Sapporo International Art Festival 2014 - Urban Soundscape Competition

The Creative City Sapporo International Art Festival Executive Committee is issuing a worldwide invitation for submissions of sound files representing the SIAF 2014 theme that are suitable for reproduction in urban public spaces. The winning submission will be played at SIAF 2014 sites in the city during the festival, and will be heard in public spaces in Sapporo throughout the event.

Submission period

Saturday, February 1 – Monday, March 31, 2014
(Submissions must arrive by March 31, 2014 JST+9:00.)

Eligibility

Submissions are welcomed from anybody regardless of age, nationality and professional / amateur status.

Requirements

Entrants should submit two sets of sounds (as outlined below) that must be acoustically connected. The winning submission will be played at SIAF 2014 sites.

Sound file to be played at the Former Sapporo Court of Appeals (a.k.a. Shiryokan): 3 minutes or more
Sound will be played through a speaker set-up suspended from the ceiling and others specially installed for the event at the entrance.
Sound file (like a sound logo) to be played at SIAF 2014 sites, including the Sapporo Ekimae-dori Underground Walkway (a.k.a. Chi-Ka-Ho) and the Sapporo Art Museum: 3 – 15 seconds
In the Sapporo Ekimae-dori Underground Walkway, sound will be played through in-ceiling speakers (about 100 JVC SB-X126) along the route between Odori and Sapporo stations (approx. 520m). At the Sapporo Art Museum, sound will be played in the entrance area through in-ceiling speakers (Panasonic WS-TN10). The SIAF 2014 sites the sound file is played may be added.

Entrants may send multiple submissions as long as the above criteria are met.

URLs of the SIAF 2014 sites at which the winning submission will be played:

Former Sapporo Court of Appeals (a.k.a. Shiryokan): http://www.s-shiryokan.jp/
Sapporo Ekimae-dori Underground Walkway (a.k.a. Chi-Ka-Ho):
http://www.sapporo-chikamichi.jp/space/activityguide.html
Sapporo Art Museum: http://sapporo-art-museum.jp/

Submission

Entries can be submitted via either of the methods outlined below. Details will be provided on the Soundscape Competition web page at a later date (just before the submission period).

Upload the entry to the SoundCloud website (http://soundcloud.com/), then submit the relevant information and URL via the Soundscape Competition web page.
Download, fill out and submit an entry form along with the sound file by post or in person.

Submission information should include the entrant’s name, date of birth, nationality, a contact e-mail address and a summary of the sound file (up to 250 English words). The file must be submitted in wav, aiff or flac format. In principle, submissions in other formats will not be accepted. For submissions to be made by post or in person, digital data should be provided (CD-R or DVD-R). Submissions will not be returned.

Address for submissions by post or in person:

Soundscape Competition Section
Secretariat for the Sapporo International Art Festival
Creative City Sapporo International Art Festival Executive Committee
International Art Event Planning Department, Sapporo Municipal Government Tourism & Cultural Affairs Bureau
Kita 1-jo Nishi 2-chome, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, 060-8611 Japan

Tel : +81-11-211-2314

Judging

April 2014
SIAF 2014 Guest Director Ryuichi Sakamoto will review all submissions impartially and thoroughly and choose the most outstanding sound file.

Announcement of winner

The winner will be announced on Saturday, July 19, 2014, at the opening of SIAF 2014, and will receive an award certificate along with a prize of 500,000 yen (approx. 5,000 US dollars). The cash prize will be presented after the award ceremony. The winner will be informed around ~~May~~ June 2014.

Award ceremony and related scheduling

The award ceremony will be held in Sapporo during SIAF 2014, which will include a session led by Ryuichi Sakamoto for commendation and commentary regarding the winning entry and a presentation on the work by the winner. Information on the date and venue of the ceremony will be posted on the Soundscape Competition web page as soon as the details are decided.

Terms and conditions for submission

Submissions must be the entrant’s own creations, and the entrant must own the copyright for the work.
Submissions must have a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND (Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works) license.
For widespread public sharing of the concepts behind submissions, works from entrants agreeing to publication at the time of submission may be posted on the Soundscape Competition web page.

[Reference]

Creative Commons BY-NC-ND
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

[Soundscape Competition web page]

The web page showing competition updates and Q&A regarding the submission invitation will be updated as needed.

Japanese : http://www.sapporo-internationalartfestival.jp/2014/sound/faq.php
English : http://www.sapporo-internationalartfestival.jp/2014/sound/en/faq.php

Inquiries regarding submissions

Email : sound@siaf.jp
Tel : +81-11-211-2314 (From 8:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. JST+9:00 on weekdays)

Submission guidelines and notes

Submissions must be entrants’ own creations, and entrants must own the copyright to the work.
Entrants are responsible for all submission costs.
Submissions will not be returned.
The Organizer will not compensate for any losses or damage incurred in relation to submissions by post or in person.
The Organizer is unable to answer questions on the status or results of judging.
The Organizer may ask entrants to provide additional information depending on the status of judging.
If the winner is a minor, parental consent will be required before finalization of the award’s presentation and payment of the prize money.
The winning submission will be played in spaces designated by the Organizer in accordance with the terms of the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license.
The Organizer may ask the winner to consider making adjustments to the work to optimize playback conditions.
Personal information provided by entrants will be used exclusively for the following purposes:
1. To communicate judgment results
2. To request the provision of additional information on submissions
3. To conduct statistical analysis regarding the competition without identifying information
4. If personal information needs to be used for purposes other than the above, the Organizer will first seek the consent of the entrant(s) in question.