STARTS OUTLOOK – STARTS Prize 2020:

A Virtual Journey Through the Time Zones

Three members of the STARTS Prize 2020 jury, Mara Balestrini, Clara Blume and Domhnaill Hernon, talk in an interview about the influence of Covid-19 on this year’s jury process, the difference between design and art, recycling management and the usefulness of Excel lists.

Covid-19 really changes everything, that much is certain. For the seven jury members of the STARTS Prize of the European Commission this means, in extreme cases, meeting online for a morning coffee or in near-sleep mode and selecting the winning projects from hundreds of submissions. Within one weekend.

The hardest hit are Japan and California – Nobu Ide has the day behind him, Clara Blume forces herself into work. Even if it seems impossible at first, the discussions get going quickly – with each new day, more restrictions on the projects, more detailed discussion motives, the jury comes together faster. But with each additional day, a little more melancholy sets in, deprived of the opportunity to get to know each other personally.

In a three-day process, the STARTS Prize 2020 jury selected winning projects in the two categories Innovative Collaboration and Artistic Exploration, which will be announced in mid-June. We met with the three jury members Mara Balestrini, Clara Blume and Domhnaill Hernon (online) and talked about the influence of Covid-19, the difference between design and art, circular economy and the benefits of Excel lists.

published in the ARS ELECTRONICA BLOG on June12, 2020, by Barbara Hinterleitner.