leonardo/Olats, Leonardo journal of art, science & technology and Leonardo  observatory for the arts and the techno-
sciences, Paris, France
Multimedia Complex of Actual Arts, Moscow, Russia
Projekt Atol, arts-technology organisation, Ljubljana, Slovenia
V2_Organisation, institute for the unstable media, Rotterdam, Netherlands
The selection committee will be made up of representatives from these  organisations.

The opportunity includes a cultural exchange and working trip to Moscow and  Star City in early 2003, including the 
potential to participate in one or two  parabolic zero gravity¹ flights with the GCTC.
The opportunity is open to artists and scientists in any discipline, where the  lead proposer is based in any European 
country, whether or not EU members. We  will select up to 6 artists¹ projects and up to 3 scientific experiments for  
participation.
For information and proposal form, go to: http://mir.v2.nl/
Please email your intent to make a proposal as soon as possible to: mir at v2.nl
The MIR initiative is supported by the European Union¹s Culture 2000 fund.