Open Call: Groundworks
Groundworks is a pilot programme for early- to mid-career Singapore-based artists engaging with digital tools. Through mentorship, studio visits, and technical feedback, the programme is designed to strengthen participating artists' ability to develop ambitious digital works and articulate their practices effectively. Participating artists are welcomed to develop new ideas or expand existing lines of inquiry through the programme.
Five selected artists will take part in an 8-week development period, receiving feedback and guidance from curatorial mentors Julia Kaganskiy and Doreen Ríos, technical mentors Debbie Ding and ARTFACTORY, and Groundworks curatorial team.
Each artist will receive a fee of 2,000SGD to develop a new work or build upon an existing work for presentation in June 2026 at the Arts x Tech Lab in Aliwal Arts Centre, with access to the Lab's equipment and an additional production budget.
This programme is supported by the National Arts Council's Arts x Tech Lab initiative. The Lab nurtures Singapore's arts x tech community, ultimately driving new artistic endeavours and bridging arts and technology conversations to develop Singapore's vibrant arts scene.
Key Dates
About Common Protocol
Common Protocol is a curatorial platform dedicated to digital and new media practices from Southeast Asia and its diasporas. It serves as a portal for new discoveries, a channel for shared connections, and a prompt for further dialogue.
Working across online and offline formats, Common Protocol amplifies artists' voices, fosters collaboration across institutional structures and geographics, and contributes to a more sustainable digital arts ecosystem in the region and beyond.
Mentors
Julia Kaganskiy
Curatorial Mentor
Julia Kaganskiy is an independent curator and strategist based in New York City with more than 16 years experience developing innovative cultural programs bridging art, science and technology. Kaganskiy was the founding Director of NEW INC at the New Museum, the first museum-led cultural incubator (2014-2018) and Global Editor of VICE Media's The Creators Project (2010-2013). She has conceived and organized exhibitions for Toledo Museum of Art (Toledo, OH), HEK (Basel), LAS Art Foundation (Berlin), Matadero (Madrid), 180 The Strand (London), Borusan Contemporary (Istanbul), Science Gallery (Dublin), Eyebeam (New York City) and many others. She is the co-editor of Interspecies Future: A Primer (Distanz, 2024).
Doreen Ríos
Curatorial Mentor
Doreen Ríos is a curator and independent researcher. Her work focuses on technological counterproduction, tactical media, and new materialities. Ríos is the founder of [ANTI]MATERIA, an online platform dedicated to the study and exhibition of art produced through digital media. From 2019 to 2021, she served as Chief Curator at the Centro de Cultura Digital in Mexico City. Recent curatorial projects include Vanishing Acts at the Taipei Fine Art Museum (2025-2026) and Postborder (code)pendency at Rhizome (2025). Her critical writing has been featured in publications such as Media Arts 21, Luna Córnea, and the Brooklyn Rail. She is the author of Medios inestables. De objetos técnicos y arte (2025). Currently a PhD candidate in Art History, Theory, and Criticism at the University of California, San Diego, she is also a member of the Leonardo Peer Review Panel.
ARTFACTORY
Technical Mentor
ARTFACTORY is a Singapore-based technical production outfit working at the intersection of art and technology. The team collaborates with artists, curators, and producers to realise new media installations, immersive exhibitions, and live performances.
With experience across lighting, audiovisual systems, and media technologies, ARTFACTORY supports artists in developing and producing contemporary artworks, bridging artistic ideas with technical production and spatial design.
Debbie Ding
Technical Mentor
Debbie Ding is an artist working across the intersection of artistic research, technology and game studies – with professional experience as design educator, interaction designer, certified as Unity Associate Game Developer in 2020, currently Assistant Professor (Digital Arts) at Singapore University of Technology and Design. Her work was shortlisted for the President's Young Talents 2018 and Impart Art Awards 2020 and is collected by the Australian War Memorial and Singapore Art Museum. Notable exhibitions include Ars Electronica, "Radical Gaming" at HeK Basel, "Worldbuilding" at Julia Stoschek Foundation Dusseldorf, "Wikicliki" at Singapore Art Museum, "Radio Malaya" at NUS Museum, "Construction in Every Corner" at NTU Museum, Kochi Biennale, and Singapore Biennale 2026. Scholarships include the NTU Research Scholarship and NAC Postgraduate Scholarship (Visual Art), and funded residencies with Australian War Memorial (Canberra), Dena Foundation (Paris), and Goethe-Institut Singapore. Her ongoing practice-based PhD research explores psychogeography in virtual worlds, and games in contemporary art practice.
Team
Clara Che Wei Peh
Curator and Initiator
Clara Che Wei Peh is a curator and arts writer from Singapore. She is the founder of Common Protocol, and the initiator of Monday Chatroom, an itinerant discussion series on issues surrounding art and technology. Previously, she was Public Programmes Curator at Asymmetry, Asia Collection Fellow at KADIST, Curator of Art Dubai Digital, and Adjunct Lecturer at LASALLE College of the Arts. She currently serves on the International Selectors Committee for The Lumen Prize, and has been a nominator for the LG Guggenheim Award, an external reviewer for SIGGRAPH Asia, and member of the advisory board for Julius Baer Next Generation Art Prize.
Deanna Dzulkifli
Producer
Deanna is an independent producer working with a range of forms, from dance and performance art to visual arts and music. Recent work include being the Talks Manager for ART SG, Partnerships Manager for Singapore Art Book Fair, Visual Arts and Special Programmes Lead for Ombak Festival (Johor, Malaysia) and producer for local commission REFUGE by The Observatory at SIFA 2024. She is also the current General Manager for The Observatory.
Mary Ann Ng
Producer
Mary Ann Ng is an educator, researcher, and administrator working across art, design, culture, and technology. She is presently Creative Producer of Singapore-based creative technology studio SERIAL CO_ , and a lecturer at University of the Arts Singapore where she teaches introductory courses on historical and critical approaches to visual and spatial cultures.
For any queries, please contact us at team.commonprotocol@gmail.com