Project Area is the beating heart of Sónar+D, a three-day festival in Barcelona where music shares the spotlight with art, innovation and technology. Part of the Sónar by Day programme, Project Area is an interactive exhibition space where state-of-the-art technology, innovative design, radical thinking and cutting-edge research meet.

To celebrate the arts, digital creativity and technology, the initiative is looking for artists, creators, collectives, studios or start-ups with project, prototypes, and product proposals that expand the artistic scenario and share innovative perspectives for the festival's Project Area. The winning projects will be exhibited in Sonar +D's interactive exhibition space - the Project Area - from 12th to 14th June.

The open call is aimed to people from any part of the world, as long as their projects fit in one of the following categories:

• Artificial Inteligence (AI) & Music: innovative and exclusive research, design, and technology projects that use Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to create music. 
  Note: the open call does not accept proposals for DJ sets and musical performances.

• New Perspectives in Artificial Inteligence (AI): innovative, state-of-the-art, and creative projects that use Artificial Intelligence in a radical and innovative way.
  Note: projects of AI image or audio generation tools must include a brief explanation of the proposal's innovation considering what already exists in the sector.

• Music Tech: digital gadgets, modular synths, or any other music tech proposals.
  Note: the open call does not accept proposals for DJ sets and musical performances.

• Nature & Tech: projects that allow you to listen to plants or explore the fungi underworld. This category is aimed at scientific and technological works with an artistic edge that seeks to deepen our understanding and increase our connections with the natural world.  

• Quantum Computing in the Arts: quantum computing will be a central theme at Sónar+D 2025. This category includes proposals that use this cutting-edge technology for artistic purposes.

• Alternative Futures & Radical Research: works on topics such as  Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI), non-binary futures, terraforming, radical decentralisation, materiality of invisible technolog, etc..

The festival organisation informs that proposals for DJ sets, musical performances or exhibitions using amplified sound will not be accepted. Sound projects must be adapted to headphones. Applications from Universities or Higher Education Institutes are also not accepted. If the artist, group or collective come from a University, the application/contact should be made using the form available here.

In addition to the opportunity to exhibit their work at the Sónar festival, the selected artists will be provided with a physical exhibition space (which includes all electricity costs and cleaning services); five Exhibitor Passes for Sónar 2025; three VIP Passes for SonarPass+D; and discount codes to purchasing additional tickets for Sónar 2025. The Sónar festival also provides a fee of €1000 for artists, individual creators or artistic collectives who present fully artistic proposals (projects that have not been designed for commercial purposes). 

The deadline for applications for the open call is 12 January. More information is available at sonar.es.