Call for Submissions: Latin American Media Arts Symposium (LAMAS) 2025

Call for Submissions: Second Latin American Media Arts Symposium (LAMAS)

Deadline: March 31, 2025
Symposium Dates: October 14 – 17, 2025
aluCine Latin Film + Media Arts Festival, Toronto

We invite Canadian-based Latin American artists, media makers, filmmakers, curators, creatives, and scholars to contribute to the Second Latin American Media Arts Symposium (LAMAS), taking place from October 14 to 17, 2025, during the 25th anniversary of the aluCine Latin Film + Media Arts Festival in Toronto.

This year, under the framework presented by guest curator Claudia Arana, the symposium seeks to foster an inclusive, collaborative, and critical space for dialogue, reflection, and exploration of the diverse and multifaceted landscape of Latin American media arts in Canada. This second edition is grounded in the rich intersections of cultural identity, migration, memory, futurity, and ethical and political aspects of technological innovation. Selected proposals and presentations may examine contemporary geopolitical challenges and envision alternative, equitable futures that reframe power dynamics and promote global solidarity.

We welcome submissions from individuals whose work critically engages with these themes and contributes to advancing the theoretical, artistic, and community-based dimensions of Latin American media arts in Canada.

Presentations may explore themes such as:

Memory and Counter-Narratives:

• Revisiting official histories through experimental and documentary practices.
• Collective storytelling as a form of resistance and identity reclamation.
• Autoethnographic approaches to lived experiences and intergenerational knowledge.

Migration and Diaspora:

• Mobility of bodies, ideas, and cultural expressions across borders.
• Addressing themes of identity, hybridity, and belonging through media.
• Representation of Latin American diasporic communities in Canada.

Decolonial Practices in Media Arts:

• Decolonial aesthetics in new media and digital storytelling.
• Reclaiming Indigenous narratives and knowledge through digital platforms.
• Building solidarity networks and alternative economies through artistic practices.

Latinx-Futurity and Speculative Practices:

• Exploring diasporic speculative fiction and futurisms.
• Technological hybridity as a means of cultural survival and innovation.
• Addressing representation and the ethical and political implications of Generative AI.

Equity and Inclusion in Cultural Institutions:

• Examining accessibility and care-based practices in media arts spaces.
• Developing anti-oppressive frameworks within artistic ecosystems.
• Collaborative and participatory strategies that empower marginalized voices.

Proposals from practitioners may include:

• Video, new media, film;
• Immersive media, installation, multi-channel or expanded cinema projects;
• Live or recorded performance;
• Animation, coding, programming and data processing, interface design;
• Experimental overlappings of digital and analog media.

Eligibility Criteria

To be considered, all participants must:

• Currently live in Canada.
• Self-identify as Latin American / Latino/a/x. *
• Demonstrate a creative or academic investment in new media, video, film, and/or other forms of moving image (e.g. animation, immersive media, programming, installation, multi-channel or expanded cinema projects, live or recorded performance).

Format and Structure

LAMAS will feature collaborative panel discussions, artist presentations, and roundtable dialogues, fostering exchange across disciplines and perspectives. Participants will have the opportunity to share their work through short presentations that highlight the intersections of their practice and theoretical inquiry. The symposium will not include traditional screenings. LAMAS will not be accepting screening proposals; however, all applicants are encouraged to submit their audiovisual projects to aluCine Film Festival, whose screenings will be taking place after the panel discussions.

Application Process

Fill in the online application form by March 31, 2025, 11:59 pm EDT. **
Successful applicants will be notified no later than April 15, 2025.

All LAMAS panelists will receive compensation for their participation. The symposium will take place in person, and participants will be required to ensure their own transportation to and accommodation in Toronto. We advise you to check the available funding offered by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and other territorial or regional entities.

About the Guest Curator

Claudia Arana is a Colombian-born Curator and Cultural Connector whose practice is dedicated to developing artistic platforms that emphasize inclusion and diversity through a wide range of cultural perspectives. Her work is driven by a deep commitment to amplifying underrepresented voices and creating spaces for critical dialogue and engagement, aiming to challenge societal barriers and foster cultural exchange through acts of radical kindness. Claudia holds degrees in Art Theory and Critical Thinking from the School of Visual Arts and Advanced Critique from the International Centre of Photography, both in New York. Her curatorial practice includes the 2021-2022 Year of Public Art at the ArtworxTO West Hub in Toronto, and her work has been exhibited in leading venues such as the Gibson House Museum, Sur Gallery, Arts Etobicoke, North York Arts, Toronto Arts Foundation, Luminato, Laboratory for Artistic Intelligence, Muse Arts, Lawrence Arts Centre, and Le Petite Lanterns Theatre in Quebec, among others.

About LAMAS

Latin American Media Arts Symposium is a project organized by Southern Currents Film & Video Collective. Southern Currents Film & Video Collective gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts for this project.

aluCine Latin Film + Media Arts Festival
PO Box 1161 St. Clair Avenue West, Suite 22
Toronto, ON M6E 1B2
www.alucinefestival.com/lamas-2025
curatorlamas@alucinefestival.com

* We acknowledge that Latino, Latina, Latinx, or Latin American terms can be restrictive. Whenever using the term Latin American, we refer to anyone with Latin American ancestry, regardless of ethnicity, nationality, language, gender, and legal status.

Southern Currents Film & Video Collective and LAMAS, promote accessibility and inclusion and are a safe and welcoming space for media makers and fans worldwide. We respect, reflect, and celebrate our communities’ diversity and strive for the inclusion of all persons.

** If you encounter any barriers through the application process, do not hesitate to contact Claudia Arana (curatorlamas@alucinefestival.com) for assistance with submission.