Open Call for Projects LAB#02 "The Metabolic Sublime"

We open the call for proposals for our next Collaborative Prototyping Lab (CPL), an intensive two-week workshop coordinated by internationally renowned experts/artists to collectively develop initiatives related to the theme "The Metabolic Sublime".

The laboratory will take place at the Matadero Matadero facilities in Madrid, between January 25 and February 7, 2023.

By means of this call, eight projects will be selected to be developed together with multidisciplinary work teams. Regardless of where they are from, the promoters of the eight chosen proposals will have their expenses covered for their stay in Madrid during the days the lab is held.

Once they have been selected, the projects will be made public and we will launch a second call for tender to find collaborators keen to join us at Medialab Matadero to help us develop them.

# Themes of the call
New energy models, agri-logistic automation, ecosystem resilience, territorial instrumentalization, residual circularity, decarbonisation, geoengineering... The aim of the Collaborative Prototyping Laboratory of 'The Metabolic Sublime' is to reimagine current energy regimes on a planetary scale and to design the protocols, tools, institutions, cultures or dynamics that will make them possible.

At Medialab Matadero we strive to offer open research and production frameworks with specific yet sufficiently wide-ranging themes to incorporate diverse perspectives and interests. We build our laboratories from the chorality of a multiplicity of voices, not from a single point of view.

For more information about the theme, please take time to read the complete rules and regulations of the call. You can also consult the Laboratory Syllabus, where you will find links and reflections on how the lab mentors are approaching the concept of 'The Metabolic Sublime'.

# What kind of projects are we looking for?
We understand the term “prototyping” from a far-reaching point of view. Not only are we talking about producing physical devices (which is also the case), but also about prototyping other rather less tangible things, such as radical manifestos, multi-scale protocols, cultures, speculative strategies, and a long etcetera.

We are interested in all kinds of projects - from highly technical to other more experimental ones - no matter their stage of development - from incipient ideas to projects in their final stages of definition and testing - that would benefit from the context of collaboration and co-creation offered by Medialab. The only proviso is that they must address the LAB#02 theme of 'The Metabolic Sublime'.

Proposals should address the theme of "The Metabolic Sublime" which, in the context of the current climate crisis, asks about other possible material and energy flows capable of ensuring an adequate ecosystem balance. This includes proposals that encourage the invention, construction and deployment of alternative metabolic systems and mechanisms regardless of the scale at which they operate, advancing research in both micro-scale frameworks - the generation of new materials, energy production systems, molecular engineering, carbon capture mechanisms or bio-manufacturing - and macro-scale frameworks -alternative governance models, radical logistics protocols, institutional design, sustainable food systems, circular waste management, energy transition strategies or geoengineering.

# Who can apply?
We believe that creativity and social innovation must stem from the most varied and diverse corners of society.

The Collaborative Prototyping Laboratory is aimed at individuals and groups from anywhere in the world, with any level of qualification and from such disciplines as design, art, architecture, urban planning, economics, film, photography, journalism, digital media, environmental sciences, philosophy, engineering, social studies, political sciences, programming, materials science, activism or indeed any other field.

Equal priority will also be given to applicants who do not have a degree or any institutional affiliation but can demonstrate a high level of creativity, critical thinking and other potentiality.

There is no age limit for applicants. We do not ask for a CV or letters of recommendation.

The Lab languages will be English and Spanish.

MEET THE EXPERTS WHO WILL ACT AS MENTORS FOR THE LAB#02 PROTOTYPING LABORATORY “The Metabolic Sublime” that leads to the call for proposals.