Here comes Circuit 08. Help us get there? Yes, YOU!
In this missive: a blatant Circuit 08 tease, under the Flux hood, and how YOU can help
Hello Flux Friends,
Circuit 07 is a wrap! We concluded the last of our 07 events (Tribeca Audio premiere and Happy Ears with Finalists), you can hear all the official 07 fluxworks on our website, and – because who needs sleep – we’re preparing to kick-off Circuit 08 next month on July 27.
Now that I’ve been through a complete cycle with Audio Flux, I thought I’d share what all goes on behind the scenes.
Where do themes and prompts come from?
We develop each circuit’s theme and prompts through conversations with creative and organizational partners. For Circuit 07, that was Cyrus Kabiru and Radio Workshop, for Circuit 06 this was radical artist/knitter Lorna Hamilton, for Circuit 05 we worked with 3D photography aficionado, Eric Drysdale, etc.
For Circuit 08, we’ve been talking with our creative and organizational partners for a little while now (logistics!), and just this morning had our first creative partner meeting. We’ll reveal the theme and prompt for the Circuit 08 open call on July 27 and you’ll have until August 31 to submit your fluxwork. Until then here’s a clue: “bittersweet.” 🤨
What goes into a Circuit’s open call?
In advance of an open call, there’s much to do. We create a timeline, build a web page, FAQ, and submission form with official rules, map out some social media posts and prepare a press release. Once the circuit launches, we share the news far and wide, inviting anyone and everyone to participate. So far we’ve received fluxworks from 22 different countries and 30+ US states and hope to bump those numbers up with every circuit.
Another part of each open call is working with educators who want to introduce Audio Flux into their own curricula. We’ve presented circuits to creative writing, audio journalism, and multimedia art students. And we’ve received dozens of excellent student submissions across multiple circuits, in return. We’re having a blast, teaching Audio Flux to emerging, curious audio makers, and are so excited by what we’re hearing back from them. [If you’re an educator and this interests you, get in touch!]
Who determines Finalists and Circuit Selects?
Once the open call deadline passes, Team Audio Flux listens to all of the submissions. Then we meet to review our top picks together… listen some more…meet again… listen again… and finally land on a dozen Finalists, after making a few excruciating decisions about which submissions sadly won’t make the cut.
Then, when possible, we present the Finalists at different gatherings -- audio conferences, festivals, etc. -- and invite audiences to vote on their top picks. A selection committee made up of our circuit partners and previous circuit producers also weighs in, and after we all listen and vote for our top four Finalists, we crunch the numbers and arrive at our Circuit Selects.
How much does it cost?
To participate in the open call? Nada. It’s totally free.
To attend a Circuit’s public premiere? Depends on the what and where, but generally this is anywhere from $0 - $20.
To run an Audio Flux circuit? Tens of thousands of dollars.
We pay the producers of our final fluxworks (commissions and Circuit Selects) a fee of $650 - $1000. We pay our creative partners $1000 - $2000. We pay operational costs to run a website, collaborate digitally, work with a graphic designer, travel to live events, and make a podcast.
And we would love to pay ourselves for the hours and hours we spend on bringing you Audio Flux in all of its forms: the circuits, the podcasts, the live events, and even this Substack. Which brings me to:
How can you help keep Audio Flux Fluxing?
We’d very much appreciate your support with Circuit 08 – and beyond. All this month we’ll be asking our community to donate to the Audio Flux cause. Here’s how you can help:
Donate to Audio Flux directly (tax-deductible, easy-peasy)
Become a paid Substack subscriber – we intend to keep bringing you bi-weekly missives… forever!
Subscribe to our Instagram and Podcast — and tell a friend why you’re excited about supporting Audio Flux
Lastly, a few other audio-adjacent happenings for your radar:
Join Arielle Nissenblatt’s 30-day podcaster challenge. You’ll receive an email every day in July with one idea, tweak, or resource to improve your podcast… little by little it really adds up!
Wendy MacNaughton turned our Get Kraken! podcast episode into a Draw Together post, complete with a pic of Dürer’s rhinoceros drawing in case you’re curious. Get drawing and plz do share your Kraken with us.
Thanks for joining us in this labor of love,
Lusen
(with Julie, John and Amy)