SADA: Open call for South Asian Digital Artists

We’re building SADA – the South Asian Digital Art Archive, and this is your invitation to be part of it. SADA is a living, postcolonial digital archive created to centre the voices, stories, and practices of digital artists from South Asia and its diasporas. We’re now accepting submissions from artists working across mediums—animation, code, VR, 3D, interactive design, and more—who want to contribute to an evolving archive grounded in ethics, access, and self-representation.

What is SADA?

SADA is a postcolonial digital archive of South Asian digital arts. It’s designed to preserve not only artworks, but the perspectives, processes, and lived realities behind them. Rather than being filtered through institutional channels, SADA is community-driven, multilingual, and open-access, shaped by the artists themselves. It challenges dominant narratives by asking: How do we remember? Who decides what gets preserved? And how can we design tools that reflect our cultural logics? At its core, SADA is a third space for ethical and inclusive archiving, rooted in care, criticality, and imagination.

Who can participate?

If you: ✔ Are 18 years of age or older ✔ Identify as South Asian or are connected to the South Asian digital art ecosystem ✔ Are actively involved in digital artistic practice (e.g., VR, AI art, animation, digital painting, interactive installations, etc.) ✔ Have exhibited your work at least once through a cultural institution (such as a gallery, festival, museum, or digital arts platform) ✔ Are willing to participate in a one-on-one virtual interview via UBC-hosted Zoom lasting approximately 60–90 minutes

How to Apply?

We would love to hear from you if you meet the criteria and are interested in sharing your artistic journey and reflections. Participating artists will help build an essential resource for researchers, curators, and future generations of digital creatives. Please visit https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4VJx4YIhkeWS33g to apply and learn more.

📚 This research is part of a graduate thesis at the University of British Columbia (Study ID: H25-00591).