Athens Digital Arts Festival (ADAF) is an annual International Festival that takes place every May in Athens with the aim to bring together the digital arts community with a broader audience. The festival was established in 2005, under the title Athens Video Art Festival, as an initiative of the non-profit organization Multitrab Productions.

Dive into the whirlwind of the modern world, where reality is ever-changing! Experience the thrilling combination of technology, science, and art at the

21st Athens Digital Arts Festival
Simulacra

In the age of Chat GPT and artificial intelligence, Greece's international digital arts festival, Athens Digital Arts Festival, chooses Simulacra as the most current topic concerning technology. How do we perceive, critique, engage with, and present the hyperreality of technology today in contemporary digital art?
Simulacra refers to copies and representations that no longer have an original, leading to a world where reality and simulation intertwine. According to philosopher Jean Baudrillard, the condition of Simulacra has four stages:

Stage 1: A faithful copy of the original.
Stage 2: A distortion of reality.
Stage 3: A pretense of reality, claiming to describe reality without an original.
Stage 4: Pure simulation, where the copy has no relation to any reality.

This theme confronts us with a paradox: while we seek authenticity and connection, we simultaneously create a complex web of simulations that reshape our understanding of the world. How do these digital replicas affect our sense of identity, culture, and nature? What truths and illusions arise from this endless cycle of replication? Are we in the era where simulations reign supreme, where images precede reality? Are we reaching the point where everything becomes so saturated that it becomes infinitely mutable?

From spatial immersive illusions and artificial intelligence to green technology, virtual worlds, and the pervasive filters of our digital lives that inundate our social media, the 21st ADAF | Simulacra invites you to explore and express how the lines between reality and representation blur. Join us in creating a festival experience—a deep immersion into the magical edge of the fusion of science, technology, and creativity, exploring constructed realities and digital marvels at the cutting edge of technology in art.

For our 21st event, we invite artists to push the boundaries of digital creativity, exploring hyperreality, virtuality, and the uncanny. This theme encourages us to think about how digital constructs influence our social interactions, self-perception, and collective memory. We are looking for works that explore the space between the original and the replica, the physical and the digital, the authentic and the artificial. We would like to explore the confluence of synthetic environments and ecological consciousness, envisioning sustainable futures and ecological solutions, as well as the magnificence of digital spatial illusion in 360° environments.

ADAF Simulacra is not just about imitation but about creating new realities through digital art. It is a celebration of the power of art to reshape and reinvent our world.
Artists, scholars, creators, and tech enthusiasts are invited to submit visually stunning and thought-provoking works in the 12 categories of our festival: Video Art, Animation, Installations, Performances, Music, AR/VR/XR, Workshops, Talks, Webart, Digital Image, Games, and ADAF Kids until the 15 December 2024.

Join us in exploring the digital simulacra, where art reflects not just the world as it is, but the world as it could be.

Detailed information about the submission process and the call for entries is available at the following link: www.2025.adaf.gr
#ADAF2025 #Simulacra #ADAFgreece


The 20th Athens Digital Arts Festival is co-financed by the Hellenic Republic and the European Union through the Regional Operational Programme of “Attica” in the framework of NSRF 2014-2020.

The festival offers non-monetary awards for the 3 first places of each of its categories for the online presentation of the festival. During the online exhibition, the audience will be able to vote for their favorite artworks and choose winners. The nomination will happen in a beautiful award ceremony. During the ceremony, artists will be called to speak about their work and present themselves, while they will receive a unique trophy, mentioning the artwork, the place the work received and the name of the artist. Additionally artists will receive, special stickers and laurels of the festival to add in their website, artwork e.t.c. as they choose. Winning artworks will be featured in parallel activities of the festival with mention of their winning place.

All video & animation techniques are eligible.

All information in your submission form has to be correct and can be used in print and on the web if your film is among the Official selections (excluding personal information). Athens Digital Arts Festival reserves the right to edit or rewrite the text where we see fit.

In order for the submission to be eligible we must receive prior or definitely after the official selections announcement the following:

3 still images from the animation/video (resolution: 300ppi),
a short synopsis (100 words max),
a short artist bio (100 words max),
the video file in mp4, codec H.264

All films are carefully checked before the festival screening however please be aware that the information you provide when you submit your film will ensure it is presented in the correct format.

Each submission must not exceed 20 min, if it does then it's up to the Athens Digital Arts Festival's jurisdiction to review your submission until the end. In this case you must also clearly state the relevance of your submission with the edition's theme (this applies to documentaries and short movies which do not belong in the animation, VR or video art category).

Submission also certifies that all film and music rights and clearances have been obtained (in accordance with GR copyright laws). By submitting, you agree not to withdraw your film from the festival after it has been accepted by the selection committee. All submitted artworks – selected or not – can be included in compilations that represent Athens Digital Arts Festival internationally.

The selected entrants will be informed at a date TBD which is when they will also receive the festival laurels.

The artworks featured in our online festival will remain on our website for the duration of the online festival and possible extension.

The festival is both physical and online meaning that artworks that participate in our online version are likely to be selected for our physical event as well. Artist will be accordingly notified in prior.

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  • Thank you for hosting the Greek Premiere of MARICA by Anouk Chambaz at Athens Digital Arts Festival!

    June 2024
  • Thank you for having us!

    July 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you for being with us

  • baroka inisiatif

    A great art festival from Athens!

    June 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you so much!!

  • Amazing festival. Wishing you all the best for the future :)

    June 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you, Sheyda, for your kind words!

  • Honored to have 3 of our short films selected. Wetsitales! Thank you.

    June 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Thank YOU, Jade! Your works were all amazing!