Unsound announces dates and theme for 2021 event

Unsound has announced the dates and theme for its 2021 event.

Set to return to Kraków, Poland between October 13th-17th, the theme for this year is dəəp authentic, a "response to a hyperreal situation as parts of the world begin to transition into a new phase, in which many are vaccinated and our year-plus-long immersion in virtual living is raising new questions."

According to the festival, dəəp authentic also refers to the "gradual shift back from online to IRL events, a phrase that involves a questionable binary - for the online world is also ‘real’, and the IRL has long been digitised, distributed and mediated."

With more information expected soon, a limited number of passes to this year's festival will go on sale in June.

As part of the announcement, the festival has also made a call for entries from artists, writers, theorists and activists in response to the theme, with a focus on presentations that blur the line between the discourse and performance programs. Between three to five entries will be included in the 2021 program and participants will receive a fee of 2000 PLN (approximately £385) each. Comprising an initial proposal of fewer than 500 words, including links to supporting media, submissions can be sent to [email protected]. The submission deadline is 25th June.

Last year, the festival moved online with Unsound Intermission, presenting an array of immersive content, music, talks and visual art across 11 days. Featuring Objekt, Violet, Opa, Eris Drew b2b Octa Octa, LSDXOXO and more, the 17th edition of the festival took place in 2019.

In other European festival news, Serbia's EXIT Festival will offer the coronavirus vaccine to international artists and festivalgoers attending the event this summer.