ArtxTechforGood: Design a GIF for Good

The Ask

Design a winning GIF that raises awareness of a 'Technology for Good' initiative. (And if you like designing animations and short films, there's another chance to win big in our #WorkEqualityxTech challenge in partnership with FastJobs).

Overview 

Technology is being applied by individuals and organisations to solve global challenges. Technology is also reshaping and redefining art and how it’s produced in new and engaging ways. GIFs are democratising creativity. They also have the ability to communicate emotional moments in just six seconds. MeshMinds challenges you to create a GIF to raise awareness of inspirational applications of 'Technology for Good'.

"No emerging technology is benign, and artists know this better than anyone. Politicians are the last to understand new technology, as evidenced by the serious lag time of any recent relevant legislation. Artists’ critical engagement is key to ensuring that the tools that we ultimately embrace will be as human-centric, open, and creatively engaged as possible. They are the ones poking around the boundaries of what is possible." (Roddy Shrock, Director of Eyebeam Art + Technology Center)

"I think it’s not enough for artists to make work, and to show that to the public. We also have to see ourselves as human beings; to ask what can we do in the world, which is really in the biggest crisis it has ever been in. As a human being, how can you help on a human level? It’s a crisis in every possible form. Human beings suffer everywhere in the world. It’s the increasing natural disasters, which have never been so frequent; hunger; the movement of large populations of people; the people who run the government. Just doing art, being in the studio, is not enough. You have to think about what you can do as a human being." (Marina Abramovich)

Challenge Breakthrough

• Have you heard that Virtual Reality is being used to improve the wellbeing of the elderly and enhance the lives of differently-abled people? 
• Did you know that Augmented Reality is being used to to drive awareness of deforestation, teach children sign language and help people with autism?
• Did you hear that 3D printing is being used to promote sustainable repair, recycling and re-use of everyday objects and in bio-medicine to democratise access to prosthetic limbs?
• Are you aware that using IoT beacon networks and sensor-driven technology, we are helping blind and visually impaired people to navigate the world around them?

The Challenge

MeshMinds wants to support creators who can help communicate the vision of individuals and organisation working at the forefront of applications of 'Technology for Good'. We invite creators to:

1. Select a 'Technology for Good' initiative;
2. Create an original GIF that helps to communicate the vision of that initiative;
3. Upload your GIF to Instagram and tag it #ArtxTechforGood and @MeshMinds and @ArtScienceMuseumSG; 
4. Click "Accept Challenge", register on HeroX and enter the Instagram URL on your HeroX submission form; and
5. Follow @MeshMinds and @ArtScienceMuseumSG and click on the "Share" button above to share this challenge with your friends, your family, or anyone you know who has a passion for 'Technology for Good'.

Our judges will then select the top five winners to receive a S$1000 cash prize, part of which can be a donation to the 'Technology for Good' initiative. Winning GIFs will be showcased for 8 days at MeshMinds 1.0 - Singapore’s first creative innovation lab focused on Art x Technology for Good - at ArtScience Museum in January 2018.

About the Sponsor

MeshMinds is an impact investor in creative technology for good. We are looking for the world's best ideas for projects and prototypes that fuse art with emerging technology to drive change for the sustainable development of people and our planet. We ignite inspiration through collaborative experiences and we invest in creative teams with scalable ideas that have a good story. In January 2018, MeshMinds is producing MeshMinds 1.0 – Singapore’s first creative innovation lab focused on Art x Technology for Good. We are extremely grateful to our partners and sponsors, without which MeshMinds 1.0 would not be possible: ArtScience Museum, Autodesk Singapore, LASALLE College of the Arts, IMDA, HTC Vive and Lenovo.

[Note: Competition will be declared invalid if MeshMinds does not receive a minimum of ten individual entries]

To participate, create a GIF inspired by the theme ‘ArtxTechforGood’, upload onto Instagram and tag #ArtxTechforGood and @MeshMinds.