Artist Seo Hye Lee invites d/Deaf participants to contribute to Deafening Silence, a new moving-image project commissioned by IMAI – Inter Media Art Institute for Circulating Copies 2026, presented in public space across Düsseldorf.

The project explores how sound is anticipated, imagined, or inferred through visual cues in the urban environment. It takes its starting point from the idiom “deafening silence” — a phrase used to describe an overwhelming absence of sound — and asks how such language might be re-thought through d/Deaf experience, creative captioning, and collective authorship.

What we are inviting

We are looking for short silent video fragments (up to 30 seconds) of urban spaces, alongside creative captions that describe, imagine, or anticipate sound. These might be moments you notice every day:

•    a flashing pedestrian signal
•    train doors suddenly opening and closing
•    crowds waiting, dispersing, passing
•    a pause where sound feels expected, but absent

Captions do not need to be literal or descriptive on their own. They can be poetic, open, humorous, uncertain — a way of translating how sound might feel, rather than how it objectively is.

Who can apply

•    d/Deaf participants based in Düsseldorf and other cities with similar urban environments (UK-based and international participants are welcome)
•    No professional art background is required

Process & payment

This is an open call. Anyone who meets the criteria may submit. From the submissions received, a limited number of contributors will be selected to take part in the final artwork. Selected contributors will:
•    be invited into a short dialogue with the artist
•    be asked (if relevant) for further material or clarification
•    receive a fee in recognition of their time, creative input, and authorship (Depending on the number of videos selected by the artist, the fee will be between 50 and 150 EUR.)

We recognise that even a short submission involves attention and time. Clear boundaries are set so that the initial contribution remains light and accessible.

Accessibility

Submissions are welcome in written English or German, and alternative formats can be discussed. If you have access needs or questions before submitting, please get in touch by sending an email to: deafeningsilence.opencall@gmail.com.

How to submit

Please send

•    one short silent video (max. 30 seconds) in landscape format
•    one accompanying caption
•    your name, pronoun and city

to: deafeningsilence.opencall@gmail.com. 


Deadline: Saturday, February 28, 2026.