The Cluj Cultural Centre recently launched the Work Upside Down project, calling for artists who are interested in imagining the future of work. Ten of their proposals will be selected and financed with up to EUR 6,500 each, according to Business-Review.eu.
The Work Upside Down initiative is part of the Cluj Future of Work project and financed by the European Regional Development Fund through Urban Innovative Actions. It aims to generate public conversations that will be accessible to a wide audience and mediated through artistic experiences, all on the subject of the future of work. How will work rituals change in a highly automated ecosystem? What will workplaces look like? What abilities should one develop in order to adapt to the demands of a new work environment? These are just some of the questions artists can take into account in the process of creating their micro-universes.
“In order to handle some inevitable changes and all the uncertainty around them, we as individuals need to look into the future and make space in our minds for the multiple possibilities and scenarios regarding the future of work. Artists have vivid imaginations and they are able to tell captivating stories, so we’re inviting them to create fictional contexts that will allow us to experience the future and therefore to have a change to shape it,” said Rarita Zbranca, programme director at the Cluj Cultural Centre and co-curator for Work Upside Down.
Artists are encouraged to imagine the future of work through inter-disciplinary approaches or through visual arts, media arts, show arts, music, literature, etc. Interactive and/or immersive formats are encouraged, especially innovative approaches such as narrative installations, sensorial experiences, role play, fictional object design, and time capsules. Works developed within the project will be presented during an exhibition in Cluj-Napoca, between October 1 – November 30, 2021. The call addresses all Romanian and European artists. Cluj Future of Work is a project initiated by the Cluj-Napoca Urban Innovation Division, which was created by the Cluj Cultural Centre in partnership with the Civic Innovation and Imagination Centre, a part of the Cluj-Napoca City Hall.
“We want to continue developing our programmes in a digital format and to assess their impact on the cultural and creative industries in Cluj-Napoca. At least five successful sustainable projects in which creativity, entrepreneurship, and technology come together will be developed in the Culturepreneurs programme, but we would be more than happy to have more than five. We’ll also look for ways to replicate the programmes, take them further, and introduce them to different academic institutions, in order to maximise their impact,” said Andreea Bercan, the manager of Culturepreneurs.
