FriesTV Open Call 2025/2026

Open video channel at Ebertplatz

Good news: After several successful years, the FriesTV project is returning to Ebertplatz this winter!

We are looking for visually striking works to accompany us through the dark season on the 55-meter-long LED strip.

Period: November 2025 – March 2026
Submission deadline: November 13, 2025, 11:59 p.m.

Selected contributions will be rewarded – the amount of the fee depends on the total amount of final funding and the number of selected works. “FriesTV” is a project by Unser Ebertplatz and is funded by the Cultural Office of the City of Cologne.

All information about the details and project idea, application and materials, timeframe and fee, deadline and formalities, selection and jury, and contact details can be found below.

We look forward to receiving your submissions!

Looking for inspiration? Over the past years, many great works have been featured on FriesTV:
Previous contributions

Details & project idea

Ebertplatz – the intersection between Eigelstein and Agnesviertel – is a place of transition, encounter, and urban transformation. Through the participation and visions of visitors and stakeholders, a space of social diversity, coexistence, art, and culture has emerged here – not least in the passageway with the copy shop, the “African Drum,” and, for many years now, four independent art spaces.

As an extension of the exhibition program, the 50-meter-long LED display was installed for the first time in 2021, initially for short texts as part of “TRANSIT – Temporary Literature at Ebertplatz.” This was followed by video and animation art content on “Fries TV” until spring 2022. Especially during the pandemic, the large outdoor LED display enriched the square and the Cologne art scene. The project invites visitors to rediscover the location and pause to view digital art. The large-format strip and its repeated loops allow visitors to experience the uniqueness of Ebertplatz as a kind of island.

We are very pleased that “Fries TV” will be back on air this winter after a break!

Participation & Material

Who can submit?
Artists working in video, animation, and digital live art.

Definition of formats

Video & animation art includes all moving images or pure text that can be played linearly from a media player in the form of a video file, without the possibility of interaction.
Digital live art refers to formats that are brought to the LED display as a (one-time) performance or event. These works involve (interactive) changes to images and text in real time and unfold at the moment of performance.

Framework & content

Maximum of one entry per artist.
A thematic connection to Ebertplatz and/or current social issues is desirable but not a requirement (see background above).
Submitters must own the copyright and usage rights to the entries.
Structures/persons involved in the organization and selection of the project are excluded.
Content must be suitable for minors and take into account its placement in public space. Strobe effects and the like are to be avoided. Use your common sense… 😉

Technology & format

The display is an LED display with 9240 × 168 pixels – corresponding to 55 m × 1 m in public space – i.e., a VERY extreme aspect ratio of approximately 55:1.
This unusually wide and low format requires a special feel for image composition. Usual viewing habits and standard formats do not apply here.
Therefore, a good technical understanding and a sense of dimension as well as appropriate speeds for animated elements are expected.
Delivery: Full HD container (1920 × 1080 px, .mp4, 50 fps if possible). The video material must therefore be “broken down” and transferred in this 16:9 container (Visualisation).
Important: You must thoroughly review existing work to determine its potential for adaptation to the extremely wide panorama format. The concept must describe how the adaptation is to be carried out.
Detailed technical specifications will follow after selection, as already mentioned.

Support, interactivity & other

Please indicate any foreseeable need for technical support (e.g., pixel mapping/conversion for final MP4) when submitting your concept.
Interactive/reactive installations are expressly welcome. However, only an HDMI input is available on site. Additional equipment cannot be provided; artists are responsible for weatherproofing and theft protection for any additional equipment they require.

Hybrid formats are possible (e.g., live/interactive generation during the event, followed by playback over several days).

Period & Fee

Planned total duration of the LED installation: November 22, 2025 – March 17, 2026.
Duration per video/animation position: 2–3 weeks, at least 5 hours daily, to be agreed individually.
Digital live art as an event format in the official winter program: November 22, 2025 – March 17, 2026.
Fee: per selected video/animation contribution or live event.

Deadline & Formalities

Submission by November 13, 2025, 11:59 p.m.

*Important: Submit concept paper and sample files without names so that the jury receives them anonymously. CVs or similar documents are not required.

Selection & jury

Together with the Cultural Office, a jury of actors from the field of temporary use will curate the program. The selection will be made anonymously on the basis of the concepts and examples received by the deadline.

Examples from previous FriesTV project periods can be found here: https://unser-ebertplatz.koeln/friestv/

Contact

Questions about the open call: friestv@unser-ebertplatz.koeln

Supported by the City of Cologne and the Cultural Office of the City of Cologne.