We invite all artists, scientists, technology enthusiasts, innovators, and passionate roboticists to respond to this call with ideas and initiated or completed artistic projects, and to participate in the new edition of the Device_art festival, which will take place from 29 September to 27 October 2026 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb. Selected applicants will have the opportunity to realize their artworks with the financial, curatorial, and logistical support of KONTEJNER.
Device_art is an international festival dedicated to technological devices, machines, and robotics in contemporary art. The festival re-examines established concepts of the intertwining of art, science, and technology, and critically interprets and contextualizes the conditions of production, reception, and communication of device-based art. The artworks presented at the festival are at the intersection of device hacking and gadget culture, art and product design, and encompass a wide range of themes and formats—from conceptual provocations and innovative interfaces to utilitarian products, toys, and prototypes.
The eighth edition of the festival is organized in collaboration with the South Korean curatorial collective Vestige (Yunchul Kim, Jungyeon Park, Menger Chu). In addition to current Croatian device_art tendencies, the festival will present new media artists from South Korea and explore devices and machines not only as functional tools but also as mediators in the creation of new perceptual and symbolic fields, reflecting on everything we can imagine and achieve through them.
The call is open to all individuals and collectives from Croatia or residing in Croatia who have ideas, concepts, or completed artistic projects.
The main criteria that KONTEJNER’s curators, in collaboration with their South Korean colleagues, will take into account when selecting works for the festival are:
- Creativity, innovation, and a critical approach in the use of media, technology, and scientific methodologies in the artwork;
- The elaboration and precision of the project’s implementation plan: budget, timeline, and necessary resources;
- The substantive quality of the work, conceptual development, and research/theoretical background;
- Transdisciplinarity and cross-sectoral character—collaboration between the artist(s) or collective and experts outside the field of art and culture;
- Specificities of the work and/or working process in relation to the local art scene.
The call is open from 5 December 2025 to 20 January 2026 at 23:59 CET, and proposals must be submitted via this ONLINE APPLICATION FORM. The application form is in Croatian.
Applications must include:
1) Contact information (name and surname/name of collective; email address; phone/mobile number);
2) Applicant’s website or portfolio with descriptions and visual and/or audio documentation of previous works;
3) A short biography (up to 200 words);
4) Title of the project submitted to the call;
5) A concise project description and concept (up to 500 words);
6) A concise technical description and installation requirements (up to 300 words);
7) A projected budget for the production and installation of the project (one document, up to 10MB);
8) Information on whether the project has already been performed and/or exhibited;
9) Sketches and/or photo/video/audio documentation of the project (one document, up to 10MB);
10) A link to the project (if applicable).
Incomplete applications, as well as those received after the call’s indicated deadline, will not be taken into consideration. Results of the call will be announced by mid-February 2026.
