2027 Indigenous Gulf Stream

Nov 14, 2027

Haiaka

About

24-hour biennial stream of thoughts, art, and media from the contemporary Indigenous Gulf South

The Indigenous Gulf Stream is a New Media biennial which celebrates contemporary Indigenous content in the Gulf South by licensing relevant and innovative interviews, art, and media created by Gulf South Indigenous creators to be shown in the stream.

The commissioned content is assembled into a 24-hour public live stream. The stream will begin at midnight, and continue for one full day. The event is free and can be accessed by anyone online. (Watch the Stream Here).

Theme

Haiaka

[Choktaw]

(verb) to appear, become visible, clear, revealed
(noun) the woods, the backwoods, wilderness, the forest

Consider what it means to be perceived, legible, translated, and accessible.

To see others in a gaze, to be seen clearly. What is transparency, revelation, and apparition.

What is backwoods? front woods? wild-er, and your environment.

Calls for Content

"Gulf South Indigenous"

The event commissions members of Indigenous Gulf South communities (living locally or globally) and members of Turtle Island Indigenous communities currently living in and having a relation with the Gulf South to share art, music, sound, and media which celebrates their experiences, emotions, worldviews, interests, and thoughts.

"Content"

This content is anything. We encourage experiments. It includes interview, art, information, or screenshots. The content can something fresh that is created in response to this call, or it can also be any content which has been created since the last Indigenous Gulf Stream in November of 2025.

Early Bird

Applications Due: September 15, 2025

We have funds that expire in December. This call is for any project responding to the theme and can be completed by midnight, Dec 5, 2026. This could be a Recognized Story interview, a Story for the Making art commission, or, really, anything else.

Pitch us your idea, we are really open to your interpretation. Interview teams receive $500 in commission funds at the completion of the work. Stories for the Making receive $400 in commission funds at the completion of the work. Content that is already created and is being reused generally gets $50 per use. If you are pitching something else, structure your amount request along these lines and state it clearly in the request. If the amount feels like too much off of our structure we may have to email back and forth to sort it out with you.

Apply

Recognized Stories

Applications Due: February 21, 2027

Recognized Stories projects have until June 1, 2027 to complete submissions. Through this open call, groups of interviewers, elders, and thought leaders self-organize produce a 1-3 hour publicly accessible interview. Interview teams will be selected in mid-April, and will have until June to turn in their works. Teams will be paid when the completed work is turned in. Teams will receive $500 in funds.

Apply

Stories for the Making

Applications Due: March 15, 2027

Stories for the Making projects have until August 1 to complete projects. Through this open call, Indigenous artists (or artist teams) are commissioned to listen to a Recognized Stories interviews and create an artistic response within any medium. The Bvlbancha Public Access team then works with the artists to present their art as a video content. Artists retain copyright of their work, but license the video content for use on the stream. The call for artists will open in March, artists will be selected in and assigned interviews in June. All art must be completed by August. Artists will be paid when the completed work is turned in. Artists shall receive $400 in funds.

Apply

Lagniappe

Applications Open until: Aug 15, 2027

We are accepting applications for any other content anytime until August 15th. Through this open call, we are looking for neat stuff that doesn’t neatly fit into any flow. This could be existing artworks, social media content, or generally stuff that it relevant to the moment or connects to the theme. BPA may also reach out to people directly to request content. We have a collective pool of $2,000 available to commission this kind of stuff (generally, we pay $50 per license).

Apply

How to Apply

We take all applications via video.

Create a 1-5 minute selfie video of you explaining your stuff. Don't take this too seriously, or feel like it should be perfect It just needs to cover the following topics:

Who are you, and who are your Gulf South Indigenous community(ies)? How are you related to the Gulf South?
What brings you to this project? What is your experience within your chosen format?
What content would you like to submit? When did you create it, or why would you like to create it? Why is this content important?
How does this work relate to the theme of Haiaka?
What format can we expect (length, medium, camera setup, place, tone)?
Let us know if you can receive funds, and confirm that you accept the terms of the call.
If you are creating new work that includes other people, confirm that the final content will be open access, and that that you will use the Uke’ Contracting System as a consent form method to ensure copyright for the interview stays with the interviewee.

Send file or URL to bvlbanchapublicaccess@gmail.com

Watch the Stream

Days till the stream

The project is nothing without the audience. We encourage you to consider tuning in at some point during that day to listen to the voices and stories. We really encourage you to do something you truly enjoy while listening - that could be making art, going for a walk, having a party, or hanging around with those you enjoy.

Watch the Stream