Open Call – SHISH BISH

 Shish Bish 
 Open Call for artists and game designers 

Shish bish is a program launched in collaboration between Medrar and Makouk to initiate an artistic and conceptual journey of game creation.  

Through a 9 day workshop, participants are invited to explore the space where art and gaming intersect. 

Via facilitated sessions and through interventions by guest speakers, the workshop participants will work collectively and merge their different interests and expertise in an artful way to design and implement artistic games that will be produced and displayed in an exhibition open to the public. The workshop will take place at Medrar for Contemporary Art and Goethe-Institut Kairo – at the studio Takhshina and the adjacent open space – and run for 9 days between January 29th and February 10th. Each session will last from 4 to 6 hours. On weekdays from 6 pm to 10 pm and weekends from 12 pm to 6 pm.

The workshop will include group activities meant to strengthen the participants’ understanding of gamification within the artistic context and give them the tools necessary to create a compelling artistic game. Through group activities, lectures, and hands-on activities, artists and game designers will share knowledge and ideas and gain inspirational insights from experienced practitioners and the availability of technical material, in order to acquire and complement the required skills and work collaboratively on the creation of an artistically designed game. In small mixed groups, the participants will cooperate to conceive and prototype a project, which they will then test and articulate for the final exhibition that will take place in February/March at Medrar for Contemporary Art.

In order to maintain a safe and healthy workplace, the team will provide participants with adequate supplies, including hand wipes, soap, and alcohol-based hand sanitizers, make sure that social distancing policies are respected by participants, and remind them of basic preventive measures and safety precautions.

 GUIDELINES AND ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA 

• The call is open to artists and game designers (digital and/or analog) willing to experiment with their usual practice within the artistic/ gamification context. 
• As for the artists, the call is open to different artistic practices; applicants with different backgrounds (dance, visual arts, design, performing arts, etc. ) are free to apply with a project that integrates their favorite practice(s) into game design
• the workshop will be held in Arabic 
• The selection criteria will be based on originality, creativity, authenticity, and feasibility of the proposals. 
• The workshop will encourage artists and designers to work together in groups 
• The participants should be willing to collaborate in small teams in the concept  development, prototyping, and implementation of the project 
• The applicants are required to submit a simple concept for a relevant project in the arts or game design field 
• Applicants can support their application with previous designs and works relevant to the application proposal 
• The production of the artworks throughout the workshop will be fully covered 
• to apply, the applicants are required to fill the application form including all the required material and information 
• Only applicants whose proposals are selected to participate in the workshop will be notified via email, no later than  16 December

 The DEADLINE for submissions is 6 December 2020. 

Poster design by Mohamed Sayed
Typography by Fadi Makram Wilson
The workshop was facilitated by Ali Azmi and held between 29 January and 10 February at Medrar for Contemporary Art and Goethe-Institut Kairo.
Guest speakers: Mariam Abou Ghazi and Ahmed Elshaer
Photographers: Mohamed Helmy and Abdallah Khairy
Coordination: Victoria Cornacchia
Technical assistance: Theodore Amgad
Production manager: Mazen Hussein