In 2023, you’ll experience one-of-a-kind art installations by both established and emerging artists throughout SXSW venues and the city of Austin.

Incorporated into the broader ecosystem of creativity at SXSW, The Art Program offers artists a unique platform to show their work within one of the most diverse, collaborative, and inventive communities in the world.

The SXSW Art Program curates from studios, designers, collectives, and individual artists. The work — either in medium or concept — is at the intersection of art and technology and creates an experience that provokes discussion around the role of visual and digital media arts in culture, technology, and the public realm.

Official selections of the program are chosen on the basis of their ability to enhance the landscape of SXSW and bring meaningful inspiration and discovery to attendees. We strive to showcase work from both emerging and established artists whose vision reflects the values of SXSW.

2023 Applications

Applications open June 28, 2022 and run through the final deadline on July 31, 2022 at 11:59pm PT. Learn more about application eligibility and selection process below.

2023 Deadlines

Final deadline to apply to the 2023 SXSW Art Program is July 29, 2022 at 11:59pm PT.

Eligibility

In order to qualify for the SXSW Art Program, applicants must:

• Have fully completed an application via the SXSW Cart
• Produce an installation that fits within one of the designated SXSW Art Locations:
  • Indoor - 20'x20'x9'
  • Outdoor - 20'x20'
• Provide a visual representation of the installation
• Provide a detailed budget breakdown
• Take all basic safety considerations into account — no flames or flammable materials/gasses, dangerous materials

SXSW Review Process

The review process consists of an internal SXSW art team review of each application. This team will select a group of finalists (“Finalists”), which will then be reviewed by the SXSW Art Program Advisory Board (the “Board”). The Board will then select the final participants (“Participants”) for the SXSW Art Program from those Finalists. All applicants will be informed of their status by mid-October 2022.

If you have questions, please email artinstallations@sxsw.com.

Apply Now

FRAMERATE

By ScanLAB Projects

FRAMERATE’s hypnotic imagery bears witness to landscapes in flux. The impact of human behavior and the immense force of nature unfolds around you across an array of screens. FRAMERATE invites you to observe in another way. To think and feel in another time scale: geological time, seasonal time, tidal time. To contemplate change and the pace of change. This is a space where your perspective might shift. ScanLAB Projects is an award-winning creative studio that digitises the world, transforming temporary moments and spaces into compelling immersive experiences, artworks and films. The studio’s work has featured at major film festivals, been broadcast internationally and exhibited at world-leading arts institutions. FRAMERATE is commissioned by SXSW, LCC and is part of the Future Art and Culture programme produced by British Underground with the support of Arts Council England. Development was supported by Innovate UK's AoTF Program. FRAMERATE is an exclusive preview of a larger body of installation-based work due to be launched across late 2022/2023.

HYDROVOX 2.0

By CIFIKA

HYDROVOX is a collaborative installation between CIFIKA and lighting designer Alex Griff which explores the application of small-scale projection mapping in live visuals. Influenced by the aesthetics found in industrial technology used to explore the boundaries of physics, the installation was designed as a theatrical “portal” with the intent to transport an audience to an alternate world; scored by CIFIKA with visuals by Insula Plantis.

Since the release of her debut LP Hana (2021), CIFIKA has been exploring processes of combining her audio and visual work into one unified experience. Using technology to create links between sound and light, visuals are generated and modulated by reactionary changes to the imputed audio, resulting in a unique performance each time.

Taking influence from electronic music, choral composition, and theatrical production, CIFIKA challenges the ideas of traditional topline, digital sampling, and working with alternative formats of scale to widen the sonic range of upcoming work.

HYDROVOX 2.0 can be experienced on Monday, March 14 between 7:00pm-11:00pm at Central Presbyterian Church. CIFIKA performs at 8:00pm and 10:00pm.

Offer Them Comfort. Offer Them Rest

By Desiree Vaniecia

This title derives from a poem written by author Nayyirah Waheed regarding fear. In this exhibition, Desiree is documenting her fears of motherhood and coming to terms with situations she has no control over. Desiree Vanieciais a contemporary painter who lives and works in Dallas, TX. Raised in a matriarchal home, her work pays homage to her family and their legacy. Her distinctive personal style challenges a stereotype of Black women constructed by the media. Her portraits evoke both vulnerability and strength though posture, physical interaction, or compositional format. Gestures and poses are presented as powerful, whether through sexuality or assurance, while facial expressions and anatomical detail are left reduced and neutral within the empty or vague settings.

ORDER OF MAGNITUDE

By Ben Grosser

Called “freakish” by Boing Boing, “literal art” by Fast Company, and “a hilarious satire on 24/7 overlords” by The Guardian, ORDER OF MAGNITUDE is an epic Mark Zuckerberg supercut that chronicles Silicon Valley's 21st century obsession with growth. Ben Grosser creates interactive experiences, machines, and systems that examine the cultural, social, and political effects of software. Recent exhibition venues include the Barbican Centre in London, Museum Kesselhaus in Berlin, Rijksmuseum Twenthe in the Netherlands, and Centre Pompidou in Paris. His works have been featured in The New Yorker, Wired, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, El País, Libération, and Der Spiegel. Grosser is an associate professor in the School of Art + Design, and co-founder of the Critical Technology Studies Lab at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, both at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Repose

By JD Moore

Through geometric shapes and ancient Egyptian floral iconography, JD offers the viewer a composition free from stress and anxiety. JD Moore, a figurative painter from Dallas, TX, has been working as a full time artist since 2013. His work features narrative driven oil/acrylic portraiture influenced by the Renaissance, Neoclassicism, and Realism periods. He has sharpened his skills by studying fresco painting under Emanuele Capozza in Tuscany, Italy at the month-long La Macina di San Cresci residency. JD’s work has been featured in the Dallas Morning News and the Dallas Contemporary, to name a few.

Server: Checks on the Block

By Ciara Elle Bryant

Server: Checks on the Block, takes a deep dive look at where Nike Air Force 1’s exist in present day culture. The replica wall of all white boxes and piles of used, worn, dirty, and fresh pairs of Forces provide a space for a celebration of culture to happen. Server: Checks on the Block, takes up space and is a visual bibliography of the impact of Blackness in the world of art and streetwear. Ciara Elle Bryant is an interdisciplinary creative working and residing in Dallas, TX. Bryant holds a Masters of Fine Art from Southern Methodist University. Through photography, video, mixed media, and installations, Bryant discusses blackness by focusing on how identity and culture exist in the new millennium. Bryant also teaches and facilitates artist workshops for youth and adults while working as a practicing artist. Bryant’s approach to research and curatorial practice has been integral to her process of furthering conversations surrounding black culture in art as well as historical studies.